Around Baseball 2020

[connorp]

This is an odd comparison. I don't see it at all.

 

Really? Chip on the shoulder for height thing... appear to think they’re better than they actually are.. same kind of Twitter stuff

[TheHurl]

Deck is stacked against mlb in this case. They’d have to spend/try 20x harder just to keep up

 

Agreed but in 40 years they have lost 3x their black players and 2.5x their black viewership. Maybe it was a plan to go after growing hispanic population but there is a strong possibility that there will be more asian players than African American soon enough

[Grant77]

I'll take that bet. Sto has a high value of his own worth.

 

Sounds like he accepted, just as I said. He may have rejected after a normal year, but his agent was smart to take the money.

[connorp]

Athletes with a chip on their shoulder and confidence. More news at 11.

 

I was height specific there:)

[metafour]

Well worded by the way about football finding them, that is true and a clear concise argument (much better than africans are not genetically made for baseball which is not true at all).

 

Uhm, what?

 

Literally no one said that they "aren't made for baseball". The claim, which is an obvious one, was that they don't have a MONOPOLY on the genetics required to become professional baseball players. In basketball and football, they absolutely do. The NBA and NFL aren't predominantly black because only black people want to play basketball and football - they are predominantly black because the fundamental nature of those two sports require physical tools that blacks of West African genetic origin just so happen to EXCEL at. Baseball is a significantly more mechanical game which means that brute "athleticism" is less important for success - it has far MORE variables. This makes it a considerably more egalitarian sport - which is why you see elite players of all genetic ethnicities in high quantities. More specifically, baseball is not a sport which enforces maximum importance on the lower body - hence Billy Hamilton can run in the outfield for days, but the fact that he can't hit makes him a role player.

 

Put it this way: if you trained Usain Bolt for a year or two, you could probably build him into at least a good NFL WR because his athleticism and explosiveness is a 1-1 match between sprinting and playing football. The same can NOT be said about giving him a bat and asking him to become an MLB player. Being an elite sprinter doesn't mean you can hit an MLB pitch. It doesn't mean that you can catch a football either, but that in itself isn't a particularly difficult thing to learn.

[connorp]

Even more of a reason to have a chip. What's the O/U on how many times they heard they were too small? It's probably in the hundreds.

 

Fair enough. It’s a legit chip.

[glory]

One issue with MLB marketing is that the sport itself is very regional. So Aaron Judge will be a big star in NY, but no where else. That is going to limit his endorsement potential on a national level. When MLB was more of a national sport, it was easier for someone like Griffey to play in Seattle and still be one of the biggest sports stars of the decade. Hell, Nike is still coming out with Griffey shoes in 2021. Now it is going to be harder for any baseball player to have that sort of reach. It doesn't help that MLB was very, very late to the party when it came to social media, so they likely lost a lot of potential fans in the last decade. They are just now being flexible and allowing content creators (Jomboy and others) to promote the sport on YouTube and Twitter without fear of being banned. The entire league needs a makeover in terms of how they promote their stars and the sport itself, and I don't think it's too late to fix it. They just have to take it seriously and not put all the onus on the players to promote themselves.

[saskjayfan]

Sounds like he accepted, just as I said. He may have rejected after a normal year, but his agent was smart to take the money.

 

Yeah, I was wrong. In hindsight especially with the new ownership it makes sense for him to take the QO, especially after not pitching last year.

[saskjayfan]

Agreed but in 40 years they have lost 3x their black players and 2.5x their black viewership. Maybe it was a plan to go after growing hispanic population but there is a strong possibility that there will be more asian players than African American soon enough

 

1980 was a different time. The NFL and the NBA certainly weren't anywhere near as popular as they are today and they weren't the marketing moguls they are today. I mean, Vince Ferragamo chose the CFL in 81 over the NFL because he got offered way more money. Baseball was America's past time. The options for kids entertainment in 1980 was completely different. Video games were for the rich and pong was the pinnacle of gaming! No internet, no computers. Baseball was way more accessible to kids in 1980 because so many kids played. It was far cheaper. 40 years later there's way more choice for kids entertainment hours at very affordable rates. Less kids play sports in general and a lot less kids play ball. This drives the costs up.

 

I don't really think "the black" viewership is important. I don't like defining people by the colour of their skin. We need to look at low income, middle income and high income earners and their participation in TV watching and in game attendance. The reality is ticket prices have driven the low income earnings out of stadiums. The romance has been lost. In 1980 going to a baseball game was a very reasonable priced family outing compared to going to the movies and other forms of entertainment. Black people statistically as a proportion of total population have far more low income earners. Baseball has lost this group because of rising choice of low cost entertainment options outside the sporting world, as well as increased competition within the sporting world and the rising costs in baseball have priced out some of this segment to some degree.

