Around Baseball 2019

[Spanky__99]

75 pitches, is his number, wow.

[Brownie19]

Hey Blue - you're strugglin'

[Spanky__99]

Hey Blue - you're strugglin'

 

Now that was a nice bunt.

[Spanky__99]

Pitcher's bunting is smart in the NL

[Spanky__99]

Bunting in general suxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Carlos Danger]

So if your team hits worse in the AL then the average NL pitcher, is it ok to bunt situationally?

[Brownie19]

kiki came to play.

[Abomination]

Smart stupid drunk fan, who dropped before security knocked him into next Thursday.

[Orgfiller]

Dennis Santana was ready to hit lol, guy took some big cuts and ended up with a scorcher to third, only to get robbed by Arenado.

[Abomination]

Poor Santana! Gets a rare opportunity to swing the bat, and then Arenado does THAT to him.

[43211234]

Great to see Trout having such a ridiculous start.

 

Hopefully he has some ludicrous 12 win season or something and finally gets the recognition he deserves from the mainstream.

[Orgfiller]

Great to see Trout having such a ridiculous start.

 

Hopefully he has some ludicrous 12 win season or something and finally gets the recognition he deserves from the mainstream.

 

At this point I'm just hoping the rest of the Angels are average enough so that Trout's 12 wins can sneak them into a playoff position.

[Spanky__99]

So if your team hits worse in the AL then the average NL pitcher, is it ok to bunt situationally?

 

Go lie down somewhere, preferably on tracks.

[The Cats Ass]

Maybe Chris Davis should try bunting for a hit, not getting any the conventional way. 0 for his last 44 at bats, stretching back to last season.

 

Closing in on the record...

 

Eugenio Velez, 2010-11: 0 for 46

Bill Bergen, 1909: 0 for 45

Dave Campbell, 1973: 0 for 45

Craig Counsell, 2011: 0 for 45

Chris Davis, 2018-19: 0 for 44

[Ray]

Mike Trout is not human.

 

.393/.581/1.000

1.581 OPS

5HR

11BB

3K

 

He's on a 19.4 fWAR pace.

[glory]

Mike Trout is not human.

 

.393/.581/1.000

1.581 OPS

5HR

11BB

3K

 

He's on a 19.4 fWAR pace.

 

Trout re-signing with the Angels royally F'ed over MLB. The greatest player of this generation and possibly ever will never get the mainstream pub he deserves and the sport needs.

[Krylian]

He's in California. In a suburb of Los Angeles. If MLB can't market him being in that market then that's on them.

[Abomination]

He's in California. In a suburb of Los Angeles. If MLB can't market him being in that market then that's on them.

 

Apparently Trout has said in the past he has no interest in being marketed, or trying to form or push his brand. MLB has been pushing for him to do more, but Trout refuses. I'm sure there's some more stuff MLB could do, but it also helps to have a willing participant.

[glory]

Yeah, Trout doesn't care about branding or being the face of the league. But if he was on the Yankees, or Dodgers, or Red Sox, etc, then he could be himself and a bigger star at the same time. Hard to market him on a mediocre irrelevant team that never makes the playoffs.

[onwego]

He's in California. In a suburb of Los Angeles. If MLB can't market him being in that market then that's on them.

 

 

What marketing do you see for baseballers?

 

besides chewing tobacco or Aqua Velva?

[TheHurl]

He's in California. In a suburb of Los Angeles. If MLB can't market him being in that market then that's on them.

 

It's not the Dodgers though.

 

Funny thing is that Trout is talked about so much (or at least as much as he should be) on MLB network and baseball specific shows. I've heard conversations of "what does he have to do in the next 10 years to be considered the greatest of all time". But on ESPN and multi sport platforms he doesn't seem to get in the conversation. With that said baseball players have never had mainstream name recognition as much. Even ARod and Jeter who have dated and married several huge celebrities are barely known by say my niece (who is 25 and despises sports but loves the Kardasians and TMZ). She knows Tom Brady and lots of NBA players but when I asked her to name a baseball player still playing she said Alomar. I just googled an article called "50 athletes who are loved by non-sports fans". Bob Uecker, Derek Jeter and Deion Sanders were the only baseball players on there (4 figure skaters made it), and Deion really can't count as 90% of non sports fans probably knew he played baseball.

