r/baseball Umpire 16d ago

[General Discussion] Around the Horn - 8/13/21

So what's this thread for?

  • Discussion of yesterday's games
  • Excitement for today's games
  • General questions
  • Mildly interesting facts
  • Praising Santa šŸŽ…
  • Anything else worth sharing/asking that doesn't warrant its own post

For game threads, use the games schedule on the sidebar to navigate to the team you want a game thread for.

Featured posts and links

Day Feature
Sunday 8/8 Sunday Night Baseball Game Thread: White Sox vs Cubs at 7:08 PM EDT
Happy Birthday to Anthony Rizzo (1989)!
National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day
Monday 8/9 RBaseball Weekly Podcast - Episode 33: Field of Dreams Game Preview - Japan wins gold, Laureano suspended
r/baseball Power Rankings: Week 19
Happy Birthday to Hall of Famer Ted Simmons (1949)!
National Women's Day!
Tuesday 8/10 r/baseball Players of the Week
Happy Birthday to Hall of Famer Willie Wells (1904)!
National S’mores Day!
Wednesday 8/11 Happy Birthday to Pablo Sandoval (1986)!
National Son and Daughter Day!
Thursday 8/12 Division Discussion: The Easts
Happy Birthday to Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson (1880)!
National Vinyl Record Day!
Friday 8/13 Friday Compliment Thread
Happy Birthday to Jarrod Washburn (1974), and Jay Buhner (1964)!
National Blame Someone Else Day!
Saturday 8/14 We're not going to church today...
Happy Birthday to Juan Pierre (1977)!
Free Comic Book Day, and National Bowling Day!
13 Upvotes

2

u/overduebook San Francisco Giants 16d ago edited 16d ago

At the Giants game tonight and just spotted one of those perfect things you don’t get on the broadcast. Bryant is batting behind Slater, whose warm up is ā€œRosesā€ by Saint Jhn, and when Bryant warms up he is just swinging his bat around like a tshirt in a Petey Pablo song EXTRA fast to the beat.

Edit: as I typed this he hit a double so imma keep editing for each batter..

1

u/azulsquirrel Texas Rangers 16d ago

Are we gonna have LLWS game threads?

5

u/KamartyMcFlyweight Los Angeles Angels 16d ago

everybody come fucking watch this marlins game. 11 runs in the 2nd inning and Aguilar just hit another 2-run homer with no outs

6

u/BronxBombaz2 16d ago

My dad and I are going to a Yankees game next week, he probably won’t be around come playoff time next this year he has pretty bad cancer. I can’t wait to make some lasting memories next week.

7

u/SendixBunny Tampa Bay Rays 16d ago

People here talking about the Field of Dreams game being so great, I'm just glad that a group of murderous children didn't run out holding a scarecrow crucifix.

3

u/mizzousteve Kansas City Royals 16d ago

That was only for extra innings. Runner starting on second is a child of the corn

3

u/ThrowAway615348321 Los Angeles Angels 16d ago

Question about walk off hits. Suppose its a tie game with a runner on third and no outs. Lots of ways to score the runner with a hit or sac fly or sac bunt etc.

You put the ball in play and it goes down the foul line to the wall. The run scores while the hitter is still running to first base and the dugout empties and everybody is celebrating the walk off hit.

Is that hit basically always scored as a single since the game is over once the runner crosses home plate, or do the official scorers use their judgement to award the hit 1, 2, or 3 bases? Obviously wouldn't apply to a walkoff HR

4

u/scottydg San Francisco Giants 16d ago

Play stops at some point. Usually this point is somewhere between first and second on such hits, when the team mobs the runner, or he otherwise forfeits advancing to the next base after the winning run is scored. The batter is awarded a single in this case, since he only touched first. He must touch at least first base to cancel the force out, otherwise the out can be made there 5 minutes after the winning run scores and it will still be negated.

By the way, it absolutely applies to walk off homers. There's a reason players don't mob the batter-runner until he touches home plate, and why the ump makes sure he does (to the best of his ability in that mob), so the run officially counts.

