2021 MLB Regular Season Thread

[govmentchedda]

I don't really watch baseball much anymore, but it sure seems like the best baseball season of my lifetime.

[sancarlos]

Yeah, I feel like no one is really appreciating this the way we should be.

I wonder if it is because he is Asian? What if he was a blonde guy from Oklahoma, like say, Mickey Mantle?

[Ryan]

I think it's because baseball is in the toilet, you guys

[EnochRoot]

I’m guessing that Babe Ruth was too much of a drunken lout to do what Ohtani’s doing now.

[sancarlos]

I’m guessing that Babe Ruth was too much of a drunken lout to do what Ohtani’s doing now.

We'll never know. He was a top pitcher in his day. The old-timers in the book, The Glory of Their Times, who played with and against Ruth were clearly in awe of him.

[Giff]

Yeah, I feel like no one is really appreciating this the way we should be.

I wonder if it is because he is Asian? What if he was a blonde guy from Oklahoma, like say, Mickey Mantle?

I think that's probably why. To clarify, I feel like the media is all over it and rightfully so. I mean more of the general public. Like I sent a text this morning to my group of buddies who are all diehard sports fans asking why we haven't talked about him.

[brian]

Any time you can sign a catcher for his age 40 season and pay him around $10M/year, you have to make that deal.

[EnochRoot]

Yeah, I feel like no one is really appreciating this the way we should be.

I wonder if it is because he is Asian? What if he was a blonde guy from Oklahoma, like say, Mickey Mantle?

I think that's probably why. To clarify, I feel like the media is all over it and rightfully so. I mean more of the general public. Like I sent a text this morning to my group of buddies who are all diehard sports fans asking why we haven't talked about him.

That’s a part of it..But he’s west coast, games start at 10-10:30 EST and the Angels fucking suck.

We should be talking about how Mike Trout is arguably the greatest baseball player of all time, but we (collectively) don’t.

[Giff]

Yeah, I feel like no one is really appreciating this the way we should be.

I wonder if it is because he is Asian? What if he was a blonde guy from Oklahoma, like say, Mickey Mantle?

I think that's probably why. To clarify, I feel like the media is all over it and rightfully so. I mean more of the general public. Like I sent a text this morning to my group of buddies who are all diehard sports fans asking why we haven't talked about him.

That’s a part of it..But he’s west coast, games start at 10-10:30 EST and the Angels fucking suck.


We should be talking about how Mike Trout is arguably the greatest baseball player of all time, but we (collectively) don’t.

Yeah, I should have said part of it. Your explanation makes a lot of sense. But I also think Trout doesn't do enough to market himself. He doesn't seem all that interested in it.

[L-Jam3]

Mr. Manfred, please remove yourself from Giff's Swamp account.

[brian]

Honestly, Trout's lack of self-promotion is a GOOD thing in my opinion. (And I realize Giff wasn't suggesting otherwise.)

It's just his personality, he's not the kind of guy to jump up and down and point two thumbs to the name on the back of his jersey or spend the entire offseason sucking up to the national media like Jeter or countless others. There's not really anything wrong with the latter either. Different strokes for different folks.

[Giff]

Yeah, no criticism at all.

[Steve of phpBB]

Yeah, I feel like no one is really appreciating this the way we should be.

I wonder if it is because he is Asian? What if he was a blonde guy from Oklahoma, like say, Mickey Mantle?

I think that's probably why. To clarify, I feel like the media is all over it and rightfully so. I mean more of the general public. Like I sent a text this morning to my group of buddies who are all diehard sports fans asking why we haven't talked about him.

That’s a part of it..But he’s west coast, games start at 10-10:30 EST and the Angels fucking suck.

We should be talking about how Mike Trout is arguably the greatest baseball player of all time, but we (collectively) don’t.

If Shohei played in New York or Boston, or maybe the Cubs if they were still good, he'd be getting a lot more coverage. Based on the Trout example, I think location is a bigger factor than race or ethnicity.

[Rush2112]

I don't pay that much attention to baseball, and especially not the Angels, but if they have arguably the best in the game in Trout, and another guy having a season for the ages is the rest of the roster glorified Little Leaguers?

As far as the media or fans going gaga for Otani and Trout, people didn't care about the Angels when they were really good.

[Giff]

I don't pay that much attention to baseball, and especially not the Angels, but if they have arguably the best in the game in Trout, and another guy having a season for the ages is the rest of the roster glorified Little Leaguers?