[Spanky__99]

Stroman's not dumb, lol.

 

[L54]

Fair enough. In the end this still comes down to how they market the game and he players, and how the game is perceived as not fun. The best african american athletes are seldom choosing baseball despite it having advantages in number of players, number of scholarships, signing bonuses. I don't think that concerned MLB. It may if the game continues to shrink rather than grow

 

Baseball does not have an advantage when it comes to number of scholarships. D1 baseball teams have less than 12 scholarships to hand out. Football is fully or nearly 1:1 scholarships per player and basketball isn't far behind that ratio.

 

Why then would a black kid who understands that he needs a scholarship to go to university pursue baseball over football or basketball? This massive gap in scholarships likely leads to more black kids playing basketball or football in university, not because it isn't fun.

 

Baseball will never have the demand of football or basketball at the national level, NCAA or professionally. The reality is D1 schools are reliant on football and basketball while baseball is closer to soccer in priority. An increase in scholarship allowance isn't going to just magically appear and without it baseball is never going to get kids to turn away from the NBA or the NFL.

[Carlos Danger]

Stroman's not dumb, lol.

 

 

@Stro: I became rich by being an astute Hedge fund manager. That means I want a return on my investment. You better be worth $18 million a year and don't get hurt, kiss ass! - Steve.

[Spanky__99]

@Stro: I became rich by being an astute Hedge fund manager. That means I want a return on my investment. You better be worth $18 million a year and don't get hurt, kiss ass! - Steve.

 

[Carlos Danger]

 

[glory]

Gausman has also accepted the QO. Not surprising.

[Brownie19]

Gausman has also accepted the QO. Not surprising.

 

He was lights out last year. He's always had a ton of arm talent. It will be interesting to see if he can put it all together as he has a chance to be a top of the rotation guy entering his age 30 season. It's crazy to think he was DFA'd last year.

[saskjayfan]

So how much does Kirby Yates get? Can't be that much. On a side note, I may have a problem. Every player with big injury risk that might come at a big discount seems appealing to me

[Orgfiller]

So how much does Kirby Yates get? Can't be that much. On a side note, I may have a problem. Every player with big injury risk that might come at a big discount seems appealing to me

 

You may have contracted Abom's disease. Nothing to worry about, but you'll always overvalue players immediately after they've had a significant injury.

[The Cats Ass]

Stroman's not dumb, lol.

 

 

If I were the Mets I’d abuse that arm like crazy next year after he did what he did this year.

[Laika]

Stroman's not dumb, lol.

 

 

I smell a huuuuuge extension

[saskjayfan]

If I were the Mets I’d abuse that arm like crazy next year after he did what he did this year.

 

What did he do? He opted out because of covid? If the players had just agreed to the deal the owners put forth, which was almost exactly what was implemented he would have got his service time. Instead he rehabbed and got his service time to be a free agent and opted out because of family members that were apparently higher risk for covid. I said before the season started anyone who opts out because of Covid is fine with me. That was a personal choice.

[Jays24]

What did he do? He opted out because of covid? If the players had just agreed to the deal the owners put forth, which was almost exactly what was implemented he would have got his service time. Instead he rehabbed and got his service time to be a free agent and opted out because of family members that were apparently higher risk for covid. I said before the season started anyone who opts out because of Covid is fine with me. That was a personal choice.

 

I thought he also had a serious injury that would have kept him out for most of the season anyways. Add covid to that and no one should blame him for opting out.

[G-Snarls]

AL Cy Young Bieber

 

NL Cy Young Bauer

[G-Snarls]

Bieber was unanimous 30/30 first place votes

 

Bauer had 27/30

 

(Ryu finished 3rd place even though one Toronto writer placed him 5th and one didn't vote for him at all)

Edited November 12, 2020 by G-Snarls

[Carlos Danger]

What did he do? He opted out because of covid? If the players had just agreed to the deal the owners put forth, which was almost exactly what was implemented he would have got his service time. Instead he rehabbed and got his service time to be a free agent and opted out because of family members that were apparently higher risk for covid. I said before the season started anyone who opts out because of Covid is fine with me. That was a personal choice.

 

Caveat, I am not a Stroman fan. However, I think he was injured worse then he let on, or was not getting the performance he wanted due to injury and he made a strategic decision to have teams offer the QA or go to FA based on what he was prior, then to pitch like s***/injury season and the have to go to FA. I think the Covid opt out was all BS to deflect from his injury/performance being a FA year.