1

u/ThrowAway615348321 Los Angeles Angels 16d ago

Why would the run be negated if the force out at first 5 minutes later doesn't end the inning? The run scores and there's one out, but the game is over, no?

2

u/scottydg San Francisco Giants 16d ago

5 minutes is a bit of an exaggeration, but for the play to officially stop, there has to no longer be a force at any base. Usually this is when the batter-runner touches first safely. If the run scores on a force play, before that play is actually made, the run doesn't count. You see this all the time with say, runner on third, 2 outs, ground ball to the third baseman, run crosses home plate, then the batter-runner is thrown out at first. Though technically this run crossed the plate before the out was officially recorded, it doesn't count because it was a force out to end the inning.

I guess this example depends on there being two outs (an assumption of mine), but either way, the batter has to touch first or be called out somehow. You could hit the ball, run around in circles while the run scores, get tagged out for the second out of the inning, and still win the game. That would be incredibly dumb, and you'd probably be benched for it.

The game is over when the run scores and the rest of the runners are accounted for.

2

u/[deleted] 16d ago edited 12h ago

[deleted]

3

u/Monk_Philosophy Los Angeles Dodgers 16d ago

There probably is something meaningful to distinguish but you would have to know the inner workings of the formulas which like no one does. It's not as simple as looking at the difference between a players wRC+ and their OPS+ to discern some key differences about why they might be rated differently since a lot more goes into each value and you'd need to probably watch them play as well unless you had access to the raw data.

As for OAA for infielders, the stat itself is so new I don't think anyone can really definitively say that yet and I've never heard it myself.

6

u/Monk_Philosophy Los Angeles Dodgers 16d ago

Should MLB have the Yanks and Sox redo the Field of Dreams game in case it was a big fluke?

No disrespect to the sox, I'm a firm believer that Chicago walking them off is a huge fluke and robs the Yanks of truly accomplishing what their capable of. I've spent the last few hours in pure disbelief and it just doesn't make sense to me. I've spent the entire regular season watching the Yanks play great baseball it's just not fair.

If the Yanks lose again I will face that the Sox deserved the win, but I am just 100% sure it was a fluke and does a big disservice to the Yanks and MLB.

5

u/CarrollPC Chicago White Sox 16d ago

Wouldn't it also be considered a fluke for the sox if an all star closer who only allowed 4 total earned runs in the previous month then gives up 4 in an inning and gets the loss?

4

u/Mathmage530 Washington Nationals 16d ago

It's a meme brother

12

u/ThisKidIsAlright Tampa Bay Rays 16d ago

Call MLB and tell them we want more CorncobTV!

2

u/2RINITY New York Yankees 16d ago

I'm not owned, I'm not owned

2

u/SeverHense 16d ago

Imagine Joe Buck as the voiceover narration for Coffin Flop.

2

u/surprisechickenugget New York Mets 16d ago

When you buy tickets on StubHub do the tickets show up as delivered/ready immediately (even if game day is not today)

I understand the barcodes dont show up in the Ballpark App 24 hours prior to first pitch but the tickets are still there.

Is it the same with stubhub tickets not appearing in either apps at all until 24 hrs of first pitch?

2

u/Jbaquero New York Yankees 16d ago

Is it the same with stubhub tickets not appearing in either apps at all until 24 hrs of first pitch?

Yes

1

u/pjblack31 Atlanta Braves 16d ago

What's your opinion on MLB Central? I love the show and it's part of my morning routine. I've found some fans that don't like it, what about you?

12

u/shadedmoonlight Milwaukee Brewers 16d ago

I sincerely wish that Nike would've left the swoosh off the uniforms last night.

7

u/surprisechickenugget New York Mets 16d ago

Meee tooo. It really ruined the clean vintage look

5

u/shadedmoonlight Milwaukee Brewers 16d ago

Ah, well. Too late now.

Other than that, I enjoyed the experience.

6

u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 16d ago edited 16d ago

The Yankees unis looked exactly the same, which is simultaneously awesome and a bummer at the same time.