As far as the media or fans going gaga for Otani and Trout, people didn't care about the Angels when they were really good.

They just used 20 of their 20 picks on pitchers if that tells you anything.

[degenerasian]

They are 61-61 without Trout this year so that's respectable. I think dumping Pujols was key, that was a huge hole in the lineup and now Walsh is at first. Justin Upton is another guy they need to get rid of and I think next year they could be a treat.

[EnochRoot]

Honestly, Trout's lack of self-promotion is a GOOD thing in my opinion. (And I realize Giff wasn't suggesting otherwise.)

It's just his personality, he's not the kind of guy to jump up and down and point two thumbs to the name on the back of his jersey or spend the entire offseason sucking up to the national media like Jeter or countless others. There's not really anything wrong with the latter either. Different strokes for different folks.

Trout can be the silent "Golly, Gee!" guy, but if he were in a big city back East and into the MW it'd play huge.

Although Junior kicked doors down even when he was out in Seattle.

[brian]

Yeah, I feel like no one is really appreciating this the way we should be.

I wonder if it is because he is Asian? What if he was a blonde guy from Oklahoma, like say, Mickey Mantle?

I think that's probably why. To clarify, I feel like the media is all over it and rightfully so. I mean more of the general public. Like I sent a text this morning to my group of buddies who are all diehard sports fans asking why we haven't talked about him.

That’s a part of it..But he’s west coast, games start at 10-10:30 EST and the Angels fucking suck.

We should be talking about how Mike Trout is arguably the greatest baseball player of all time, but we (collectively) don’t.

If Shohei played in New York or Boston, or maybe the Cubs if they were still good, he'd be getting a lot more coverage. Based on the Trout example, I think location is a bigger factor than race or ethnicity.

Both Trout and Ohtani play in the second-largest media market in the United States. I get that there's a west coast issue because of three-quarters of the games starting around 10:30 p.m. in the East, but that really hasn't stopped guys like Griffey Jr, A-Rod, Kershaw, etc from getting a lot of attention in the past.

[Steve of phpBB]

Is the size of the LA market that relevant when it comes to coverage by national outlets? Though that brings up a question - is Shohei getting much attention in LA? More or less than Trout has?

(Where’s Keg when we need him?)

Griffey and A-Rod are good counterexamples though. Of course, if we’re relying on racism to explain Shohei getting less attention that he should, how does one explain those two?

A lot of this may just be the nature of the story. We’ve been hearing about Shohei as a two-way star for three years.

[A_B]

The angels erasing a 10-2 lead in the sixth is why those stupid don’t steal and other shit while being ahead by a bunch are horsepuckey.

[EnochRoot]

Is the size of the LA market that relevant when it comes to coverage by national outlets? Though that brings up a question - is Shohei getting much attention in LA? More or less than Trout has?

(Where’s Keg when we need him?)

Griffey and A-Rod are good counterexamples though. Of course, if we’re relying on racism to explain Shohei getting less attention that he should, how does one explain those two?

A lot of this may just be the nature of the story. We’ve been hearing about Shohei as a two-way star for three years.

The elephant in the room is that MLB was easier on the eyes mid 90s (post-strike). MLB juiced the ball and looked the other way as steroids plagued the sport.

[DSafetyGuy]

Is the size of the LA market that relevant when it comes to coverage by national outlets? Though that brings up a question - is Shohei getting much attention in LA? More or less than Trout has?

While I cannot speak to the current media situation in LA, in my time living out there, the only two professional teams in all of LA and Orange County that had a little more pull with the average sports fan above the "I'm a fan/go to games when they're good" level were the Dodgers and Lakers, and even those traditional winners didn't merit an unusually high level of interest when they weren't in the postseason hunt. The interest locally isn't there unless a team is really, really good and that usually trickles down to USC/UCLA, as well (although alumni and current students can skew attendance at games).

Throw in the sheer number of transplants there and most of the millions of people who live out there are not even fans of the LA/OC-based teams.

[L-Jam3]

Well, the Phillies just took a giant dump out in the desert, getting swept by the worst team in the National League. Way to go, dipshits.

[Steve of phpBB]

Is the size of the LA market that relevant when it comes to coverage by national outlets? Though that brings up a question - is Shohei getting much attention in LA? More or less than Trout has?

