Baseball is Dead (A statistical alalysis of its innocence and corruption) (1369 hits)
Category: SportsLabels: ETS_Essays
Rating: 1.42 on 57 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (View user info) at 2005-02-15 22:31:47 EST
I remember how it felt as a youngster when the Cubs game was coming on TV. The opening sequence for the Leadoff Man pregame show would come on WGN, and I would be absorbed in it. Then I would spend the next three and a half hours in front of the TV screaming, cheering, sulking, bitching, pulling hair, kicking, jumping, pulling hair, and fist pumping... Being a Cubs fan, I did more bitching and sulking than cheering and jumping. The Cubs were like a religion to me, and men like Rick Sutcliff, Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Steve Stone, Harry Caray were like gods. When the game was over, I'd go outside and meet up with friends and throw a baseball till it was so dark you couldn't see it anymore and someone got hurt, or I'd just throw a ball up in the air as high as I could and play catch with myself. I had a whole system in my head, this whole game with men on bases, imaginary balls and strikes and everything.
I watched so many fucking Cubs games as a kid, I memorized the fucking legal disclaimer that Steve Stone read every game... I remember it till this day, word for word:
"This copyrighted telecast is presented by authority of the Chicago National League Ball Club, and has right of approval of the announcers, and is intended solely for the private and non-commercial use of our audience. Any publication, reproduction, retransmission, or the use of the pictures, descriptions and accounts of this game without the express-written consent of the Chicago National League Ball Club is prohibited."
I used to pride myself in being able to recite that paragraph extremely fast so that noone would know what the fuck I was talking about. When the disclaimer was changed years later, I was actually pissed. Just like I was when Mark Grace left... Just like I was when Steve Stone retired from announcing the first time... Just like I am at the state of the game now...
Like any kid that grows up loving baseball as much as I did, I had a fairly extensive card collection. It's become one of the leftover vestiges of my youth. Only now I can get out my baseball cards and I look at the old McGwire, Bonds, and Sosa rookie cards, and I can see how scrawny they were then, and I am drawn to question, and then I call to memory how during that period, hitting 50 homeruns was considered a mammoth feat. George Foster had been the last to do it at that point in 1987.
As a baseball fan in the era in which I grew up, you talked about the greats of old: Mantle, Mays, Ruth, Gehrig, Greenberg, Wilson, Foxx, and you wondered if anyone would ever be able to even approach any of those numbers ever again. These were the immortals... The untouchables... The greats...
Then you have this very suspicious surge of power taking place in in the 1990's... You see a time of turmoil and of escalating greed and commercailism. Here we see 50 home run seasons racked up like they are commonplace. Here you see baseball through the eyes of an adult, as it really is - a business.
Here is why I think baseball is dead. Below is a listing of the top homerun seasons since 1961, the year Maris broke the Babe's record, along with the number of men with 40 or more homeruns that season (the last number listed). Watch these numbers stay steady until after the 1994 strike...
1962 - Willie Mays, 49 - 3
1963 - Harmon Killebrew, 45 - 4
1964 - Harmon Killebrew, 49 - 2
1965 - Willie Mays, 52 - 1
1966 - Frank Robinson, 49 - 3
1967 - Harmon Killebrew, 44 - 2
1968 - Frank Howard, 44 -1
1969 - Harmon Killebrew, 49 - 7
1970 - Johnny Bench, 45 - 6
1971 - Willie Stargell, 48 - 2
1972 - Johnny Bench, 40 - 1
1973 - Willie Stargell, 44 - 4
1974 - Mike Schmidt, 36 - 0
1975 - Mike Schmidt, 38 - 0
1976 - Mike Schmidt, 38 - 0
1977 - George Foster, 52 - 2
1978 - Jim Rice, 46 -2
1979 - Dave Kingman, 48 - 2
1980 - Mike Schmidt, 49 - 3
1981 - Mike Schmidt, 31 -0 (Strike year)
1982 - Reggie Jackson/Gorman Thomas, 39 - 0
1983 - Mike Schmidt, 40 - 1
1984 - Tony Armas, 43 - 1
1985 - Darrell Evans, 40 - 1
1986 - Jesse Barfield, 40 - 1
1987 - Andre Dawson/Mark McGwire, 49 - 4
1988 - Jose Canseoc, 42 - 1
1989 - Kevin Mitchell, 47 - 1
1990 - Cecil Feilder, 51 - 2
1991 - Jose Canseco/Cecil Fielder, 44 - 2
1992 - Juan Gonzalez, 43 -2
1993 - Barry Bonds/ Juan Gonzalez, 46 - 5
1994 - Matt Williams, 43 - 2 (Strike year)
1995 - Albert Belle, 50 - 4
1996 - Mark McGwire, 52 - 16 (First time since 1961 that more than one player had reached 50 homers in the same season. Also set a record with 16 players getting to 40 or more.)