3

u/surprisechickenugget New York Mets 16d ago

Hah that's what I thought, I guess high socks and no last names counts as some sort of difference right lol

4

u/Monk_Philosophy Los Angeles Dodgers 16d ago

The Yankees always play without last names cause it's too humanizing or something like beards are.

2

u/2RINITY New York Yankees 16d ago

I don't know what the reason behind it is, but I don't feel like adding names on the back of our jerseys would improve our uniforms aesthetically, so I'm good with never putting them there

1

u/MisterKap Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

I’ve been making a sports bucket list. So far I’ve got the following: go to a game at Wrigley and Fenway, Rose Bowl, March Madness game(s), Master’s, Winter Classic, Indy 500, World Cup, Super Bowl and Wimbledon.

What am I missing? NFL and NBA seem light or completely nonexistent

1

u/northerncal San Francisco Giants 16d ago

If you have the ability to travel internationally, would definitely recommend a "derby" game in soccer. The fan participation and experience is fast beyond what's normal in the USA. Some of the most famous include:

The Argentinian Superclasico

A crazy atmosphere in Serbia

Dortmund is supposed to be a fantastic atmosphere

& here's their top 10 list

2

u/Monk_Philosophy Los Angeles Dodgers 16d ago

Go to an NPB game, preferably a big rivalry game.

2

u/MisterKap Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

Oh, that’s a good one! I’ve always wanted to, they seem like so much fun

2

u/Monk_Philosophy Los Angeles Dodgers 16d ago

Yeah the crowd participation in NPB games just seems like it's on another level compared to MLB.

1

u/Michael__Pemulis Major League Baseball 16d ago

A Formula 1 race sure seems like it would be cool.

1

u/MisterKap Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

Which one though

1

u/Michael__Pemulis Major League Baseball 16d ago

I mean Monaco would be the ā€˜bucket list’ answer no doubt but honestly any seems like a worthy spectacle.

1

u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

OOH OOH

Boxing match at Madison Square Garden. Preferably a tile bout but those are usually in Vegas because taxes.

2

u/Hairygrim Houston Astros 16d ago

Maybe a big football derby like Celtic/Rangers or Barcelona/Real?

2

u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

Throw Lambeau field in there, maybe Daytona for auto racing. For NBA I’d say a Lakers vs Celtics game.

1

u/MisterKap Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

Solid suggestions. I can’t believe I forget Lambeau and Daytona

1

u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

If you do get to Lambeau make sure to visit the Packers hall of fame, supposed to be almost as good as Canton

1

u/goforth1457 Los Angeles Dodgers 16d ago

Question: what is the state of baseball in the US? It seems like football has become more popular, but I feel like that would be a bit of a shame considering baseball really is America's national sport. Is baseball still strong going strong with the youth?

3

u/MisterKap Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

Football is king for a few reasons. It’s more popular than baseball, there isn’t much of a discussion. That being said I don’t have the numbers offhand but if I recall correctly baseball is healthy in terms of youth participation, which is good. I think a lot of fans of baseball played at one level or another. A lot of football fans never stepped foot on the gridiron.

10

u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

I suspect that football will decline given all the head injury issues. I think it might end up like boxing, a peripheral major sport. If I have a son I probably wouldn’t let him play football.

1

u/2RINITY New York Yankees 16d ago

Yeah, I feel like football is gonna slide down the hierarchy of America's big team sports while basketball takes over as the new #1

3

u/MisterKap Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

Very well could happen. I feel the same if I had a son. Although it is so big and popular that it’s hard to see a significant fallout

6

u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

You could have said the same of boxing as early as late 1980s.

2

u/MisterKap Cincinnati Reds 16d ago edited 16d ago

Fair, I was not alive then so I cant say anything in good faith, but the NFL is a large part of sports media throughout the year. It’s insanely popular and a money maker

5

u/Monk_Philosophy Los Angeles Dodgers 16d ago

2

u/Dinoswarleaf Milwaukee Brewers 16d ago

tfw you lose half our value and are still better than 95%+ of the league

2

u/Monk_Philosophy Los Angeles Dodgers 16d ago

bit more than half, he's at 7.4 on the season again

2

u/SehrGeileFritten 16d ago

What's the comment to change your flair?

