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A baseball discussion thread, 2025 spring training edition
Going to try something a little different, guess we'll see how it goes. Main thinking is just getting baseball discussion going. So, meaning not just talking about spring training and not even just about MLB - any baseball discussion what so ever.
Don't know baseball? Good place to ask :)
I figure a kind of more casual thread to get to know other fans here would be a good thing to have before the season starts - and people can just set it a single thread to ignore if they have no interest.
I'll leave some top level comments as starting points
So I'm not particularly a baseball fan, but my partner and I got Banana Ball tickets for April and I'm very excited to go :)
Nice! I'm jealous, have always wanted to go. I live pretty close to Savannah now, so I need to look into going to one on their home turf. Let us know how it goes!
I really wouldn't be surprised if in the next 1-2 years, they get a spring training game against a team
Who are your favorite MLB team(s)?
Go Twins! I'm looking forward to us having another couple months where we're the best team in baseball followed by the most absurd collapse in recent memory!
Watching any team in the AL Central is wild. What is going on in that division!?
People forget about us a bit, so we have to do what we can to stand out.
You're seeing what an entire division of small market teams looks like. Fun as hell baseball imo. Go Guards!
Yeah, the Twinkies have been so close to being so good for years now without being able to put it completely together. And still praying for Byron Buxton's body to hold up for a season. Dude will win an MVP if he can play a full season.
Man, I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and have been a White Sox fan my whole life, but the last few years with how bad they've just betrayed the fans in every way possible has me just not caring at the moment for them. There's hardly anyone on the team who's even likeable anymore. Been considering picking up a new team to root for in the interim until the White Sox front office can get their shit together.
Someone sell me on your favorite team!
I became a Mets fan because their announcers are the best in baseball. Even when the team is painful to watch, the announcers make it a great experience.
For as terrible as the White Sox have been, having Jason Benetti and Steven Stone in the booth made the games worth the watch, one of the best announcing duos in the bizz. When they let Benetti go to the Tigers last year it solidified my choice to not watch any games last year (very glad I didn't given how poor they played anyway). A great announcing pair can go a long way.
Met's are looking to be an exciting team to watch this year, I'll need to check out some games if the announcers are also a great pair!
I am so sorry. If you become a Twins fan, you only feel immense pain and suffering for half of the season instead of all of the season.
Ha! We can both sit in the corner at the end of the season wondering "How the hell did the Guardians pull off being so ridiculously good again with a bunch of players I have never heard of?"
Side note, despite the rivalry over the years, Johan Santana is one of my favorite pitchers of all time. It's a travesty that not only is he not in the hall, but he dropped off first ballot. He should be in the hall of fame and I will die on that hill.
Man I got into baseball in the 90s and it's crazy the fall from grace they've had since the late 2000s. Loved watching
ThomeThomas as a kid. Was also fun rooting for Jake Burger recently after getting him from ya'll...but no more lol.Since my favorite team is the Marlins, I'll sell you on a bottle of bourbon and company in the corner while we cry instead
Pick up the Brewers! We're close by and have an extremely promising group of young players. Chourio is the next face of the MLB if you ask me. William Contreras might be the league's best offensive catcher. Our pitching staff has taken some hits, but we're getting Brandon Woodruff back, plus we added Nestor Cortes who is entertaining to watch if anything else.
We've got Christian Yelich hopefully primed for a big year after his back surgery, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins in the outfield; the league's platinum glove winner in Brice Turang in the infield, alongside a (please, dear God) improved Rhys Hoskins at 1B.
Plus last year's NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy.
We didn't spend a lot this offseason, but we should still win the NL Central.
Whatever you do, don't root for the Cubs.
I find it funny that I have one comment telling me to root for the Cubs, and then another comment here telling me NOT to root for the Cubs.
One thing is for sure, I will root for every other team in the MLB before I root for the Cubs :)
Brewers could be a fun team to watch, especially if I can watch them beat the Cubs. Also having Nestor Cortes, I always found his occasional funny windup entertaining to watch.
