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Major League Baseball

I don't pay much attention to baseball. I know Cleveland tied a record for most wins in a row and then bowed out to the Yankees, who decided to Reggie Jackson it up for the playoffs.

Did Cleveland survive the off-season signing stuff they needed to deal with?
 
rousseau said:
TSwizzle said:
I don't want Facebook encroaching on my life.
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Surely it's just a joint agreement to get MLB.TV some advertising, and Facebook some relevant content, though, no?

I can't see Facebook ever getting exclusive rights to anything. Or am I missing your point?
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In view of Facebook's recent activities, I hope the MLB will reconsider this arrangement.
 
TSwizzle said:
rousseau said:
TSwizzle said:
I don't want Facebook encroaching on my life.
Click to expand...

Surely it's just a joint agreement to get MLB.TV some advertising, and Facebook some relevant content, though, no?

I can't see Facebook ever getting exclusive rights to anything. Or am I missing your point?
Click to expand...

In view of Facebook's recent activities, I hope the MLB will reconsider this arrangement.
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Pfft, shows what you know.

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxszN_1k6fQ[/YOUTUBE]
 
A couple of random things here ...

First off, an interesting article about Ichiro Suzuki, written shortly before it was announced that he'd be returning again this year.

Then, I've been to about 16 or 17 MLB parks now. The wife and I long ago set out to visit them all, but that ground to a near halt after having our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th children. The park in Pittsburgh is really nice, no bad seats and feels quite intimate (the picture in the OP inspired me to post about it).

Finally, go Yankees!
 
I have this to say about major league baseball....At least it is more exciting than major league soccer, golf, bowling, and NASCAR.

Yeah, I know....Low bars, all.
 
whollygoats said:
I have this to say about major league baseball....At least it is more exciting than major league soccer, golf, bowling, and NASCAR.

Yeah, I know....Low bars, all.
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The MLB season is a gradient. The only thing more boring than April baseball is spring training, unless you're a retiree in Florida. But then this turns into the late-season playoff race, the playoffs, and finally the fiery eruption of the World Series.

I don't pay much attention early on in the season, but when I do it's more about a lazy Saturday afternoon with a beer and game in the background than guns blazing. Or when I make it out to Roger's Centre it's the atmosphere, hot-dogs, beer, and sun.
 
Oh...It's also NOT cricket.

Cricket is incomprehensible to me.
 
Article by FiveThirtyEight:

We X-Rayed Some MLB Baseballs. Here’s What We Found

Asked about these findings, MLB noted that it had commissioned a group of scientists and statisticians to investigate any changes to the ball, and that the committee would issue a report on its research soon. According to Alan Nathan, one of the physicists on the commission, the task force found that all the characteristics that MLB regularly measures, including the weight, circumference, seam height and bounciness of the ball, were within ranges that meant variations in the baseballs were unlikely to significantly affect home run rates. MLB declined to provide the data supporting these assertions.
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Independent investigations by FiveThirtyEight, publications like The Ringer, and Nathan himself have shown differences in the characteristics of the ball and the way it performs. Research has shown that balls used in games after the 2015 All-Star Game were bouncier and less air resistant compared with baseballs from the 2014 season, when players hit a relatively modest 4,186 homers, the fewest since 1995. (Nathan noted that MLB does not regularly measure air resistance.) Taken together, these changes would result in a ball that would come off the bat at a higher speed and carry farther. While investigations have been able to show that the baseball behaves differently in recent years, no one had looked inside the ball to see if there was evidence of changes to the way the baseball is constructed.
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When comparing the new and old groups, however, there was a clear difference in the density of the core.
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Dr. Law’s team isolated the density difference to the outer (pink) layer of the core, which was, on average, about 40 percent less dense in the new group of balls.
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It may not seem obvious, but these slight changes in the chemical composition of the core could have an impact on how the balls played once they were sewn up and shipped to major league teams.
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But the timing of these changes to the weight and density of the core coincides with a much larger boost to the bounciness of the baseball. According to a previous analysis performed by The Ringer, that increase in bounciness alone would add around 0.6 mph to the speed of the ball as it leaves the bat and add roughly 3 feet to the travel distance of a fly ball — enough to make the difference between the warning track and the stands.
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. . .previous research at FiveThirtyEight showed that they also became less air resistant. The decrease in drag is probably a result of a smaller, slicker baseball with lower seams. The change in air resistance could add an additional 5 feet to the travel distance of a fly ball. Combine all these factors together — a lighter, more compact baseball with tighter seams and more bounce — and the ball could fly as much as 8.6 feet farther. According to Nathan’s calculations, this would lead to a more than 25 percent increase in the number of home runs. Asked whether these changes in combination could have significantly affected the home run rate, MLB declined to comment.
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TL;DR the MLB lowered the density of the baseball cores, as well as the air-resistance of it's seams which may have accounted for a 25% increase in home-runs after the 2015 season. Article also mentions that hitting philosophy accounts for some of the difference too.
 
Wasn't the HR increase seen just in one league, where as the other league it was flat with the previous season and homeruns?

Oddly enough, the numbers have been back and forth since 2000. First column is AL, second is NL, third is MLB.

[SIZE=-1]2,688[/SIZE]3,005[SIZE=-1]5,693[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2000[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]2,506[/SIZE]2,952[SIZE=-1]5,458[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2001[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]2,464[/SIZE]
2,595[SIZE=-1]5,059[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2002[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]2,499[/SIZE]2,708[SIZE=-1]5,207[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2003[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]2,605[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2,846[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]5,451[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2004[/SIZE]
2,437​
2,580​
5,017​
2005​
2,546​
2,840​
5,386​
2006​
2,252​
2,705​
4,957​
2007​
2,2702,6084,8782008
2,5602,4825,0422009
2,2092,4044,6132010
2,2712,2814,5522011
2,5002,4344,9342012
2,5042,1574,6612013
2,0252,1614,1862014
2,2752,6344,9092015
2,6572,953[SIZE=-1]5,610[/SIZE]2016
3,1702,935[SIZE=-1]6,105[/SIZE]2017
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Wasn't the HR increase seen just in one league, where as the other league it was flat with the previous season and homeruns?