9

u/Iamoninternet Houston Astros 16d ago edited 16d ago

Today's games by PLIMP. PLIMP estimates the impact a regular season game will have on which 10 teams make the postseason. It does not measure a game's impact on playoff seeding. See here for an explanation. Teams who would be in the playoffs if the season ended today are bolded:

Rank Away @ Home PLIMP PLIMP 0-100 Time (ET)
1 CIN @ PHI 187.4 47 19:05
2 LAD @ NYM 121.0 30 19:10
3 ATL @ WAS 77.9 19 19:05
4 BAL @ BOS 60.2 15 19:10
5 TOR @ SEA 57.8 14 22:10
6 OAK @ TEX 55.0 14 20:05
7 SF @ COL 50.9 13 21:45
8 SD @ ARI 39.4 10 21:40
9 TB @ MIN 32.2 8 20:10
10 HOU @ LAA 28.0 7 21:38
11 MIL @ PIT 11.4 3 19:05
12 STL @ KC 7.2 2 20:10
13 CLE @ DET 4.1 1 19:10
13 CHI @ MIA 4.1 1 19:10

Link to 538's "postseason chances" page


Hot Teams Last 10 Cold Teams Last 10
OAK 8-2 BAL 1-9
PHI 8-2 CHI 1-9
SF 8-2 PIT 1-9
ATL 7-3 WAS 1-9
DET 7-3 TEX 2-8
LAD 7-3 ARI 3-7
MIL 7-3 BOS 3-7
NYY 7-3 CLE 3-7
TB 7-3
TOR 7-3

2

u/Dinoswarleaf Milwaukee Brewers 16d ago

yesss PLIMP is back

1

u/Guard226Duck Milwaukee Brewers 16d ago

Our game doesn’t matter :(

1

u/KamartyMcFlyweight Los Angeles Angels 16d ago

haha plimp is a funny word

4 of the plimpest six are in the NL East, I suppose given how close the standings there are ever since the Mets metsed up. It's interesting that TOR-SEA is the plimpest matchup between wildcard contenders rather than division rivals

11

u/LilyWhiteClaw Chicago White Sox 16d ago

People might disagree but I think the Sox should play in the Field of Dreams game every year. Yes, its a baseball movie, but its also a White Sox movie. I'll be disappointed if we're not in it next year

10

u/spacewalk__ Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

Totally agree. Like having WSH/DAL/DET always play on Thanksgiving

if the fine people of Iowa are gonna get blacked out of like 5 MLB teams' seasons, they deserve at least one semi-home game a year

3

u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

How about a Field of Dreams weekend? 3 games. 6 teams. Friday- Sunday

2

u/yukyakyuk 16d ago

Is there benefits of finishing the season around .500? Like it's either you go big to get to post season or lose big and get good draft pick next season. But being a .500 team? I can't think of anything?

3

u/spacewalk__ Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

it is definitely the worst way to finish. you keep getting strung along with hope that you're not terrible, but you still don't make the playoffs, nor can you totally check out, like 'oh we're shit this year'

2

u/yukyakyuk 16d ago

How about monetary benefits where you finish?

Is there good draft players next year? Cause looking at it there are some teams trying really hard to get that1st pick for next year draft.

5

u/Alexissanchize San Francisco Giants 16d ago

Well if you are on that team you can tell yourself that 1 or 2 more pieces and your team will be competing next year

0

u/Sirotto18 New York Yankees 16d ago

Last night sucked, but I know with Nestor and Heaney we probably were looking at going 1-2 this series against a 1st place team anyways.

Just go 6-2 or 5-3 next week and it’s fine

5

u/Furiosa27 New York Yankees 16d ago

I’m not big into conspiracies but all I’m saying is there’s no way the MLB was gonna let the Field of Dreams be a 1-0 pitching duel

3

u/notyouravgredditor New York Yankees 16d ago

You mean Gardner hasn't been hitting laser beams out of the park all year?