[Krylian]

What marketing do you see for baseballers?

 

besides chewing tobacco or Aqua Velva?

 

There really isn't. Basketball is a star driven League. They market the s*** out of the individuals. Baseball is about the team more than anything. That's why I really don't think where Trout plays makes a difference. Even if he was on Boston or on the Yankees it would really just be about how good the teams are.

[Laika]

I think people complaining about MLB not properly marketing Mike Trout is a heck of a lot more annoying at this point than the fact that Mike Trout is not an international superstar.

[Jimcanuck]

Trump cancels deal for MLB to sign Cuban players.

[Ray]

Severino going in for another MRI tomorrow. His shoulder might be worse than originally thought.

 

He’s probably glad he signed that deal now.

[TheHurl]

ESPN details on the letter to MLB regarding their Cuban deal.

 

The Trump administration scuttled Major League Baseball's historic agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation, arguing that the sport's governing body is part of the Cuban government and that the agreement violates United States trade law.

 

In December, MLB and the MLB Players Association announced an agreement with the Cuban federation similar to those for players under contract to clubs in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- one the league believed would end the defection of players and erase the human trafficking of Cuban players that has become the standard as they attempt to join MLB.

 

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sent a letter to MLB on Friday that said "payments to the Cuban Baseball Federation are not authorized ... because a payment to the Cuban Baseball Federation is a payment to the Cuban government."

 

The letter, obtained by ESPN, underscored the reversal of an Obama-era policy that intended to soften relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

 

After announcing the agreement in December, blowback in Washington prompted MLB to outline in a 10-page letter its argument in favor of the agreement.

 

"The objective," MLB said, "is to end the dangerous trafficking of Cuban baseball players who desire to play professional baseball in the United States."

 

MLB requested a meeting with government officials, though no meeting was granted, sources told ESPN.

 

The letter to from OFAC to Major League Baseball came in the immediate aftermath of the Cuban federation releasing its first group of players able to sign contracts directly with MLB organizations, with the understanding that some could be playing in the U.S. this year. The players were eligible for signing bonuses, with the player receiving 100 percent of his signing bonus and the club giving the Cuban federation a release fee equivalent to 25 percent of the signing bonus.

 

The White House signaled its concern on Sunday when President Donald Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, tweeted "Cuba wants to use baseball players as economic pawns - selling their rights to Major League Baseball."

 

In a statement to ESPN, MLB said: "We stand by the goal of the agreement, which is to end the human trafficking of baseball players from Cuba."

 

Negotiations for the Cuba-MLB agreement date back to President Barack Obama's detente with Cuba. The deal was seen as an effort to eliminate the dangerous trafficking that had gone on for decades, which the MLB referenced in its letter to the Treasury and State departments, with Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu and Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes among those whose harrowing journeys were cited.

 

"For years, Major League Baseball has been seeking to end the trafficking of baseball players from Cuba by criminal organizations by creating a safe and legal alternative for those players to sign with major league clubs," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement Dec. 19 announcing the deal. "We believe that this agreement accomplishes that objective and will allow the next generation of Cuban players to pursue their dream without enduring many of the hardships experienced by current and former Cuban players who have played Major League Baseball."

 

At the time, opponents of the Cuban government pledged to try to overturn it. The Trump administration has accused Havana of providing military and intelligence support to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with Bolton saying on Twitter: "America's national pastime should not enable the Cuban regime's support for Maduro in Venezuela."

 

Without a deal, the longstanding policy of players seeking residence in a third country could return. If players establish residence in a third country, they can petition OFAC to receive a specific license that would allow them to play in the U.S. A number of players seeking transportation to a third country have been shepherded by smugglers with gang affiliations, and agents familiar with the Cuban-player market said the dangers that could have abated with the agreement will remain.

[o2cui2i]

He's in California. In a suburb of Los Angeles. If MLB can't market him being in that market then that's on them.

 

does MLB have marketing outside baseball other than the cover photo on console games?

[tbad]

Chris Davis ties hitless streak record... stay tuned for his next AB!

[Krylian]

Trump cancels deal for MLB to sign Cuban players.

 

That would be great... Cause it would only impact US teams.

[tbad]

Chris Davis ties hitless streak record... stay tuned for his next AB!

 

And new record... 0-47