1997 - Mark McGwire, 58 - 12 (Once again two players make 50 or more, and the trend of double digits with 40 or more continues with 12 men having 40 or more.)
1998 - Mark McGwire, 70 - 13 (THis was the unprecedented year wherein four players reached 50 or more, and two of them reached 60 or more, while one, McGwire, reached 70! Something's fishy here.)
1999 - Mark McGwire, 65 - 13 (Again we see the same two players exceeding 60 home runs, and for the second consecutive year, they EACH exceeded the former record!)
2000 - Sammy Sosa, 50 - 16 (The number slack off slightly in terms of the HUGE numbers by individuals, but still 16 players managed to make the 40 mark, tying the record in that department.)
2001 - Barry Bonds, 73 - 12 (For the third time in the last four seasons, we see a pair of players smashing the former record of 61. Even the new record was broken with 73. Sammy Sosa had 64 this year.)
2002 - Alex Rodriguez, 57 - 8 (It might seem like a low number of men made it to 40 this year, but not when you consider that the highest total between 1961 and 1996 was 7. Furthermore, this marked the 6th year out of the last 7 wherein two or more men hit 50 or more homers...an unprecedented era in baseball history.)
2003 - Alex Rodriguez/ Jim Thome, 47 - 10 (Once again we see double digits in the 'men to 40' category this season.)
2004 - Adrian Beltre, 48 - 9 (The numbers are subsiding somewhat, but still 9 men made it to 40.)
(Source: personal research of MLB.com)
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If these numbers weren't telling enough, a look at the statistics for the attendance levels reveals a possible motive for the owners, the players, and everyone in Major League Baseball to conspire to take measures that would increase offensive production, and thus secure increase attendance and revenues. Among these might include: juiced balls, juiced bats, juiced players, groove pitching.
Below are figures of Major League Baseball Attendance since 1980.
Note the large spike in 1993 in attendance, and the pace of the subsequent strike season of 1994. it's no wonder the players went on strike...greedy as they are. On top of the higher wage agreement owners were subjected to as a result of the strike, they were faced with their lowest attendance totals since 1986 in 1995...
League Year GP Total Avg.
MLB 1980 2,105 43,014,136 20,434
MLB 1981 1,394 26,544,376 19,042
MLB 1982 2,107 44,587,874 21,162
MLB 1983 2,109 45,540,338 21,593
MLB 1984 2,105 44,742,863 21,256
MLB 1985 2,103 46,824,379 22,266
MLB 1986 2,103 47,506,203 22,590
MLB 1987 2,105 52,011,506 24,709
MLB 1988 2,100 52,998,904 25,238
MLB 1989 2,106 55,173,096 26,198
MLB 1990 2,105 54,823,768 26,045
MLB 1991 2,104 56,813,760 27,003
MLB 1992 2,106 55,870,466 26,529
MLB 1993 2,269 70,257,938 30,964
MLB 1994 1,600 50,010,016 31,256
MLB 1995 2,017 50,469,236 25,022
MLB 1996 2,267 60,097,381 26,510
MLB 1997 2,266 63,168,689 27,877
MLB 1998 2,430 70,601,147 29,054
MLB 1999 2,428 70,139,380 28,888
MLB 2000 2,429 71,358,907 29,378
MLB 2001 2,429 72,581,101 29,881
MLB 2002 2,397 67,390,074 28,114
MLB 2003 2,411 67,630,489 28,051
(source: http://www.kenn.com/sports/baseball/mlb/ml_numbers.html)
Clearly something had to give... Now refer back to the homerun statistics in the previous set of data. See the correlation?