2

u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

If they juiced the balls I wouldn’t care

4

u/LilyWhiteClaw Chicago White Sox 16d ago

It was the Corn Sweat

8

u/zinger565 Milwaukee Brewers 16d ago

I think MLB might have pulled yet another sneaky success by scheduling the Field of Dreams game last night. There's no day games today. So all the baseball media will still be discussing last night's game until tonight. It's like an extra 7 hours of focus on the game.

3

u/buzzer3932 Chicago Cubs 16d ago

In Euro football every team plays each team at home one time, so local fans want to have that game actually be at home. Plus it is one game per weekend.

In baseball, there are 81 home games, from 3 to 9 days in a row, against many teams repeatedly, that one game on a Thursday night isn’t a big deal. These two teams play again Saturday in the home stadium, so not a huge loss (even though it is the Yankees).

13

u/greatwalrus Chicago Cubs 16d ago

Just a quick question I've been confused about the last few games:

What is this "pitching" thing that people are talking about? You guys make it sound like it's a way to stop the other team from scoring runs, but that can't be right because the Cubs aren't doing that at all.

7

u/yes_its_him Detroit Tigers 16d ago

Did you try asking an Angels fan?

1

u/KamartyMcFlyweight Los Angeles Angels 16d ago

not sure if you're aware but it's actually illegal to say this after an Ohtani start

6

u/greatwalrus Chicago Cubs 16d ago

No joke, the Angels are my AL team.

send help

7

u/MacsDildoBike Atlanta Braves 16d ago

There was no other way for that game to end last night, it was perfect.

7

u/[deleted] 16d ago

Off the back of the field of dreams game.

Sandlot game

Wish teams would play games at their minor league stadiums.

1

u/14thAndVine Houston Astros 16d ago

I would love to see the Tigers play in Toledo

1

u/Monk_Philosophy Los Angeles Dodgers 16d ago

So it would be in a suburban neighborhood in the Valley? I can dig it

1

u/[deleted] 16d ago

Bricktown Ballpark in OKC baby!

4

u/doucheachu Toronto Blue Jays 16d ago

The Dunedin Buffalo Toronto Blue Jays have entered the chat

2

u/Victory_Trot_48 16d ago

Sandlot game needs a beast race for authenticity

2

u/joethecrow23 Cincinnati Reds 16d ago

Fernando Tatis Jr racing a mastiff in a dog show agility course would be neat

1

u/paroles Toronto Blue Jays 16d ago

I've never even seen Field of Dreams but I loved the Iowa game! Hope it becomes a regular tradition.

Can somebody explain the gesture that Tim Anderson was doing as he ran the bases after hitting the walkoff home run? Is it some American/youth thing that I'm too old and Australian to get?

10

u/beardbruh Chicago White Sox 16d ago

I think he was just saying ā€œit’s overā€ and making a ā€œcutā€ gesture. Basically meaning let’s get out, we’re finished

6

u/MCHammastix San Francisco Giants 16d ago

That's what it looked like to me. I loved it. I love Tim Anderson highlights.

I was very happy with the result last night.

5

u/HailState17 Atlanta Braves 16d ago

I highly recommend watching Field of Dreams. I think it’s $3 or $4 to rent on Amazon. I see the Toronto flair, not sure if you’re in Canada or not, but I’m sure it’s streaming somewhere. It’s a great movie, i watch it with my sons the weekend before opening day. It’s become a weird, but wholesome tradition.

No idea about the Tim Anderson thing. Every player seems to have their ā€œthingā€ when they round the bases after a homer.

1

u/paroles Toronto Blue Jays 16d ago

Yeah, I'm in Australia but I do see a few options to rent it. It's definitely on my list to watch soon after this!

2

u/bluecifer7 Colorado Rockies 16d ago

It’s also free with ads on peacock.

Source: watched it last night after the game lol

4

u/QuizzicalUpnod Hanshin Tigers 16d ago

I have a question about the field of dreams game especially for White Sox fans. I'm coming at this with a European football perspective where these is always this worry that owners want to take games out of the cities they're meant to be played in away from local fans and do them elsewhere to make more money/attract sponsors & the like.