Unfortunately Bob Uecker passed away, so radio broadcasts are gonna have a little less whimsy now, but Brian Anderson and Bill Schroeder are a seriously top tier broadcasting duo. (BA unfortunately only does about 50-60 games now as he's busy with his national broadcast duties, but Jeff Levering has been filling in well.)
But seriously, if you like good fundamental defense and a lot of contact on offense, Brewers are a great team to watch, even casually.
Good defense and high contact offense?? Sign me up! Maybe a hot take but I have hated the emergence of three true outcomes taking over as the primary hitting strategy for hitters. I know analytics say it gives you an advantage, but my god is it boring to watch. Nothing more annoying than watching people walking up to the plate and swinging and missing for 2.5-3 hours.
Brewers were really bad with the three true outcomes approach and it made the games hard to watch sometimes when our whole offense was bad at the same time. Last year they didn't really have any major black holes. They were about middle of the road in K% but second in the league in walks and I think 2nd or 3rd in SB. Just a lot of action all the time, it was great.
I love the fact one of the people responsible for it taking over baseball (Theo Epstein, after using sabermetrics to turn the Red Sox around) is then the one responsible for trying to make it not meta lol
And credit where credit is due, so far the rule changes like larger bases have been great for that. But still a longgg way to go.
Part of the problem is just how good pitching is now though. There is a MASSIVE difference in pitching talent to just a decade ago, let alone 2-3. They've been able to use technology to max out every arm.
I'm hoping they nerf pitching at some point (eg lower the mound? put it further back?) so that hitters can do something productive without selling out for a home run.
Rooting for the Cubs would be the ultimate expression of your feelings.
I'll chime in here as an admittedly fair-weather fan of the Guardians so it's funny to me to be yet another AL Central team mentioned. I followed Cleveland sports a lot more in the '90s growing up and mostly fell off later as I found other hobbies, but the at-the-time Indians were my favorite of the
threetwothree major teams and they're the ones I still check in on from time to time including through the end of last season.I've been considering trying to make them a more regular part of my summer this year as a sidebar to some other activity like video games, at least partially since I prefer the radio broadcast team and have no problem just listening to them.
This is a big reason why I love baseball so much - it's a background sport. It's got the micro aspect of batter vs pitcher if you actually want to give it focus, but its slow macro pace allows you to also just tune it out until it calls for attention. Which, yeah, makes it by far the best radio sport as well.
It's actually how I got an ex who hated sports into baseball - by telling her to think of it as just sitting outside on a nice day, drinking beer, and shooting the shit with each other.
I've been a lifelong Brewers fan -- got extremely invested in the early to mid 2010s and haven't let up. But I'm a big fan of the sport in general. My wife (who tolerates more than enjoys baseball) and I are on a mission to see a game in every stadium. So far:
I've also seen games at Comerica Park and Minute Maid Park (just not with my wife) and I've toured new Yankees Stadium. We have plans to visit PNC Park and Camden Yards this year. So far my personal favorite has been Coors, largely because of the absolutely gorgeous backdrop of the Rockies.
Yeah Coors is amazing. It's easily the best ballpark I've been to. Hell, I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the best place to go drinking in downtown Denver. It's actually hilarious from living there, because you have the hardcore baseball fans that hate the casual fans as the casual fans means the incompetent owners never have to worry about actually fielding a competitive team (as tickets will sell regardless of the team). And yeah, that backdrop. Colorado is just beautiful period.
I'm planning to do another trip living out of a van around the country - when I finally get around to it, I'm planning to combine it with an "all stadium tour" myself. Actually kind of crazy, out of stadiums still around I've only been to:
Fenway and Wrigley are definitely way up my list of wanting to see even if I don't do a full tour; saw the old Yankee stadium so not too worried about the new.