Edited November 12, 2020 by Carlos Danger

[Laika]

Can't help but cringe at some of these woke thoughtpieces coming out about Trevor Bauer, work ethic, and race.

We like in a big, never-ending version of the Breakfast Club; people just see other people in "the simplest terms and most convenient definitions" based on the observer's station in life.

 

https://cupofcoffee.substack.com/p/cup-of-coffee-november-12-2020

 

What white reporters talk about when they talk about Trevor Bauer

Last night, after Bauer won his Cy Young, ESPN’s Jeff Passan — who has done multiple in-depth stories on Bauer in the past — tweeted this:

 

 

Jeff Passan

@JeffPassan

The first time I met Trevor Bauer was in November 2014 in a dingy warehouse in Puyallap, Wash. He was 24, believed he was going to be the best pitcher in the world and wanted to show that baseball isn't necessarily something you're born to do. You can train yourself to be great.

November 12th 2020

 

138 Retweets2,570 Likes

All respect to Passan, who is a great reporter, but this take gives me a massive case of the nopes.

 

Yes, Bauer took a while to bloom as a pro and he has made a big point of talking about workouts and training and all of that, but his story is way more complicated than that.

 

For starters, he was a heavily scouted high schooler who spent his youth going to elite baseball camps that only the super talented and privileged kids can really attend. He went on to star at UCLA, one of the best baseball programs in the country, and ended up being the third overall pick in the draft. He may not look like a Mr. Universe competitor, but he’s an extraordinarily physically gifted athlete who had been labeled a can’t-miss prospect from a very early age.

 

Except he did miss for a while. It took him years to bloom, primarily, because he had a difficult and often petulant personality and he had a well-known reputation for being hostile to coaching when he was with the Diamondbacks, which really complicates the whole “unlikely underdog product of a superior work ethic” narrative about him. Indeed, if his work ethic was better, there’s a chance it wouldn’t have taken him until he was 27 to truly break out.

 

This sort of thing isn’t new, though. Since the beginning of the sport, baseball reporters — most of us scrawny white dudes who washed out of organized sports not long after we got fuzz on our nethers — have lionized guys we perceive, falsely or otherwise, to be products of hard work, contrasting them with people who are perceived to be more physically gifted. The “scrappy” infielder or the “baseball rats.”

 

It’s all an exercise in projection, though, with the reporter likely bringing in subconscious personal baggage. Silly notions about how they themselves could be that guy if they had only worked a bit harder. It’s also an exercise in racism on some level or another. Reporters have historically discounted the physical gifts of white players and played up their brains and character while discounting the hard work, brains, and character of Black and Latino players, who are often referred to as “gifted” or “specimens.” The former group is often said to have “exceeded their limitations.” The latter is often criticized for having “wasted their natural talent.” It’s toxic garbage.

 

Oh, it’s also worth noting that the white players who get the “he’s a hard worker” treatment are the the guys who happen to give baseball reporters good access and plentiful interviews. That is no accident at all.

 

I’m not saying here that Passan is consciously trafficking in racist tropes. Nor am I saying that Bauer has not worked hard on his craft. I’m simply saying that characterizing Bauer in this way is lazy and misleading and that in doing so, it falls into something that looks a hell of a lot like some bad old business sports writing has attempted to slough off, and I’d wish Passan would think harder about it before perpetuating it like this.

[Carlos Danger]

Can't help but cringe at some of these woke thoughtpieces coming out about Trevor Bauer, work ethic, and race.

We like in a big, never-ending version of the Breakfast Club; people just see other people in "the simplest terms and most convenient definitions" based on the observer's station in life.

 

https://cupofcoffee.substack.com/p/cup-of-coffee-november-12-2020

 

This prevalent white guilt manifesting itself in everything these days is what is toxic....

[connorp]

In the predominantly black NBA, all you hear about with the good players is how hard they work. Even the most gifted players ever: Jordan, Kobe, LeBron- the prevailing narrative is how hard they work at it to be the best

 

Definitely white guilt here

[Spanky__99]

Bieber was unanimous 30/30 first place votes

 

Bauer had 27/30

 

(Ryu finished 3rd place even though one Toronto writer placed him 5th and one didn't vote for him at all)

 

lol... embarrassing.

[Spanky__99]

Can't help but cringe at some of these woke thoughtpieces coming out about Trevor Bauer, work ethic, and race.

We like in a big, never-ending version of the Breakfast Club; people just see other people in "the simplest terms and most convenient definitions" based on the observer's station in life.

 

https://cupofcoffee.substack.com/p/cup-of-coffee-november-12-2020

 

Wow...