Were there any complaints along these lines for this or does the sheer amount of games/execution excuse it more? Also you're losing home field advantage which is more minor but still.

6

u/sullivanandgilbert 16d ago

It didn’t bother me and I was happy the Sox were chosen for the game. In baseball there are 81 home games so one being moved out of the home stadium doesn’t matter as much.

12

u/DonRicardo1958 Chicago White Sox 16d ago

The players on both teams were excited as hell to be playing in Iowa last night.

10

u/SamuraiHelmet 16d ago

For the most part, teams will make the most money playing games at home. Maybe if a small market team got the gate receipts for being the "home team" in a large market stadium, but the large market team would never agree to that. And one of the limiting factors of baseball (and baseball expansion) is that MLB caliber facilities are quite limited. When the Blue Jays couldn't use their stadium in Canada, they had to sink a decent chunk of change into upgrading Dunedin because there really isn't a 31st stadium.

My baseless guess is that the Field of Dreams game pulled less or similar money to an exhibition game somewhere else. On one hand, you can jack ticket prices and concessions up without losing fans, but on the other hand, it's still in Iowa and the crowd size is limited. And it's very much novelty driven; if there was a Field of Dreams game every month, or probably even every season, the demand would drop.

4

u/MCHammastix San Francisco Giants 16d ago

Like how the NHL completely prostituted The Winter Classic. It should just be one game a season somewhere cold.

Field of Dreams game(s) should be once a year and you just rotate which teams it will be so everyone can enjoy their team playing at some point.

2

u/bluecifer7 Colorado Rockies 16d ago edited 16d ago

I honestly think it should just be a White Sox home game. Rotating both teams kinda ruins the nostalgic appeal a little.

Watching a Field of Dreams game where the teams aren’t in the original movie is just lame. Especially if they’re expansion teams in faux old times jerseys. Imagine a Marlins-Rays game or something, that would feel like such a cash grab that forgets the whole premise.

If I remember correctly, the teams in the movie are:

  • White Sox
  • Yankees
  • Reds
  • Giants
  • Cardinals
  • Red Sox
  • Dodgers
  • A’s

6

u/SamuraiHelmet 16d ago

I'll take the bold position and say that it shouldn't be every season. Maybe every season has a "media exhibition game", and one year is Sandlot or Bull Durham or The Natural or Homer at the Bat, but you really can't have more than one media game a year, and locking it into Field of Dreams is gonna make less and less sense the more inured fans become and the older the Field of Dreams generation becomes.

Are we still gonna be hyped for Field of Dreams games in 10 year? 20? I doubt it. You gotta mix it up.

3

u/MCHammastix San Francisco Giants 16d ago

Mixing it up will definitely give it longevity. That's a great idea.

1

u/bigbluemonkey 16d ago

I mean they do the little league World Series game every year, right? That’s similar to the field of dreams game

4

u/[deleted] 16d ago

I love Friday baseball. My Reds taking on the Phillies tonight. I do enjoy the NL Central but I wish I could Swap the Pirates with the Phillies.

And I was up late watching the Field of Dreams game. I enjoyed it. The field looked really good. Would love to see this every year. But the Sox have to be in it every year. Maybe have them play the Reds? Redo the 1918 World Series :)

9

u/satavvibes Chicago White Sox 16d ago

Well, I still can't breathe lol

4

u/Peasanter 16d ago

Kimbrel should definitely be closing for the Sox now

13

u/doucheachu Toronto Blue Jays 16d ago

Hugh Duffy, who was 5-foot-7 and weighed about 150 pounds, hit .431 in the New England League in 1887, and was purchased by the Chicago Cubs, then known as the White Stockings, the Colts, or the White Colts. He reported to Cap Anson in March, 1888. ā€œWe’ve got a bat boy,ā€ Anson said. ā€œI’m your new outfielder. I’m on your salary list,ā€ said Duffy. ā€œWhere’s the rest of you?ā€ Anson demanded. ā€œI’m all here,ā€ Duffy replied, doing the best he could.