Now, I have been a lover of baseball since I was a kid. I probably always will be. I think it's one of the greatest games on earth. It is truly the thinking man's sport. But there seems to be something wrong with the game I thought I knew growing up. Just the other day I found out that Wrigley Field will have advertisements on its brick walls for the first time in its history... With player salaries greater than the GNP of a small country, it's no wonder why we're seeing this upward trend toward greed and defamation of the sport. A part of me knows that this is just one of the many facts of life - that the things that I loved as a youngster will always end up being raped and exploited by evil-minded men hell-bent on greed and success in a cynical world... But there is a part of me still that wants to believe that somehow maybe we'll all stop and see that more is not necessarily more all the time, that money is not everything, and that some things are just too sacred to be reduced to dollars.
I don't count on it really, but I guess I can always dream...
User Reviews
Submitted by 1Point21Gigawatts (user info) at 2005-03-24 11:58:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I actually read this last month when you posted it, but I think I was too busy to comment and I forgot to get back to you. But I've reread it today.
I still hold the opinion that technology advancements in the past 20 years in sports-medicine, sports-nutrition, and general fitness are allowing human beings to be stronger, faster, and better than ever. And I think the balance has been shifted to favor hitters over pitchers - although pitchers have done some amazing things in recent times, it's becoming too hard to keep up with the batters.
Does steroids the reason? Perhaps. I just think that we have to consider all of the other advancements taking place before we place the blame squarely on performance enhancing drugs.
Submitted by Sideburns (user info) at 2005-02-22 17:28:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Okay, we're back on good terms.
Submitted by Bizdorph (user info) at 2005-02-18 13:11:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I like to watch baseball sometimes. It can be kind of fun in a lazy sort of way. I don't really consider it a sport (don't ask why, I'll do a post about it), but I do enjoy watching it sometimes.
I actually applied for a university scholarship using the salaries of MLB players as an example of how we divert funds to the wrong places.
And don't give up hope. Borrow some money, build your own field.
If you build it, they will come.
Good post.
Submitted by Sideburns (user info) at 2005-02-18 12:58:02 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-18 09:47:21 (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by Sideburns (user info) at 2005-02-18 02:20:50 (#)
Ranking: -2
Whoa whoa whoa..... going back to my old posts and -2ing isn't nice. Have one.
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Ok Sidefuck... We could have avoided this. All you had to do was keep your mouth shut. You just couldn't do it could you?
For your information, the only pathetic post of yours that i've ever wasted my time to rate that I even recall, which is the one I assume you're talking about, involved you blatantly plagiarizing the great Bill Hick to the fucking LETTER, and I rated you accordingly with a "-2 die, you plagiarist scumfag".
I didn't start a 'Sideburns is a filthy plagiarist' campaign when I saw that. In fact, I didn't tell a fucking soul. I left it alone.
I didn't go looking for that post. I was looking for that Bill Hicks rant to quote it to someone, when what do I find on the first page of google, but a Sideburns post.
My recent outbursts toward you had NOTHING to do with that. It was all in good fun, and was totally disconnected. But now, you've fucked up. You have pissed me off for real. If you want to carry this further, I'll be quite happy to oblige and expose you for the fucking plagiarist you are, but if you know what's good for you, you'll sit your ass down, shut the fuck up, and you won't even so much as address me again unless it's as your Master.
So, here, you don't want any of your old posts rated??? Allow me to rate a new one.
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Firstly, don't bitch about this -2 here. It won't hurt the previous -2 that I gave you.
You could try your best to expose me as a plagiarist, but everyone knows my writing style and knows that I like to sample old jokes and put a little twist on them in my posts. As for that Bill Hicks quote, I stand by my previous statement SEVERAL FUCKING MONTHS AGO that I didn't find out who the original comedian of the joke was until after I posted my article.
The funny thing between the two of us is that I'm still taking this verbal battle as a little something to do on the side. I think I actually got under your skin.
It's obvious you don't know me, newb. You honestly think I'm going do what some Uber unknown says and sit down and shutup? Nah. Not me.