While I cannot speak to the current media situation in LA, in my time living out there, the only two professional teams in all of LA and Orange County that had a little more pull with the average sports fan above the "I'm a fan/go to games when they're good" level were the Dodgers and Lakers, and even those traditional winners didn't merit an unusually high level of interest when they weren't in the postseason hunt. The interest locally isn't there unless a team is really, really good and that usually trickles down to USC/UCLA, as well (although alumni and current students can skew attendance at games).

Throw in the sheer number of transplants there and most of the millions of people who live out there are not even fans of the LA/OC-based teams.

I’m curious about other people’s thoughts on this … the Angels have always struck me as a plasticky fake team. I’m not sure why. But it’s always been that way for me.

Which sucks because Salt Lake has been their AAA affiliate for twenty years, and I’ve tried several times to get into the Angels because of it but failed every time.

[sancarlos]

As DSG said, the lack of passion in the LA basin for teams not in the championship hunt is a factor. The joke up here in the Bay Area is that we have a rivalry with LA, but they aren’t aware of it.

[DSafetyGuy]

As DSG said, the lack of passion in the LA basin for teams not in the championship hunt is a factor. The joke up here in the Bay Area is that we have a rivalry with LA, but they aren’t aware of it.

I have been to Kings-Red Wings games where it was louder for Detroit goals than LA goals, but also went to one postseason game where it was about 90-10 Kings fans. Angels and Yankees or Red Sox is more visiting fans than home fans, save for the couple seasons around the Angels' WS win.

[degenerasian]

Yes, everyone in Toronto knows Montoyo is a moron.

[brian]

#500 for Cabrera.

Nice reception/reaction from the Toronto fans. You love to see that.

[degenerasian]

We may not see another #500 home run in awhile. Nelson Cruz maybe but if not him. Maybe Trout in 2030!

[degenerasian]

The Braves are now 7 games ahead of the Mets. Braves have won 13 in a row on the road.

The same Mets who traded their first round pick from last year for Javy Baez and Trevor Williams at the deadline.

[A_B]

We may not see another #500 home run in awhile. Nelson Cruz maybe but if not him. Maybe Trout in 2030!

Stanton maybe if he could stay healthy but yeah looks like trout is the best bet. Harper if trout can’t stay healthy.

[EnochRoot]

I’d say both Harper and Machado are locks should the NL implement the DH.

[Rush2112]

[mister d]

It would be dishonest to say the Dykstra trade wasn’t the (literal!) worst day of my life through age 10 but goddamn am I glad now that happened and I reacted how I did.

[serrano]

It would be dishonest to say the Dykstra trade wasn’t the (literal!) worst day of my life through age 10 but goddamn am I glad now that happened and I reacted how I did.

LOLMETS.

[mister d]

How do you see that happen and not make it a thing where they all meet in the middle in a fun way versus narcing the shit out of it?

[tennbengal]

Lindor vs the Mets fans seems like maybe something Lindor could have avoided.

[Reaper]

It would be dishonest to say the Dykstra trade wasn’t the (literal!) worst day of my life through age 10 but goddamn am I glad now that happened and I reacted how I did.

That was one of my happiest days. I moved to CF on my Little League team, wore #4 as often as I could, wanted to play just like him. My dad hated that he was my favorite player because he already knew how much of an asshole he was, but that didn't deter me then. I mean, I'm still glad I tried to tailor my game after him, but you couldn't have picked a worse role model.

[EnochRoot]

It would be dishonest to say the Dykstra trade wasn’t the (literal!) worst day of my life through age 10 but goddamn am I glad now that happened and I reacted how I did.

That was one of my happiest days. I moved to CF on my Little League team, wore #4 as often as I could, wanted to play just like him. My dad hated that he was my favorite player because he already knew how much of an asshole he was, but that didn't deter me then. I mean, I'm still glad I tried to tailor my game after him, but you couldn't have picked a worse role model.

I can tell you a story about Darren Daulton scraping the bottom of the barrel at a redneck bar in the Jupiter Farms area of Jupiter, FL that will make your eyes roll. Of course, don't ask me to tell it in detail, because I'd have to consult with a friend who is now anti-vax (the one living in Jupiter Farms). Long story short: he rolled in on a 3 day bender (speed & heroin cocktail) - he was basically through giving a fuck and was on his way out on his own terms (brain cancer).

"Do you guys want to party?"

"No, we're just having some drinks, thanks."

"Do you know who I am? I can get some really good shit."

"..."

"Seriously. Are you not hearing me!!"

[L-Jam3]

Lindor vs the Mets fans seems like maybe something Lindor could have avoided.

Booing your own fans. Gotta admit that’s original.