  • New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract Ch. 21

15

u/zaikanekochan Chicago Cubs 16d ago

This is kind of stupid, but I was thinking about the Field of Dreams Game being a recurring thing and if they would rotate crops or not. Beans wouldn't be nearly as cool, but running corn year after year would be bad for the soil. Maybe every third year they could do sunflowers, but that might just be weird.

2

u/FMonk Chicago White Sox 16d ago

The movie set field has existed for a while and been a tourist attraction, so I assume they've been planting only corn around the field area for quite a while. There's probably a bigger focus on the aesthetics of the field and the immediate surrounding area than the quality of the soil.

6

u/pepperouchau Milwaukee Brewers 16d ago

Maybe every third year they could do sunflowers, but that might just be weird.

Kansas would be hyped tho

8

u/Michael__Pemulis Major League Baseball 16d ago

Amen. End monocropping.

7

u/MCHammastix San Francisco Giants 16d ago

During pregame they said all of the corn was hand-planted for aesthetic purposes and the corn behind the outfield was all planted on dirt put there to give the illusion of hills.

They can replant corn every year for strategic purposes.

6

u/JTCMuehlenkamp St. Louis Cardinals 16d ago

They could always just replant the field in winter wheat after they harvest the corn. That way it's not just corn after corn after corn after corn and so on.

6

u/BoosherCacow Cleveland Indians 16d ago

I'm not saying you can't do that but the farms I worked on seriously looked askance at doing this for reasons of funguses. I only even saw soy after corn but I can't articulate why it is like that

5

u/disbeezy San Francisco Giants 16d ago

well soy has that symbiotic relationship with nitrogen enriching bacteria that can help add nutrients to the soil, and wheat and corn are both grasses so they might both be susceptible to the same fungal diseases, unlike soy. IDK I'm just stoked to see people talking about crop rotation and soil health on r/baseball lol

3

u/techzero St. Louis Cardinals 16d ago

You reminded me of this long article written on our SB Nation site on why the Cards should have sold in 2016, and the analogy was based on Crop Rotation:

https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2016/7/13/12170712/crop-rotation

3

u/zaikanekochan Chicago Cubs 16d ago

That's not a bad idea, really. Or I guess they could cover crop it, as well. Also, you know how there's flyovers for major sporting events? They should totally have a crop duster next time.

12

u/BoosherCacow Cleveland Indians 16d ago

If they grow anything other than corn that owner's brother in law is gonna go apeshit and make the bank foreclose on the property

edit: and to answer your question if they were concerned purely with crop yield they would likely rotate it with soybeans, but I can't think or believe they would even think about doing that. That isn't a working farm as much as it is a tourism destination. I have lived and worked on farms and they aren't really lucrative. The cash from this and the tourism smokes the money from the corn I am sure

17

u/the_seed Detroit Tigers 16d ago

Saw someone comment in another thread, "the only thing that could've possibly made that game any better is if Kevin Costner pinch hit and hit the game winning home run."

What a game last night. I told my wife I'm thankful it didn't go to extras because starting a man on second would've felt even more sacrilegious.

6

u/ilovearthistory Washington Nationals 16d ago edited 16d ago

are the days of one team career guys coming to an end? ā€œhometown discountsā€ seem increasingly unfashionable

9

u/Victory_Trot_48 16d ago

No. They aren't. Joey Votto is about to accomplish that.

Salvador Perez might. Mike Trout will. DeGrom probably will. Kershaw likely does (unless he catches the feelies and wants to play for his home town rangers). Yadi Molina is probably going to. If Posey moves to 1st he will. Ryan Zimmerman has it locked up.

Those are just the HoF (except Zim) caliber guys.

Whats gone is entire cores of a team spending their careers with a team. But it still happens.

3

u/ilovearthistory Washington Nationals 16d ago

yeah, but all those guys are going into the tail ends of their career. i’m talking more about the next generation. but that’s a valid list

6

u/Victory_Trot_48 16d ago

Tatis just signed a 13 year deal. So i guess my list for the next possible generation starts with him.