So, continue on with your childish ways. I'll be checking back every so often and laughing my ass off at the childish retorts you can cough up.
Shake those haters off.
-Sideburns
Submitted by Sideburns (user info) at 2005-02-18 02:20:50 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Whoa whoa whoa..... going back to my old posts and -2ing isn't nice. Have one.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-17 22:15:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Suit yourself.
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2005-02-17 21:02:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
if it were in perfect condition i'd consider 700 w/ shipping included. but then again, they come up on cl a lot for a little cheaper. so, y knw...
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-17 19:35:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2005-02-17 17:56:51 (#)
Ranking: 2
750 is not a steal. Do you look at craigslist? You should be asking 600, 650.
THat's with free shipping.
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2005-02-17 17:56:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
750 is not a steal. Do you look at craigslist? You should be asking 600, 650.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-17 01:02:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Slypher: see below.
Submitted by Slypher (user info) at 2005-02-17 00:45:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
How much do you want for your Les Paul?
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-17 00:43:34 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
It's a 2001 Studio with Teal/Blue flip flop finish. $750 (A steal for a $1200 guitar)
No major nicks or anything. One small dent on the front. Barely noticable. A little buckle rash on back, but not bad. I set it up myself with 10s, and it plays and sounds like a Les Paul should. If you want to hear it you can go to http://www.electrictoothsyndrome.com and download any of the songs there. I used it for pretty much all the electric guitars on my recordings.
I think I might have a buyer for it already, but email me if you're interested, and if it falls through I'll send you some pics of it. Anyway, this isn't ebay, so just email me.
electrictoothsyndrome.at.gmail.com
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2005-02-17 00:34:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I want to hear about your les paul, get in contact with me. uhh, i don't want to leave my aim on here. maybe we can work out some code.
Submitted by congo (user info) at 2005-02-16 16:09:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Vomit - Well then you've got a pretty damn exciting left testicle.
ETS - thanks for doing all that stat legwork! Interesting numbers.
Submitted by Vomit (user info) at 2005-02-16 16:03:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Baseball is about as exciting as watching a pube sprout on my left testicle.
Submitted by kitchens_closed (user info) at 2005-02-16 15:58:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
the thing i hate most is when guys say they took steroids unknowingly. don't you think they would realize somethings up when they're having growth spurts in their skulls?
all i can say is that if barry bonds becomes the all-time home run leader, it will be a sad day for baseball.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-16 15:20:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Here are some stats on hitters:
All time homeruns per at-bats ratio:
1. Mark McGwire 10.61
2. Babe Ruth 11.76
3. Barry Bonds 12.94
4. Sammy Sosa 13.97
5. Harmon Killebrew 14.21
All time slugging percentage:
1. Babe Ruth .690
2. Ted Williams .634
3. Lou Gehrig .632
4. Barry Bonds .611
5. Jimmy Foxx .609
I think that slugging percentage is a great indicator of a hitter's calibre. The second list is how I'd classify the top hitters of all time. Of note is that 4 of 5 are from a bygone era, while in the former list, most are contemporaries.
Submitted by Drone_of_Industry (user info) at 2005-02-16 13:35:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
very interesting. I've actually asked that question myself... as far as the homerun power that has been climbing so quickly in recent years. Nice layout.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-16 12:08:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Let me clarify. Niekro pitched into his late 40's.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-16 12:05:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Hoyt Wilhelm pitched into his 50's, I think...definitely late 40's.
Phil Niekro, too.
They must have been using steroids.
Buahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-16 12:03:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Franco holds nothing on Satchel Paige.
He was a ROOKIE at 42 and plaed to the ripe old age of 59!
Here are some interesting related records:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_ten1.shtml
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:55:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I think a couple of clubs- The Washington nationals come to mind immediately- already have had their pitchers and catchers report.
On a side note, Andres Gallaraga has a job again this year...He's pushing 45 I think by now, but he will never catch the greaaaaaaaaaat Julio Franco!
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:47:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by jgreening (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:44:14 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by TheSpook (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:39:00 (#)
Ranking: 2
Don't have time to read, but you know what the fuck you're talking about and even with these problems in baseball, I'm fucking happy it's starting soon.
