Question for all you Major League Baseball fans.......

[Goat Holder]

First, know I'm one of the casual fans. If you aren't on the Braves roster, I probably don't know who the hell you are, save a few Yankees and Red Sox. Put it this way, I had no clue who this swolt up tattooed ex crackhead guy smashing HR's was the other night. I lost interest after the '94 strike, like alot of folks did. Even the McGwire/Sosa stuff couldn't get me back. Now, I still go to some games when I happen to be in a particular city, but I don't follow it, except the Braves, and they are pissing me off lately.

Then I watched the last couple of innings last night. There were some damn good plays made, obviously reflective of some damn good players active right now, and it almost seems like MLB is making a charge. I had noticed attendance was down somewhat, for sure it ATL, but it seemed that way everywhere. Baseball cards aren't popular, no name players atop the stat sheets, etc. Hell I couldn't even remember who won the World Series the past 5 years.

My question is, did MLB receive a big boost from the game last night? I, for one, am suddenly interested in MLB again, and can't really explain why. I admit I had been watching a little more Baseball Tonight this year than in years past.

 

[seshomoru]

My question is, did MLB receive a big boost from the game last night?

No. Any casual fan had probably turned that game off LONG before it ended. If there is a boost in MLB this year it's because teams like the Cubs and Red Sox are good with a "little guy" story like the Rays helping out.

Steroids have killed interest in MLB for a lot of people and it's the prime reason for the slacking interest in the game. The strike was 14 years ago. It's over and done with. MLB recovered from that already, and then failed itself with the steroid scandals. Not so much that there are players that are using, but that MLB has made such a farce of how it's handled the situation. And yes, I follow cycling despite the drug scandals, but I stick with it because they aren't aftraid to make you piss in a cup or take a blood sample after every damn race. And if you're caught... call us in two years. If MLB would grow a pair, start a real testing program, and hand out a year or two suspension for your first time caught, then some faith might be restored in the game.

 

[MSU Moral Victory]

but I'm by no means a stat guru. That said, I don't think it did much for the sport. The All-Star game was good (although I didn't see the end), and even though the winning league's home feild advantage rides on the victory, I just feel like to players don't care.

The Home Run Derby, like anything else on ESPN, was hard for me to watch. Chris Berman is an idiot and acted like every home run was a walk-off. It's the HOME RUN derby. Yes, Josh Hamilton's round 1 was amazing and the guy has a good story, but how many times can you mention the "crack-cocaine" and "he regrets every one of those tatoos." It made me sick. The guy has tats, get over it. He used to be a crack head. I know you told me five minutes ago.

 

[Spotdawg]

showed a 25% increase over last year's Home Run Derby. That is HUGE. I have yet to see the O/N for the All Star Game, but I would guess that there's a slight increase ...simply because of the Monday night lead-in. Interest from the average and less than average fan would make the difference.

Thought about it and then went looking in the InterWeb.....

Link: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3icd8c9a47d3159378805a19d41feafce3

 

[2thdoc44]

adding that the season is too long when trying to find a TV in my house without Spongebob on it. Most of it has to do with all of the other choices on TV and the internet as opposed to 10 years ago when I couldn't miss a baseball game that was on TV. Playoffs and wild card races are something that I can't miss but the regular season is slowly becoming as interesting as NBA regular season for me.

 

[Todd4State]

I think baseball has become one of those sports that you really have to see in person to appreciate. The atmosphere at the stadiums- especially places like St. Louis, Wrigley Field, New York, Boston rival any SEC football game. I don't think TV does it much justice, and then you have dolts like Tim McCarver, Joe Morgan, Berman and the nauseatingly nice Orel Hershiser doing the games, I can see why people would want to change the channel. Also, MLB needs to ditch TBS and go with someone like, oh I don't know ABC- should be convenient with ESPN. Let John Kruk analyze the games for ESPN with Jon Miller- I think if Kruk did, he would become the John Madden of baseball.

