Being a fan of the greatest sport of all, baseball, I am very happy that the new MLB season has started.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/spike67/wf.jpg

For those who don't follow baseball....the regular season lasts 6 months, April-September, with the playoffs starting in October.

The World Series, where the best baseball team in the world is crowned, can actually end in late October, or in some instances the first week of November...1989 for example, when the San Francisco Loma Prieta quake of 7.1 stopped play for 10 days or so.

Anyone who was in the SF/Oak/San Jose area at the time can attest to the strength of that jolt...F N scary....

Anywho....with the start of a new season even the "Watfords" of the baseball world have supreme optimism that this will be the year of there team.....http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/spike67/ErnieBanks.gif

So in keeping with the tradition of "Opening Day".....here are the winners of each division and the World Series victor for 2007....take it to da bank....

AL East....the Yankees...fuck 'em...only team I hate more is the Red Sox.

AL Central...the White Sox.

AL West...the A's

Wild Card...the Blue Jay's

A's advancing to the World Series.

NL East...Mets...hate these guys too.

NL Central...the Cubs

NL West...Dodgers...hate these Hollywood F N bums 2.
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Wild Card...the Phillies.

Cubs advance to the World Series and beat the A's in 7 games...first World Series victory in about a 100 F N years dancinghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/spike67/tt.jpg

For all you baseball fans...I hope your team has a great season...unless they are playing minedancing
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Although a Yankee...still the greatest ballplayer of all time...even my dog knows his namedancing

Who is yer team?

[QUOTE=nosehair;21860]

For those who don't follow baseball....



That would be me then.:lamo: :surrender:
Dumb question time.
What does AL and NL stand for?
How many games will each team in a division play in a season?
Just the winner of each division go through to play-offs or runner up as well?
When 2 top teams are playing in an important match what sort of crowd size do you get?
:kid:

roamer excellent questions.....There are two leagues in Major League Baseball...the American League and the National League.

Each team will play 162 regular season games...teams generally get 1 day off a week unless they go through a series of "rain outs" and then they can play 2-3 weeks in a row to catch up towards the end of the season.

Just the winners of each division AL and NL East, Central and West Divisions advance to the playoffs with one "Wild Card" team, the team with the best record that does not win a division, advancing as well.

The four AL teams play off against each other, likewise the NL teams...the winner of the Al then meets the champion of the NL in the World Seriesdancing in a best of 7 games match up....it is the most historic sporting event in the United States with a tradition that goes back into the 1880's or so...

This ball park Wrigley Field is in Chicago.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/spike67/wf.jpg
...it is one of the most beautiful venues in all of American sport. Capacity is approx 40,000, Standing Room Only, and they sell out about 99% of the time and will draw 3 million fans for an 81 game home season....the only teams that don't draw well are the perennial losers such as Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

dancing

Cheers nose,good explanation.
Wow! They play some games in the course of a season then.
Yep that ball park does look good,thought it looked nice on your opening post.
:cheers:

Interesting post Nose. Over this side of the pond little is known about baseball. Our summer sport is the greatest game on earth (cricket) although I appreciate we are probably both ignorant to each others game.

Baseball is played over in Australia and cricket players cut the mustard very well on the 'ball park'. Many years ago a top Aussie cricketer (DK Lillee) took on a top American baseball player at both games and came out on top. The American could not lay a bat on the cricket ball, due mainly to the bounce, whereas Lillee found the 'full tosses' meat and drink on the diamond.

In the spirit of this board I will follow the baseball season this year and try to become less ignorant about the game. I might need you as a guide though, so be ready for some basic questions.

Question one, which team should I follow?

Nose, my team since 1958 has been the S.F. Giants...saw Mays, McCovey, Cepeda, Marichal etc. at Seal Stadium as a 7 year old before the Stick was built. It has been a challenge rooting for the Giants with Bonds on the team, but hopefully this will be his last season. Nose, I wish the guy you talked to in the Pattaya bar long ago...the one with the 70 mph "heater"... could be the Giant's closer this year....Benitez is shaky.

old crust....if I was to pick a team for you to follow I would pick the Chicago Cubs....they have been the "lovable losers" on Chicago's North side for many, many years...they have a huge fan base and should improve on last years dismal record after spending over $160 million USD's on free agents.

