textonly Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 (edited) 20 hours ago, Cod Eye said: I need a team to "support" though, but I've no idea who anyone is. So come on lads, suggest me a team to support, please! Just a few thought/suggestions on this: * watch highlights. MLB.com is a really remarkable resource. It's been a little while since I've watched regularly, but they always used to do daily recaps that would have highlights of the days best plays in really bitesize, consumer-friendly capsules. Same with YouTube nowadays. There are a million little videos you could watch of things like "best pitches in baseball" or "best defensive plays" that will showcase the best of the sport while also displaying the variety across the league. There are a ton of things that might capture your attention or put you off certain teams. It sounds trite, but maybe you love/hate a team's home/road colour schemes; maybe you like the look of a home stadium; maybe you like/dislike the local commentary team; maybe you fall in love with a particular pitcher's stuff. A personal pet peeve is the camera angle some teams use for their hard cam behind a pitcher. There are so many little things that can quickly add up to a preference. * sign up for a fantasy baseball league next season and see how it develops. It may seem daunting if you're new to the sport, but fantasy baseball is much easier and much more fun than fantasy football, and you learn a ton while playing. It also makes it much easier to keep up with a sport that you might not often have the chance to watch live every day. * consider the city. Maybe it's somewhere you're more likely to visit, maybe it's somewhere you'd aspire to visit. * don't think that you have to pick a team immediately and stick with it. You can if you want, but I'd say feel free to let a fandom form. Naturally, once you form that fandom, you're locked into forever and desertion is unconscionable, but in these very early stages? Shop around and see what connects. But, yeah, preferably not the Yankees. -edit- * if available, maybe play something like The Show on Xbox/PS. A lot to learn in terms of players/stadiums on there too. Edited September 25, 2022 by textonly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 6 minutes ago, textonly said: * if available, maybe play something like The Show on Xbox/PS. A lot to learn in terms of players/stadiums on there too. I think that’s how @FelatioLipsbecame a Mariner! Some great advice here, I might even try a fantasy baseball league next season. I’d recommend watching last nights game on the iplayer having the English guy (he’s a cricket podcaster and was in The Maccabees) on comms learning stuff from the presenters was a fantastic format, think Eliot Page in Inception, a human FAQ to keep you in the loop explaining why batters are doing this and pitchers and fielders are doing that etc it will honestly help to pick up on the subtleties of the game! And yes, fuck the Yankees!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 I find it a bit mad that Judge's race to beat Roger Maris is a thing this season, seeing as 3x NL hitters* have already gone well above and beyond. I've never understood the reverence that the different leagues have in American sports, I.e. they celebrate being "Conference" champs nearly as much as winning the big ones. Is it just because it's never been done in the AL? Still, I'm not complaining, I love a good record smash, I just find it a bit odd when others have done it. I enjoyed this article on it. https://www.npr.org/2022/09/24/1124779323/judge-pujols-mcgwire-sosa-bonds-why-different *Yes, I know they all had juice enhanced big helmets (fnar fnar) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Cod Eye Posted September 25, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted September 25, 2022 Thanks for the recommendations all! My only previous knowledge of the sport were knowing who the Yankees and Red Sox are and knoing The Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs from the Major League and Rookie of the Year movies. 1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said: I think that’s how @FelatioLipsbecame a Mariner! Some great advice here, I might even try a fantasy baseball league next season. I’d recommend watching last nights game on the iplayer having the English guy (he’s a cricket podcaster and was in The Maccabees) on comms learning stuff from the presenters was a fantastic format, think Eliot Page in Inception, a human FAQ to keep you in the loop explaining why batters are doing this and pitchers and fielders are doing that etc it will honestly help to pick up on the subtleties of the game! And yes, fuck the Yankees!! The BBC's coverage did help yesterday. Is Felix involved in all the BBC's coverage this season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 5 minutes ago, Cod Eye said: The BBC's coverage did help yesterday. Is Felix involved in all the BBC's coverage this season? I don’t know what their coverage is to be honest. I know they got a deal to show the London Series games for five years but beyond that I didn’t even know they were showing other games until yesterday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 16 minutes ago, Cod Eye said: Thanks for the recommendations all! My only previous knowledge of the sport were knowing who the Yankees and Red Sox are and knoing The Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs from the Major League and Rookie of the Year movies. The BBC's coverage did help yesterday. Is Felix involved in all the BBC's coverage this season? 10 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said: I don’t know what their coverage is to be honest. I know they got a deal to show the London Series games for five years but beyond that I didn’t even know they were showing other games until yesterday! This gives a bit more (but not much) more detail to the deal. https://www.bbc.com/sport/baseball/62994479.amp I really hope some of the play offs and World Series are broadcast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, SuperBacon said: I've never understood the reverence that the different leagues have in American sports, I.e. they celebrate being "Conference" champs nearly as much as winning the big ones. Is it just because it's never been done in the AL? In some ways I think it’s their way of giving out medals to everyone without giving out medals to everyone, because that’s not the alpha sports jock way of doing it. Making the postseason is always seen as an achievement, but in NBA that’s about half the teams anyway! I think the lack of relegation and promotion has something to do with it, plus the “Catchment area” for teams is often bigger than the whole UK. @Stattowill have some insight into it, the fanatics tend to be college teams and there’s more a local feel than a statewide team. Edited September 25, 2022 by Keith Houchen Lack of, not last of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members FLips Posted September 25, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted September 25, 2022 Aye Kool Keith’s right. I picked the Mariners as my team on MLB The Show and then stuck with them. Having a hell of a season too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Statto Posted September 25, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted September 25, 2022 3 hours ago, Keith Houchen said: @Stattowill have some insight into it, the fanatics tend to be college teams and there’s more a local feel than a statewide team. From a collegiate athletics point of view, I'd compare it to winning your conference being like winning the Premier League/Series A/La Liga etc, and winning the national championship being like winning the Champions League, when the best of the best come together to determine one champion. The former is definitely an achievement well worthy of celebration, and for many teams probably the best they could ever dream of - but for some teams/fanbases it's a letdown if they don't go on to win the next one. There is also the element of most of the conferences being geographically based (although the impending round of conference realignment will stretch that for more of them) so there's a regional bragging rights element. I definitely feel it's more pronounced in college than in the pros because although there is cross-league play during the regular season, the conferences are distinct independent organisations, as opposed to really just being a way of subdividing the NFL/MLB/NBA (although of course some of those are based on the merger of historically separate/rival leagues). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members seph Posted October 6, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted October 6, 2022 Well, there's a shitstorm on at MLB.TV. After conflicting messages on pages on where postseason games are blacked out, there's been confirmation that there's a worldwide blackout on MLB.TV of the postseason games and the only way to see them live is through TV providers. After years of having a model that cuts out the need for this, and especially on the back of working towards greater exposure (especially in our market), the literal opposite is happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 Jesus. That’s awful. Kind of glad the White Sox were shit so I won’t miss them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members FLips Posted October 7, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted October 7, 2022 Bummer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members seph Posted October 7, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted October 7, 2022 *gulp* see you guys in March. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Seems like they lifted the blackout for most international markets but not for GB. Although some people said they watched games last night with no issues. It’s a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Cod Eye Posted October 8, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted October 8, 2022 It's sods law. Just as I start to get into the sport, they blackout the games... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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