Oddly enough, the numbers have been back and forth since 2000. First column is AL, second is NL, third is MLB.

[SIZE=-1]2,688[/SIZE]3,005[SIZE=-1]5,693[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2000[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]2,506[/SIZE]2,952[SIZE=-1]5,458[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2001[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]2,464[/SIZE]
2,595[SIZE=-1]5,059[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2002[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]2,499[/SIZE]2,708[SIZE=-1]5,207[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2003[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]2,605[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2,846[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]5,451[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]2004[/SIZE]
2,437​
2,580​
5,017​
2005​
2,546​
2,840​
5,386​
2006​
2,252​
2,705​
4,957​
2007​
2,2702,6084,8782008
2,5602,4825,0422009
2,2092,4044,6132010
2,2712,2814,5522011
2,5002,4344,9342012
2,5042,1574,6612013
2,0252,1614,1862014
2,2752,6344,9092015
2,6572,953[SIZE=-1]5,610[/SIZE]2016
3,1702,935[SIZE=-1]6,105[/SIZE]2017
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Early 00's was the steroid era. Bouncing up and down would be attributed to random variation, but you can see that 2016 and 2017 are markedly higher than the previous near decade.

My guess about the NL having more home-runs in general would be due to the pitcher having to bat, and having a weaker overall pitching performance, but hard to say.
 
Having MLB.TV and them starting their 'popular clips during a break in the action' I'm noticing that early season baseball is now basically nothing happening, interspersed with annoying, repetitive clips.

It's making it grating to watch. The clips are loud and exciting and draw my attention, then by the time I manage to ignore them I miss half the inning when it actually starts.

Seriously, why the fuck can't human beings just sit in silence for two minutes between innings?
 
rousseau said:
Having MLB.TV and them starting their 'popular clips during a break in the action' I'm noticing that early season baseball is now basically nothing happening, interspersed with annoying, repetitive clips.

It's making it grating to watch. The clips are loud and exciting and draw my attention, then by the time I manage to ignore them I miss half the inning when it actually starts.

Seriously, why the fuck can't human beings just sit in silence for two minutes between innings?
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I hear you!!!
 
Quiet thread this year. Think next season I might hold off on my mlb.tv subscription until September or October.

And in surprising news I finally heard this week the Jays star closer just got suspended for domestic abuse.
 
Some mildly controversial stuff in the playoffs surrounding the Brewers approach. Now I realize they don't have elite starting pitchers but their constant changing of pitchers is hugely annoying. Last night, their starting pictcher faced one batter..ONE BATTER ! and Brewers manager Counsell challenged three calls in the first inning. I hope the Dodgers batter them.

Another interesting incident in the Boston Houston game, Altuve hits a bomb to center field, possible home run but a fan (a Houston fan!) seemed to reach out and touch Betts' glove. The umpire called fan interference and after review, the call stood. Houston lost the game.


Never the less, some outstanding baseball defense on display in both games yesterday.
 
TSwizzle said:
Some mildly controversial stuff in the playoffs surrounding the Brewers approach. Now I realize they don't have elite starting pitchers but their constant changing of pitchers is hugely annoying. Last night, their starting pictcher faced one batter..ONE BATTER ! and Brewers manager Counsell challenged three calls in the first inning. I hope the Dodgers batter them.
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Never seen that move before (having Dodgers set their line-up to face a lefty, then switch your pitcher to a righty), but I didn't mind it. There are no rules against changing your pitcher at any time, so if that's how you're trying to win more power to you.

I was really hoping the Brewers would make the World Series.. just because they're the Milwaukee Brewers. Seeing the big ticket teams compete every year is getting old.
 
Bringing in a pitcher to face one batter is not unheard of, goes way back.

Back in the 90s when pitching got good and hitting went down the leagues livened the ball. There was a hitting and HR drought.

Today it is all 'analytics', computerised statistics. It used to be all in the manager's head. Shifts are done on a hitter's statistics.

The playoffs have been pretty good.

Does everybody know the pitches? The long shot from behind the pitcher shows the ball movement.
 
Looks like fate is going to have it's way again:

223 million vs 177 million to compete for the World Series.

Versus the Brewers 89 million, I'm comfortable calling them the best performing team in the MLB this year.
 
A fascinating series concluded with the Dodgers going to the World Series for the second year in a row. It was interesting to see Jansen come in early and then Kershaw come in and close out the game. I enjoyed the series but by the end, I was getting a bit tired of hearing about how awesome Hader is from the commentary. It's not like he pitched a no hitter game. Anyway, I look forward to playing Boston and would love to go but on checking prices, the minimum is $700 for nose bleed seats. WTF ?!
 
TSwizzle said:
A fascinating series concluded with the Dodgers going to the World Series for the second year in a row. It was interesting to see Jansen come in early and then Kershaw come in and close out the game. I enjoyed the series but by the end, I was getting a bit tired of hearing about how awesome Hader is from the commentary. It's not like he pitched a no hitter game. Anyway, I look forward to playing Boston and would love to go but on checking prices, the minimum is $700 for nose bleed seats. WTF ?!
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I agree - that was a really interesting series, and will probably cause a lot of managers to re-examine their options during the regular season next year. I only wanted the (hated) Dodgers to win because they represent "our" division, but truth be told, I feel like it would be a shame if the Sox don't win the WS after taking 108 reg season games.
 
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