My wife's cousin had a connection so we got a free private tour of Coors + on field access during batting practice when the Brewers were in town, which is easily one of the coolest experiences of my life
My dad is a day-one Mets fan, and while I don't care for most sports teams I grew up rooting for (the Jets especially failed to keep any interest) I will hopefully always have my love for the Mets. They radiate some aura of fun; GKR is the best booth in the league, and I think even when they've become the kind of money team I'd usually hate I just can't hold it against them. They clawed their way out of the ditches of despair this last season, and I hope this one is half as interesting.
Like, I don't care if they wasted a ton of money on Polar Bear - Pete's an x-factor in the clubhouse. I'm hyped.
Hell they're the best booth in sports. I've honestly thought about becoming a Mets fan just because of them, but never made the plunge. But shit, first Tebow and now Alonso, I don't even need to change colors lol.
And I definitely respect that Cohen actually treats owning a baseball team like a baseball team instead of a company (though I don't have respect for him as a person...but that's pretty par for the course for what's needed to become an owner so meh). It'll be interesting to see if baseball cracks down on him, since it makes the other owners look bad (and god forbid baseball cracks down on them instead)
It was a big thing for me as a kid when we got to have a team here. I was finally getting to have a team of my own!
That team would be the Florida Marlins.
Unfortunately, while I love baseball, it has made me not be a fan of the MLB. I'm praying for the days where cities get to own the teams themselves, where revenue sharing allows for competitive play throughout. I do as little as I can to financially support the product; eg I get MLB.TV for free through someone with T-Mobile, try to go to minor league games over major league games, and have not been to a Marlins game since years before the new stadium opened (so that's coming up on two decades)
And unfortunately, why I do love baseball, I love the Florida Marlins more. Nothing more powerful than that childhood connection with a sports team. So I just don't plain watch that much period, and I guess part of this thread is hoping to be able to enjoy baseball vicariously through other people haha.
I do also vaguely root for the Los Angelos Dodgers - they became my second team when Gary Sheffield was traded there, and needless to say got VERY excited when they poached Andrew Friedman. But it aint the same, it just at least gives me something to root for in the post season. The New York Yankees are my family's team (dad's side spent summers in the bronx), so root for them as a third option.
I am a Jays fan and man the sentiment that Atkins should be fired is shared amongst most of us fans.
Not getting a deal done for Vlad this year is ridiculous. Anyways, the AL East is a brutal division and I am not looking forward to facing the Yankees, Bosox, or Orioles a lot this year.
Yeah the AL East is always a blood bath. I think the Blue Jays get shafted the most too, since they generally try to build teams the "right way" instead of through manipulating the cost/club controlled system like the Rays (and looks like the Orioles are doing with their lack of spending on their core) - which, then going against the pocket books of the Yankees and Red Soxs make it unfair.
It really is sad they haven't gotten Vlad locked up. I'm kinda hoping as baseball fans we'll start pushing back more after what Mavs fans have done to their organization (given, trading a basketball player makes a LOT more of an impact since the games flows through them)
One of the problems with the Jays in the AL East is they have a good core, but they don't have much going on in the farm. While Rogers can pay any contract they seemed to get played for bigger negotiations for other teams - like Shohei to LA, Soto to NY, etc. So this leaves them in a limbo between the O's/Rays, and Sox/Yanks type of team building.
The play now is if the team is not competing by the deadline, trade away Vlad and Bo and build a robust farm. But if they are winning you pay the man (Vlad).
I don't know about that. Vladdy's always been a tough one to figure out contract-wise. Just about the only path to a deal would have been locking him up ASAP when he was super young, but you don't really see those kinds of deals very often and he's always been the sort of guy to bet on himself.
Then he had his great year and suddenly his asking price went through the roof, and I don't think it came down during the two less successful seasons. And after last year they apparently offered him $400m and not only did he turn it down he said they weren't even close to making a deal when he reported to camp.