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I did read it, and I understood it, and I know that MLB was probably turning a blind eye as long as there was no public outcry.
BUT, like Spook, I am flat out GEEKED that pitchers and catchers is sooooooooooooooo close, and I already have my half season home package bought, paid for and delivered.
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Hey, like Shlongy said: it gets in your blood.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:44:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Also, Aaron is only the career homerun leader because he is also the all-time career at-bats leader.
Compare his homers to at-bats ratio to Ruth's... Then factor in the lifetime average and tell me who you'd rather have on your team.
Submitted by jgreening (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:44:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by TheSpook (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:39:00 (#)
Ranking: 2
Don't have time to read, but you know what the fuck you're talking about and even with these problems in baseball, I'm fucking happy it's starting soon.
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I did read it, and I understood it, and I know that MLB was probably turning a blind eye as long as there was no public outcry.
BUT, like Spook, I am flat out GEEKED that pitchers and catchers is sooooooooooooooo close, and I already have my half season home package bought, paid for and delivered.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:41:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
My main assertion from all of that is that a 700 homer man will almost undoubtedly have to have a career average at or around .300.
You simply have to have more tools at your disposal than the long ball. You're right about Aaron. Aaron is the homerun king because he played for like 23 years, and was consistent. He never hit 50.
The top 10 strikeout leaders of all time are:
1. Reggie Jackson 2597
2. Sammy Sosa 2110
3. Andres Gallaraga 2003
4. Jose Canseco 1942
5. Willie Stargell 1936
6. Mike Schmidt 1883
7. Tony Perez 1867
8. Dave Kingman 1816
9. Fred McGriff 1775
10.Bobby Bonds 1757
Babe Ruth is 67th with 1330 strikeouts in 8399 career at bats. Also, the man had a LIFETIME .342 average!
Hank Aaron is 58th with only 1383 strikeouts in 12364 career at bats. He had a lifetime .305 average.
By comparison, Darryl Strawberry is 63rd all time with 1352 strikeouts in only 5418 at bats. His lifetime average was .259. He wasn't going to be getting to 700 homers over his career with those numbers.
Submitted by TheSpook (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:39:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Don't have time to read, but you know what the fuck you're talking about and even with these problems in baseball, I'm fucking happy it's starting soon.
Submitted by congo (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:26:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Sorry -- I misread what you said about the 8-full seasons. My bad.
And yeah, I do agree with you about Greenberg. But then again, a lot of people got cheated out of some of their prime seasons by WW2.
Submitted by congo (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:24:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Of course he could have.
Babe Ruth holds the record for career strikeouts, does he not? So Straw's strikeouts are not necessarily going to stop him from getting to 700.
Hank Aaron consistently hit right around 40 HRs a year. I don't think he ever hit 50. He just basically hit 35-40 HRs a year for 20 years. Straw could have done that. Saying that he only played 8 full seasons is meaningless, because I was saying IF HE STAYED HEALTHY. No drugs, no injuries. Just played to the best of his ability.
I don't see how anything you said actually refutes that Straw could have potentially reached 700.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-16 11:17:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I think you're crazy if you think the Strawman could have made the 700 club. That's just crazy... You must be doing coke too! The man struck out 1352 times in 5418 at-bats! His career average was a meager .259! To be a true long-term power hitter, you have to have multiple threats, otherwise pitchers can just pitch around you and watch you chase balls in the dirt and over your head. That's why you look at the top homerun hitters of all time and see that they were the lifetime .300 hitters. They posed a compound threat. Usually they were good on the basepaths too... This reduced their walks and increased the number of good pitches they saw. Bonds is an exception here to some extent. They have decided to walk him now no matter what, but he is so juiced up now, who could blame them?
The Strawman's highest homerun total was 39, and he was injured and/or on coke so much of the time, he never played a full season. You wanna see somebody who should have done more than they did? Look at Hank Greenberg: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/stats_historical/mlb_individual_stats_player.jsp?playerID=115096
The man only played about 8 full seasons. He missed 3 years due to the war. He retired early, and yet he still hit 331 career homers, about the same # as Strawberry in 225 fewer at bats.
