Posted on 04/16/2018 11:33:44 AM PDT by C19fan
It’s just April. Because this is baseball, that is an entirely reasonable explanation for the problem. And so, too, is the weather, the nasty, Mother Nature-must-be-pissed-at-someone sort of frigid that canceled half a dozen more games Sunday afternoon and is threatening to set records for postponements.
And yet one look at the numbers across Major League Baseball shows a grim landscape. Not in home runs (which are down) or strikeouts (which are up) but attendance. Which isn’t just down – it is down precipitously, enough that one league official expressed concern that this isn’t simply a manifestation of the weather but something deeper and more troublesome for the game.
“I’m worried,” he said. “The tanking scares me.”
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
Meanwhile the NBA is setting records for attendance.
It’s the weather. It could last for the season if people don’t get involved in following the season the first few months. JMHO
I still can’t believe that they didn’t at least do a retractable roof when they built the new stadium.
Try Jose Altuve’, or really, any of the Astros. They’re mostly a home-grown (from the farm system) team, with the exception of Reddick and Verlander. They’re all genuinely good guys, enjoy the game, and make it fun. Even the controversy with Gurriel in the World Series last year with Yu Darvish was overblown.
I’m with you - keep the umps, and let managers challenge a called ball/strike (that is then checked electronically), but only have so many per game.
There are 162 games, and you want them to cut the number of opponents DOWN? You need 25 games against each division team instead of 15? You need to make sure that the entire nation never gets to see half of the teams and half of the stars? You think THAT improves the sport and its popularity? SMH
Out standing observation!
More double-headers instead of early April games... Yes, in Boston it’s a tradition to have a Patriots Day game in April at Fenway, but Chris Sale yesterday said he didn’t have control on the baseball...(today’s game was postponed...)
In fairness to the planners, Target Field is as fine a place to play and watch a ball game as I have seen. I have't been to a lot of major league parks, but have been to a few and thoroughly enjoy watching a game at Target Field. I have sat in just about every section there is. I don't think they have a bad viewpoint.
The problem with retractable roofs is they add bazillions to the building costs. Since I have to help pay for it, I support the decision to have a traditional ball field. It's infinitely better than the Metrodome.
I just don't want to watch a game when I have to sit, literally, on several inches of snow. I s'pect the crowds will return when summer returns, even if not until 2019.
It’s mostly the weather. But let’s be honest - when a lot of people tuned out the NFL and NBA due to their anti-Trump politics, they found it surprisingly easy to keep on tuning out the other professional sports, too.
I’ve been a Rangers fan since they moved here from D.C.
Your comments made me curious, so I looked up the stats:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/rangatte.shtml
Get back to day games...
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The majority of adults work during the daytime. In the Spring and Fall games, kids are in school during daytime.
In areas like AZ and TX, the daytime temperatures during the Summer are often over 100*. Unless games are played in domes, the temps are brutal for the players and fans.
The Marlins are a Triple A team posing as a National League team...
Yes. The road to the World Series is through your own division and your own league. Play a balanced schedule within your own division and league. The strength of the teams you play outside of your league will impact your record. A team playing relatively weaker clubs in the other league has a distinct advantage. Inter-league play distorts the schedule and makes a balanced playing field impossible.
"You need 25 games against each division team instead of 15?"
Obviously not necessarily.
"You need to make sure that the entire nation never gets to see half of the teams and half of the stars?"
You left out "in person". MLB.tv broadcasts every game on the net. The entire nation gets to see every team, every game, every star, if they want to.
Half the teams? Inter-league play involves a handful of teams from the other league for each club, not all of them.
"You think THAT (ending inter-league play) improves the sport and its popularity?"
Absolutely.
Arizona has a retractable roof for the Diamond Backs.
Houston is on its second dome stadium.
Domed stadiums will also eliminate games cancelled due to rain.
“When you can see clearly that they are calling balls outside the strike zone strikes and balls inside balls then you start losing interest in the game.”
Since the first of the month, the SF Giants have had two umps bought by the other teams destroy SF rallies.
These ump bums kill rallies by calling strikes that are way outside the strike zone.
That forces the batters to try and protect themselves from pitches that should be just looked at. So they strike out, foul out or pop up for outs. That kill a rally by the team at bat.
Use the hi tech stuff to make strike calls and to eliminate bad umps and their bad calls. The home plate umps can then focus on making good calls on other actions. If they $crewup there, run instant replays. Eliminate the bad umps.
The answer is pretty obvious looking at the weather in the north.
And oh yes . . . put Milwaukee and Houston back where they belong!
But then again, I would also get rid of the DH. That's why I rarely watch AL games.
I won't watch an AL or an inter-league game. And I feel kinda funny watching a NL game with the Brewers in it.
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