Any Baseball Fans?

[rjklee]

Hello everyone, its early August and that means that baseball season is really heating up. The good clubs are separating themselves from the bad ones and the pennant hunts are in full swing. I live 30 minutes to the north of Detroit and I live for the Tigers during baseball season. Were a team that always spends in the top ten each year and under achieves on a regular basis but we still should not be taken lightly. We WILL be winning the AL Central this year and marching into the postseason behind the talents of Verlander and Cabrera. Even though football season is approaching I haven't been able to get myself as pumped up as I should be since I am still heavily wrapped up in baseball.

Anyone else on these forums a baseball fan? I'd love to hear where your from and how you feel about you team's season so far?

 

[Dante Sawyer]

I love my Rockies... I wish they'd finally live up to the hype though. We trade our so called ace and our best player is 38 (but hey, Helton is still a badass).
rjklee, I'd have to agree with you that your boys in Detroit are gonna win the AL Central. I wish I could say Mauer and the Twins would... but they've had a rough season. And as for your comment about not being able to get pumped up for football... dude I play football (and will probably be a captain this year t' boot) and I still think baseball is wayyyyy better. Football is overrated. Give me a ballcap and hotdog at a Rockies game and I'm sold.

 

[rjklee]

Dante, yeah baseball has always been the main love of my life. But here in Detroit when the Lions are preparing for a new season the whole city is whipped into a frenzy and its hard to not get revved up.

That Ubaldo trade was a big deal around here, since 90 percent of Detroit fans fell in love with him when they thought he was a possibility. He went to Cleveland where he probably isnt going to get any extra run support and we ended up with Doug Fister from Seattle. Can't complain though because although at times Ubaldo has ace-worthy stuff, Fister has proven to be a more consistent throughout the season. Plus we have him locked up through 2015 just like Verlander, Scherzer, and Porcello. The Tiger's pitching staff is young and shows unbelievable potential for the years to come.

Also as a Tigers fan I was disappointed to see that you wanted the Twinkies to win the Central, I hate all them with such a burning passion. Same goes for the Vikings and the Timberwolves!

 

[Dante Sawyer]

I hear what you're saying about football building up. Everyone won't shut up about Tim Tebow (overrated in my opinion).

And I also think you're right about Fister. I'd tend to take him over Ubaldo any day. You do probably have the best pitching staff in the AL Central if not in all of the AL... Still doesn't compare to the Giants or the Phils (who were just in town and my girlfriend got tickets to the whole series... got to see Hamels and Halladay!), but still very solid.

 

[Joe the Gnarled]

Sigh, I swore I was going to let this post go and not get involved. Now look at me. Hold on, let me go dig my soap box out of the closet. Ahh! Spiders. Ok, I am ready now.

I used to be a baseball player. I played from coach pitch all the way up to high school. It was a sport that I truly loved. I would watch the pros and dream of one day playing at that level. It was amazing to me that it was possible to get paid as much as they did to do something that I loved so much.

Then In 1995 the players decided to strike. All in the name of getting paid more… yes, MORE frekin money! They were doing something that I would gladly do for the rest of my life for free. After that I lost all interest in watching the pros play. I have tried to get back into watching, but my heart just isn’t there. I will still take my little girl to a game, or go with my friends, but I do not follow the standings, or watch the games like I used to.

Ok, I am done now. Oh, and for those of you who may, in the future, notice that I am an avid football (American style) fan remember that I did not love and play football the way I did baseball.

 

[rjklee]

I've heard alot of people share these same sentiments about the strike chasing them away from baseball. And yes most people would gladly play baseball for the rest of their lives if it was an option. But the sad truth is that 99 percent of the population aren't good enough at it to play at the professional level. I don't get how you can be mad at the players for striking to get MORE money. Would you rather that the owners take a bigger piece of the pie and let it trickle down through the family tree. The owners are only in it because they were wealthy to begin with, the players had to work hard and condition themselves to get where they are. I know that striking in pro sports is annoying for the fans, but it should at the very least be an equal partnership between both sides.

 

[Dante Sawyer]

Joe, you used to play baseball? Nice! I've been playing since I was like 7; ten years later, I'm the back up varsity catcher. I love baseball and I'm truly sorry to hear that the strike somewhat turned you off to it.

 

[Joe the Gnarled]

Rjklee,

In 1994 the average player made $1,154,486.00 (not adjusted for inflation), in 1996 the average player made 1,101,455 (again not adjusted for inflation).

In the 90’s (even by today’s standards) if a player played in the Major League, even for a single season he would make enough to be set for life (pending intelligent money management decisions). But the players decided they wanted more.
Note that the average player made more before the strike than after. It was not until 1997 that the average player made more than in 1994. The strike may have been beneficial for some star players, but it hurt more players than it helped.

The players walked out on 12 Aug 1994. The rest of the season was called off on Sept 14 of the same year. This canceled the rest of the season including the World Series. The strike may, as you stated above, have hurt the owners. I agree with you that the owners were making way more from the sport than they should have been. However, the strike helped the players many times less than it hurt the fans. I turned 15 that year, and as stated in my first post I loved the sport dearly. Most fans at the time, of all age groups, felt outraged that the players walked off in the middle of the season. They could have accomplished their goals during the off season just as easily without slapping us in the face.


Dante,

You play the one position I could not. I tried it once just messing around with my buddies. A short pitch popped up out of the dirt and almost broke my nose. I was a little gun shy after that. I was great in the outfield, pretty good at 2nd and 3rd, had power but not enough control as a pitcher, and was… meh at ss and 1st.

 

[Dante Sawyer]

Joe,
I'm impressed with the number of positions you did/could play! I'm a catcher because that's basically all I can do. I can't field a ground ball and, although I'm pretty fast, I can't play the outfield. Besides, playing catcher is overrated. You do so much work and rarely recieve credit.