That said, you also have to consider the baseball culture of the South. We're supposedly in Braves territory, but we're also about the same distance from Dallas, Houston, and St. Louis and then you have a lot of people that pull for other teams like the Cubs, Giants, Yankees, Red Sox, and etc. We're just far enough from MLB that it's inconvenient to go to games, no matter who you pull for. So, as far as baseball, we have the minors, and college baseball. For people in the Mississippi, the baseball season really starts in Feb. and ends in June. There are probably several reasons for this: Proximity to MLB teams vs. college teams, popularity of college football, and weather among others. Minor league baseball is popular, and it's something to do, but it's hard for people to become die hard about the M-Braves because the players are leaving all the time.

As far as the steroids, there has been a lot less backlash from fans about that than there was the strike. I think that's because a lot of people have no idea who is telling the truth and who isn't in many cases. But baseball seems relatively healthy to me, overall. You have talented players that are marketable, they're fixing their steroid problem, you have brand new stadiums being built, and they have a system in place that allows for teams to be pretty competitive in terms of getting postseason bids. I think baseball has a great future as long as there is labor peace.

 

[SoxFan343]

Kruk would be a horrible analyst. Hershiser is the only guy on that entire network that tells me things I don't know or think about each time I watch a game. Kruk says painfully obvious things and makes dumb *** comments more than he says anything with substance. </p>

 

[Ford76]

...says painfully obvious things and makes dumb *** comments more that he says anything with substance.......like say the vastly overrated John Madden? Madden should stick to making video games. He is horrible. He shouldn't even be allowed in the booth for a Raycom broadcast.

 

[Todd4State]

his Mr. clean cut crap. I didn't like it when he was a player either, though.

Kruk would appeal to the "common fan" better.

To each his own.</p>

 

[hatfieldms]

Baseball is far and away my favorite pro sport. As a matter of fact it is the only sport that I prefer the pros over college. We have the baseball package and I spend pretty much every night of the summer watching the Yankees. With that being said the sport has been making a comeback for awhile now. The attendance record has been broken every year over the past few years and I would imagine the same will happen this year. There are a lot of good stories in baseball this year. The Marlins, Rays, Josh Hamilton are just a few. And as a Yankees fan I love how competitive the AL East is this season

 

[Frexzell]

From what I have read, the emphasis now in the "post-steroid era" (I'm not sure I totally buy that), is that teams are now looking for the all-around athletes, e.g., Jacoby Ellsbury, instead of just the long-ball hitters. The theory is that having quick, smaller guys, makes the game more exciting.

Is that the true reason? I don't know. I believe it may be a part that is helping the game become more exciting. In my opinion, the games do seem to be more exciting this year -- I don't know if that (lack of steroids) is the reason or not, though.

 

[Todd4State]

baseball has had periods where there was more of a premium on the running game followed by a period where home runs jump up and the small ball decreases.

The most exagerrated example was the Dead Ball era, followed by the Babe Ruth era.

Most recently, you had guys like Vince Coleman who were among the top players and guys stealing 100 bases a year in the 80's and that period was followed by McGwire, Sosa, Griffey, Jr., and Bonds launching 60 home runs a year in the 90's. Now that there is a steroid ban, I wouldn't be surprised to seea another climate shift.</p>

 

[gtowndawg]

MLB is the only sport that I like better than college. I love everything about it. Even my wife and now my 2 year old daughter likes going to baseball games and they couldn't care less about coming to a State football or basketball game. Just somethiing different about it......

BTW, I watched every pitch of the all-star game and recorded it as well.

Another btw....George Sherrill (the closer for Baltimore and the guy who piched 2 1/3 scoreless innings) and I played high school and legion ball together. Weird seeing someone you played with playing in the MLB all star game.</p>

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

and several broke 100. Now only two guys last year went over 51. Btw, I was a huge Vince Coleman fan. That sucked when the tarp ran over his leg.