Jays fans are overreacting as if Vladdy is the second coming of Frank Thomas or Pujols, guys who had career OPS+ 30-40 points higher than Vlad at this age.
Yeah I've started to mull it around a lot. He's in a contract year and he has not had great back to back seasons yet so he'll really need to play this year to get what he's asking for.
You just see so much "we tried" from the front office without a lot of payoffs yet. Looking forward to the season regardless.
I love baseball with my whole heart. I will watch any game with joy-- from a middle school practice to winter ball to the World Series even if I don't love the teams. Actually I think lower level games are more fun. Before covid and my autoimmune crap we would go to our local AAA games all the time. I love the slowness everyone complains about, that you can enjoy the game and the people you are with at the same time.
I fell in love with the Astros as a kid in the 70's, sitting in a hospital waiting room as my sister fortunately did not die from an asthma attack. Those 70's jerseys were the most beautiful thing, to my preadolescent mind. I'm glad to say my sense of style has improved, but the baseball stuck. I was devoted to the Astros through all their crummy years until they broke my heart by winning. Cheating cheaters. It still hurts.
I love the Mets because of their announcers. I love the Dodgers because when I moved to this state, the AAA team was a Dodgers farm team, so we saw our kids here grow up to become Dodgers.. And everyone here is a Dodgers fan. I love the Orioles cbeause that's where I grew up, and the Nats because my mom loved them.
My mom was also a big baseball fan. She loved to tell the story of her mom getting her in to meet Mickey Mantle. She adopted the Nats and was able to see them win the World Series before she died. She was in a lot of pain at the end, but baseball was a constant, dependable joy. She would watch the games over and over, talk about the players like they were her nephews. I am so grateful to the game for giving her that respite.
Every year, my partner and I predict who we think will go to the world series. We have 20 years of predictions on this ratty old piece of paper stuck to the fridge. Winner gets noting but the warm feeling of being right. Usually at least one of our teams makes the post season at least, but each of us has only actually won a handful of times. Last year I won with the Dodgers. This year I think I may just go with my heart and pick the Mets, even though I'm sure they will be the Mets this year, like every other.
Play ball!
Great post. I agree with you about the slowness on baseball; I like to call it a "background sport" because how respectful it is to your attention. Like you said, big thing about baseball is enjoying the people with you at the same time.
If it's any solace in the cheating, they weren't the only ones...though I'm not sure if that makes things better or worse lol. It is very annoying to me how some fans latch onto the whole "winning championships is the only thing that matters!" I can only speak for what I would have been like in that situation, but it's not like it was just about the trash cans...the organization as a whole just kind of had that pompous attitude of whatever to win and we're the best (eg the guy bragging about getting the pitcher who was a domestic abuser). And again it's not just the Astros, that attitude permeates so many teams.
Completely different but it's why I hate when people are like "oh at least the Marlins have two championships", when they happened decades ago and I would have easily traded the first to keep the players I loved still around. It's better to have a team you can root for day in and day out than winning random championships. Go ask Royals fans too how they've enjoyed the last 40 years with their ring.
My mom was also a huge baseball fan and a huge Mickey Mantle fan to the point her favorite number is 7...so mine would be quite jealous haha. She always told me she wanted to have 9 boys so she could field her own baseball team, but got stuck with only me. It is great that baseball was able to give her joy during all of that.
Absolutely agree with you! I get really invested in players, which is why even though I'm mostly a Dodgers/Mets fan, I follow a bunch more teams to keep an eye on some of my favorite players. Also I've always kinda loved the Mets for keeping Wilmer Flores. https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/wilmer-flores-changed-baseball-history-by-crying
(Sorry to necrobump)
Thoughts on ABS (Automated Ball/Strike System) being test-driven during spring training this year? A quick summary:
My take: I'm neutral on whether they should use it. I haven't been wanting something like this (as a fan), but I wouldn't object if they put it into real MLB games. Personally, I like the variance introduced by human error. I also believe the umpires are neutral, and so the mistaken calls balance out.