2

u/dukeslver Boston Red Sox 16d ago

Giancarlo Stanton signed a 13 year extension with the Marlins and we all know how that ended up

1

u/Victory_Trot_48 16d ago

He sure did. My point is more about the 13 year deal than about franchises doing firesales.

Its strongest argument that teams are at least attempting to have players around for their entire career.

8

u/fuck_the_spiders 16d ago

Please don't give Royals fans the chance to make a 'Salvador Perez for HOF' push. Please.

3

u/Victory_Trot_48 16d ago

Yeah. He's a fringe guy that likely winds up hall of very good. But if he finishes his career strong or plays another 10 years he could get there.

4

u/fuck_the_spiders 16d ago

Less than 30 career WAR at 31, zero ink, he isn't even a fringe guy unless he has a substantial career turnaround which isn't really likely.

2

u/Victory_Trot_48 16d ago

Yeah. But he's a C and they get graded on a curve.

He seems to get the ASG every year simply bc the AL is extremely weak at C. As I said he beeds to finish with an average of 4 WAR over the next 5 years or play for 10 to get there.

6

u/fuck_the_spiders 16d ago

Yeah. But he's a C and they get graded on a curve.

Not for HOF voting. So very few recent catchers have made the hall.

As I said he beeds to finish with an average of 4 WAR over the next 5 years or play for 10 to get there.

Dude has only put up a single 4 WAR season in his career, though he probably comes close this year too. Tremendous ask lol. Perez just isn't that guy.

1

u/Victory_Trot_48 16d ago

Yeah. All that is fair. Still is likely to play out with the royals. Unless he wants to bounce around to drag out his career.

But that's not really the Team's fault.

5

u/fuck_the_spiders 16d ago

I think it came to an end a long, long, time ago. The "hometown discount" where a player takes a below market contract to extend with their team (or re-sign as an FA) has not been particularly common for decades.

The arb buyout extension that became fashionable in the 90s (guarantee money to the player for all their arb years, player tacks on 2-3 years afterwards) definitely is as it becomes clear time and time again that most players lose out on tens of millions of dollars on this and instead want to bet on themselves.

8

u/BoosherCacow Cleveland Indians 16d ago

Am I the only one who saw Costner walking out of the corn and gawping sat the field and thought of this guy? I think the no cheering made it worse and even worser was the fact that I was watching without sound because I was at work. My coworker (a very loud and large boned proud black woman whom I love dearly) said for the whole room to hear "Fuck's that mothafucka lookin at?"

0

u/MCHammastix San Francisco Giants 16d ago

I cringed because he looked like a lost dementia patient.

3

u/Victory_Trot_48 16d ago

He's an actor. I saw it as playing up the novelty as "where am I? A baseball field? In corn?" Type sentiment

1

u/MCHammastix San Francisco Giants 16d ago

I know it just looked odd to me.

6

u/chief_sitass Chicago White Sox 16d ago

Bow to your Field of Dreams World Champions, mortals.

2

u/WabbitCZEN New York Yankees 16d ago

Played my first Field of Dreams event last night. Went with an all Yankees lineup, cause why not. First inning, we both went scoreless. Top of the second, I walk his batter with one out, only to give up a bomb to the next one while trying to sneak a fastball high and outside. Got the next two batters to end the inning. And in the bottom of the second, I got a single with Judge, an RBI triple from Soriano, with Gregorius up to bat after. 2-1 score, nobody out, runner on third? I decided a sac bunt was my best option. Give up an out to get the runner home. Sounds like a no brainer right? So I lay down the bunt with Didi, expecting him to get the out at first. Not only did the bunt work, it worked to perfection as Didi was safe at first after driving in the tying run. Naturally, the guy I was playing against decided to quit after I pulled it off.

3

u/sackerficemath 16d ago

I read a quote the other day that was something to the effect of "The other guy drives a Benz too". Anyone know who said this?

4

u/fuck_the_spiders 16d ago

Mookie Betts

2

u/sackerficemath 16d ago

Thanks!

Such a great quote.

7

u/cajun_kick_ass Milwaukee Brewers 16d ago

I love the Cubs!