MLB at London Stadium

[ontario claret]

It's just been announced that the Red Sox and the Yankees will be playing a 2-game regular season series next June at London Stadium. Does anybody here care, or, are you, like me, not giving a flying fadoo, and realize that it's just another money grab?

[ontario claret]

Actually, I think it's just an attack on baseball on your part. But some people on this site do appreciate the game. Why get personal? I just don't understand.

[IndigoLake]

I don't particularly enjoy baseball but I am seeing an NFL game in London in October

[JohnMac]

Never seen it live but I do appreciate the skill of the Pitcher and the relationship they have with the Catcher. Those secret hand signs are intriguing.

[dsr]

I'm surprised it will fit. The shortest boundary is usually at least 110 yards from the bat, so even batting from one corner of the ground, the touchline side is OK but the goalline side might be a squash. I suppose there might be a deep corner for the athletics track, start of the 110m?

[TVC15]

Seen the Blue Jays play live a number of times.
Don’t mind it - more enjoyable than NFL or NBA for me.

Doubt the British public will take to it like they have to NFL though. Will be interested to see the reaction.

[Colburn_Claret]

I like baseball, and follow the Cleveland Indians.
I don't see how the logistics work from a pitch size view .
It will be like playing cricket on a football ground.

[CharlieinNewMexico]

They'll have a really short left field. Stimulates the home runs and fans. Watched many a Marlins game at Joe Robbie (same shape). 330ft to left and 470 to deep center where you could literally hit an inside the park homer.

[Dom]

Did you forget to sign out of one account and into another? Or are you just talking to yourself?

2018-05-09_07h40_39.png (27.58 KiB) Viewed 2522 times

[Bordeauxclaret]

There were some deleted posts.

[LeadBelly]

Haha- well spotted Dom.
Split personality from the OP half an hour later; or is there a deleted 3rd post in between? Mystery.

[claretsintown]

Cant wait got hooked years ago when channel 5 covered the sport.

[Chobulous]

Gave up with rounders in 1965

[Inchy]

It will easily fit in the stadium. They will revert the stadium to its athletics configuration and just lay turf over it all. Will be the size of a cricket pitch so will easily fit baseball in

[timshorts]

It's sort of dull. But not as dull as basketball or Tennis.

Tennis would be less monotonous if they stopped giving them two chances to serve. Why an "Ace" is exciting, I really don't know. And then there's the noises and the sycophantic crowd.

If MLB tried harder to achieve parity between clubs in the same way that the NFL and NHL do, then I'd find it more interesting. Whenever a team that I like get a good pitcher, next thing I see is that they are leaving and going to one of the monied up clubs. It's rather too much like the Premier League in that respect, but not as bad as our leagues in Spain, France, Germany and Scotland.

[ontario claret]

MLB takes the same approach as Scottish football. As long as the big clubs are doing well, then the rest of the league is deemed as doing well. Clubs like the Oakland Athletics don't survive on personal revenue, but by sharing in national TV deals. The A's rotate their squad more than anybody else. Once every 10 years or so, they'll be competitive. Besides, they have a hard-core group of fans in the cheap seats who bang on drums all game long and drive the other 2 or 3 thousand fans present completely mad.

[ontario claret]

MLB is the only major sport in North America without a hard salary cap. Clubs are allowed to go over, but pay a penalty tax to the league. Clubs like the Yankees and Dodgers don't really care.

[dsr]

It's sort of dull. But not as dull as basketball or Tennis.

Tennis would be less monotonous if they stopped giving them two chances to serve. Why an "Ace" is exciting, I really don't know. And then there's the noises and the sycophantic crowd.

If MLB tried harder to achieve parity between clubs in the same way that the NFL and NHL do, then I'd find it more interesting. Whenever a team that I like get a good pitcher, next thing I see is that they are leaving and going to one of the monied up clubs. It's rather too much like the Premier League in that respect, but not as bad as our leagues in Spain, France, Germany and Scotland.

12 out of the 30 teams have won the World Series this century. Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants have won it 3 times, New York Yankees and St Louis Cardinals twice each, 8 teams once. That's as close to parity as you can reasonably get.

[Oshkoshclaret]

I believe a higher proportion of baseball is down to pure luck, than any other major sport. It's not ALL luck, but there's a huge element of 'swing and hope' in there.

I've lived in the states for nearly 20 years and just can't get into baseball, while the other US sports I enjoy. The games are terribly boring, with an occasional outbreak of excitement. The big jumbotron screen is the focal point of entertainment, not the actual play on the field. I think it's like cricket, people go more for cultural reasons, it's a tradition.

[starting_11]

I guess you have to be born American, not just pretend to be one to "get it"

[Foshiznik]

As a Red Sox fan and having seen them at Fenway Park, I for one will definitely be trying to get tickets for this. Hopefully most people share the views of most of you so that I can get tickets!

[starting_11]

I went to Fenway... tiny isn't it!!

https://www.mlb.com/london-series" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Make sure you register for tickets, I know there's a lot of nay-sayers and inbreds making jokes about "rounders" but they'll sell fast.

[NottsClaret]

I went to see a Baseball game in Tokyo once. They go nuts for it over there. I understood absolutely nothing of what happened all afternoon.

[ontario claret]

Baseball is the summer sport in North America. With the farm systems that every major league team run, the tentacles run everywhere. At one time, there were 57 minor leagues operating in North America, each with exactly 8 clubs in them, just like their parent clubs. The Cardinals started the farm system system under Branch Rickey, and used to to stock their teams with good young talent in order to keep them away from other clubs. You might have heard of a player named "Pee Wee" Reese. He was playing for an independent minor league club in Louisville, Kentucky. In order to sign him, the Cardinals bought the club. That's how it worked because in those days, once you were signed, the club owned your rights until the day you died. (It's also how Bobby Orr was signed by the Boston Bruins at age 13 in ice hockey.)