I'll grant that the technology is cool, though, and I like how it takes very little time to present the computer's judgement. Often, the graphic is shown on TV while the umpire is announcing to the stadium "the batter has challenged the call".
Also: I really don't know how they expect to police the "dug out may not initiate challenge or tell player to do so". I mean, this is baseball, the sport with discrete, stealthy signs and signals. So, I don't expect that one rule to have much force in practice.
As good as MLB-level players are, the fact is, in the games I've watched, players aren't doing very well with these challenges. It feels like not more than a 50% success rate; probably significantly less. On the other hand, I guess a team isn't losing anything by challenging (compared to if there is no ABS in the game).
Naw necro bump it baby! That's the point
Coming from the opposite end - I'm pro a fully automated system (though do understand enjoying the variance), and I thought I wouldn't like it seemed like a half-assed measure. But I gotta say, it's flowed a lot better than I thought it would. Like you said, it's only a very small amount of time to get the judgement and it all figured out. Given I haven't seen a ST game and have only seen clips of the ABS system in action.
I also think the fact that players aren't doing very well helps show how valuable the umpires are - while I am pro a full ABS system, I also do think there is a vitriol problem towards umpires within the baseball fan community. And when players lose their shit, it just adds to their fuel for those fans. This helps really show just how talented umpires are and shuts the annoying players up.
And still having the benefit of making sure a call is correct in important moments, which is why I am pro-ABS. So while I was anti the idea in theory, in practice I think it actually is a good middle ground - you still have the human element from a macro level on the game in umpires, while still giving players some power in correcting a call.
Who are your favorite player(s)?
Jose "GOAT" Rameriz. He will have many statues in Cleveland upon his retirement.
It really is unfortunate how top heavy the AL has been with talent, because dude definitely deserves an MVP before he retires.
And just how lucky ya'll are to have him, always love to see a player leave money on the floor to stay where they're happy and try to bring that team to the top.
Do you follow any league outside of MLB? Eg NPB, KBO, College Baseball, etc
I love going to my local Vermont Lake Monsters games.
We're one of the regions that got shafted by minor league downsizing a couple years ago, but were fortunate enough to come out of that with a collegiate summer league team that is actually trying to win (and thus draw fans), instead of just being a low level development platform for guys who might some day play for (or be traded by) a parent club. It's really striking how much of a difference that makes for the viewing experience, despite the quality of play being another notch lower.
Yeah, there's no real reason to watch a game if it's not actually competitive. I'm here to see the game, not players being good - that's the bonus.
Sorry your area got shafted, I really do love minor league games. Just a nice way to spending a chill evening out. It looks like they're going to try to reduce it even more, which makes me sad. I'm happy to see minor league players get treated better, but the point was to reallocate resources from the owners pockets to players - not flat out delete teams so that there's less players to have to pay
EDIT: I definitely misread the prompt as "do you watch other sports", not "do you watch other baseball". I don't really watch other baseball, but I watch basically every sport in some regard. As far as other baseball leagues, I guess it's still MLB, but I've heard St Paul Saints games are fun (and cheap). I've been meaning to go for a few years now, I think I will this year.
Original comment:
Oh man, I watch almost any sport. Mostly I watch motorsport. I watch F1, Indycar, Nascar, IMSA, and WEC mainly, but I'll watch WRC, MotoGP, or any other series that happens to be on.
For traditional sports, I watch the NBA and WNBA obsessively, but I also follow NCAA basketball tournaments (I don't watch the regular season though), MLS, and I'll watch a few games here and there of premier league, NWSL, PWHL, NHL, etc. I'm kind of a sports fanatic.
MLB falls under the "I'll watch it when it's on and basketball/motorsports isn't" category and I'll usually go to a Twins game or two a year. I'll watch the playoffs when they're on, I just can't be bothered to keep up with everything in the regular season when that's when motorsport is on. I usually read /r/baseball though.