Submitted by congo (user info) at 2005-02-16 10:46:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I gotta disagree a little with Bart here. Rob Neyer has (in my mind successfully) argued that pitching is not watered down, and that there's more than enough talent to go around. I'm too lazy to find any links right now, and I think all his work is on the premium content section now anyway.
In fact, as homers have gone way up, strikeout pitchers have fluorished, too. K rates are higher than ever, partially because of a change in the philosophy of hitters. A lot more swinging from the heels, all-or-nothing. 50 years ago, it was shameful to strike out. Now players will happilly strike out 4 times a game if they can homer in that 5th at-bat.
I don't think baseball's any better or worse off today, overall, due to steroids. In the 50's, it was pretty common knowledge all the players were popping greenies before every game. These days it's steroids. Who knows what the next thing will be? There's always going to be something, and it's just part of the game, and it doesn't really bother me.
As far as natural, pure non-steroid power hitters, I truly believe that if Darryl Strawberry had managed to keep his nose clean, he'd be right up there around the 700 homer mark today.
Submitted by MickGinny (user info) at 2005-02-16 10:28:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Any business is susceptible to collapse, but baseball can never die. It means too much to too many people. Are you familiar with the frontier league?
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-16 10:20:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Yea Mick, but it's gotten to the point now that it's just reduced to greed. The LOWEST payed player in the MLB makes more money than the CEOs of most corporations.
Now the owners have to exploit the fans even more than before to recoup the wages they are paying their players... It's all passed to the fans. A working man can't take his wife and 2.5 kids to a game without dropping $300 anymore. It's just become unfeasible. It's being raped... And it will eventually collapse.
Submitted by MickGinny (user info) at 2005-02-16 10:03:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Baseball has always been a business full of greedy men, this is America after all. There was a time when the players seemed more innocent, but that is only because they were being exploited by the owners.
The year after the Mick won the triple crown Weiss offered him a 5k increase in his contract. .Through negotiations with the tight fisted Weiss he doubled his salary. The following year the Mick had something like 100 rbi's, thirty some homers in other words a great year, Weiss offered him a contract with a 10k cut in salary because he did not do better than his triple crown season.
Baseball is a business...the greatest business of all. If the players who ARE the game were not earning these outrageous salaries, the owners who do not earn it would get it.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-16 10:02:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Let's also remember, when talking about "packing stadiums", that Chicago is also a much bigger "tourist town" and "businessmen town" than St. Louis, but there is no denying that home runs help attract crowds.
That's why some old bastard used to say....
"Home run hitters eat steak and drive Cadillacs...Singles hitters eat Wheatina and take the bus."
The NHL kind of learned from this mantra years ago. IF you had a really shitty team- say, like the San Jose Sharks, circa 1994, and you knew you weren't gonna win many games, you loaded up your roster with goons. They cost less in salary and people love hockey fights.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-16 09:25:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Yea, Bart, you're absolutely right... But the irony, especailly for Cubs fans, is that to win, even with no power hitters and all fundamentals a-la Willie McGee, Ozzie Smith, and Vince Coleman, would be better at this point than trying to stack up on power and pack the stadium. Cubs fans will ALWAYS pack the stadium, win or lose. It's been the charm of the park and the loyalty of generations that keeps people coming back. Problem is now, we're going to start seeing even the hallowed brick walls of the pork tainted with fucking MasterCard and Pepsi billboards.
The loss of Sosa is the end of an era in Chicago. Maybe we'll build around a solid team now of scrappy, down-and-dirty ballplayers, and maybe we can manage to put it all together for just one season... Problem is, Jeromy Bernitz is NOT going to help us much in right. Sure it's a power position, and sure he will hit 30 homeruns, but at what cost??? He'll strike out 175 times too.
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2005-02-16 02:58:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
And fuck hockey. Hopefully this will be the end of that horrendous league.
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2005-02-16 02:57:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
In addition to the steroids, there's also been a lot of expansion and then the draw of being a power hitter is a lot stronger than being a pitcher. With a few obvious exceptions, pitching across the league is pretty weak. I'd guess it's because if you're an owner who wants to draw crowds, you'd rather have stronger faster hitters than more skilled pitchers, unless you actually think you can win, in which case you stack up on the pitchers.
If you think of the Cardinals the way they were in the late 80's, they were always pretty good, but it was with solid pitching and fundamentals without any power hitters. While that may be a good way to win ball games, it's not a good way to draw crowds.
Now on the other hand, look at the Cubs. They haven't won a championship in a hundred years and they've always gone after guys who swing at pitches over their heads like Sosa or Dunston. They sell out every single game. Obviously a good part of that is the location of the park, but I think the main thing is that people want to see guys hit home runs.
Submitted by Wallstreet (user info) at 2005-02-16 02:31:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Very good post.....
must have took a while to put together
Submitted by Joemama (user info) at 2005-02-16 02:12:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Please remember that Baseball was never innocent,
but you were........once
Submitted by ellsmall (user info) at 2005-02-16 01:01:26 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
fuck MLB, Japanese baseball - now there's a game
Submitted by Dead_0hi0_Sky (user info) at 2005-02-15 23:43:45 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
fuck baseball, what about Hockey!? the HOCKEY, man!
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-15 23:31:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Ran 2 A ball teams...Sales Director for a Triple A team...Orioles and Mets.
Made lots of friends and contacts...unfortunately, made little money.
Owned a summer league team with two other dudes in North Carolina for 5 years. Sold it in February of last year at a nice profit. Carolina Coastal League.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-15 23:14:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
So what did you do in baseball, Shlongy?
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-15 23:09:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Fuck...I'm 40-something years old and I still travel to see the fucking A's a couple of times a year.
Only now, it's with Mrs. Shlongy instead of "with the boys".
We drink the same amount- only difference is that i have to buy all the rounds.
It gets in your blood. Everytime I leave the "Business of Baseball"...I come back to it for a lot less money than I made in corporate America. It's like heroin. Or steroids, I guess.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-15 23:06:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Yea, it does. I will probably lose all my hair at some point because of the Chicago Cubs.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-15 23:00:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I think the best thing I can say about the game ETS, is, although I am sick to death about everything that you say here...
I have been in a Rotisserie League for pretty big cash with basically, the same 10 guys since 1985.
Every year for the past 6 years, since I moved down south, I have threatened to quit Rotisserie because I hate the game, in theory, that much. Fuck these steroid bloated, overpaid, lazy assholes.
You know I'm still in this league, right?
That's about all I can say. Baseball gets in your blood.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:56:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:44:16 (#)
Ranking: 1
I didn't bother to read it- I worked in the game for 4 years and already know it's a fucking mess- but a +1 for all those words about it.
-----------
Shlongy, I was actually interested to hear your take on it.
Submitted by Punam (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:54:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I just cried... and I don't even like baseball. Well done.
Submitted by GodLovesALittleLovin (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:53:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
good fucking point man.
I've become more disinterested over the years because the game just isn't fun to watch anymore. None of the players give a shit about the game or it's fans. They need to quit giving them so much money.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:52:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I sat in Fenway for a three game set probably 14 years ago...maybe further back...while the Red Sox fans sang a beautiful chorus of "STERRRRRRRR-oids.......STERRRRRRRR-oids" at Canseco during an A's-Sox series. He was out in right, between innings, flexing his muscles. No shit here.
I, of course, sitting in the stands, wearing a Canseco jersey at the time.
Good times!
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:47:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
it is a sad time for baseball...
...except for us red sox fans! <huge smile> nobody on the red sox EVEr took steroids, right?
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:47:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Ewwww...ETS did you in the ass? And you're admitting it in this forum? Yikes.
Submitted by youarsoghey (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:45:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Good anal, man. The ysis is alright.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:44:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I didn't bother to read it- I worked in the game for 4 years and already know it's a fucking mess- but a +1 for all those words about it.
Submitted by Tigre (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:37:08 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Well thought out and executed. The backup sourcing was good, and the picture was a nice touch. Bravo, as always.
Submitted by Demolocke (user info) at 2005-02-15 22:35:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I didn't read this but I got the general point. +2 for a couple of reasons. You did not include Griffey in your rant. He was, and always will be, the real deal. Then, the field of dreams picture put this post over the top.