If you give it some time...baseball will grow on you. It's the only sport where you will see spectators reading the paper, knitting, sleeping, breast feeding, changing diapers, fighting and making out while the game is in progress....but everyone stops what they are doing when sumfin actually happens that effects the game.

Thanks for taking an interest.dancing

mack....The Giants were always a fav team of mine. I used to get my family members into the bleachers at Candlestick for $1.00 eachdancing...we'd park the car, have a couple of frosty malts and only spend $20.00 for the whole outing (we'd bring all our food with us)...now you can't even park the car for $20.00:bigfinger ....a day at the beautiful AT&T Ballpark is gonna cost you, including tickets and food and $10.00 for a F N beer:bigfinger , a couple of hundered.:bigfinger

And what ever you do don't buy a F N hat:bigfinger or a tee shirt:bigfinger 'cause that will run you another 30 bucks each:bigfinger .....but it's baseball...I'm glad it's backdancing

I was born and raised in New York City and am a rabid fan of the most sucessful MLB franchise in history, The New York Yankees!

I was born and raised in New York City and am a rabid fan of the most sucessful MLB franchise in history, The New York Yankees!

LOL!dancing

Just for you Guidodancing.....

The 1928 Yankees...one of the greatest teams of all time...
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World Series Champs with a regular season record of 101-53....they swept the Cardinals 4-0 in the W/S. You can see the Babe in the back row center and Lou Gehrig as well.dancing

That's Leo "the lip" Durocher in the front row second from right...Leo turned out to be one of the truly great managers the game has ever known.

Lou batted .374 that year with 47 doubles and 142 RBI's while Babe smacked 54 homers and battd .323 with 142 RBI's as well.

Thanks for that, Nose.
Lou Gerhig is my favorite Yankee of all time.
Truly incredibile production during his shortened career.

If you give it some time...baseball will grow on you. It's the only sport where you will see spectators reading the paper, knitting, sleeping, breast feeding, changing diapers, fighting and making out while the game is in progress....but everyone stops what they are doing when sumfin actually happens that effects the game.

:bigfing

Nose', you could be describing a cricket crowd too. I think cricket takes a bit longer (up to five days) than baseball and then it can still be a draw.

On the basis of your recommendation and the fact as a kid I was a Cub Scout, I'll follow Chicago. When's the first game?

On the basis of your recommendation and the fact as a kid I was a Cub Scout, I'll follow Chicago. When's the first game?

It was yesterday old crust...in typical Cubs Opening day fashion...they lost their first game 4-1 to the Cincinnati Reds...

As the old joke goes.....No beer will be served at Wrigley Field this year...the Cubs lost their Openerdancing

Not to worry Nose', supporting losing teams is nothing new to me.
I will do a bit of study on the game over the Easter weekend, so get ready for a few questions.

Well O.C. the Cubs have 161 games left to play so they will mix some wins in there. I read where after this year the Cubs will be for sale. Bought in 1981 for I think $20 Million U.S. and the team can be yours for only $600 million. Also a baseball game is usually finished in 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours unless it's tied, and then they play extra innings to decide the winner.

Bought in 1981 for I think $20 Million U.S. and the team can be yours for only $600 million.

Should I pay in cash or will they accept a cheque.

O.C. they will want cash from you....nothing personal...just business they say. :cheers:

Nose, just read your post topic, was wondering if baseball fever struck you! Wish the A's the best this year, Mack I respect the Giants of Mays, McCovey,Bobby Bonds, Jim Hart, Gaylord Perry ect, I just love baseball season, next Monday is Pittsburgh pirates home opener. The Pirates are off to a great start, 2-0, even a last place team is in contention in April! BTW anyone still have their baseball card collection from their childhood, still have mine, brings back memories. For those boardies from the UK, baseball brings nostalgic events of childhood to the present.

. For those boardies from the UK, baseball brings nostalgic events of childhood to the present.

Same with sports over hear Mic. Although nostalgia is'nt what it used to be.

The greatest of all Baseball announcers was Harry Caray. He started a tradition of signing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the "7th Inning Stretch" that has withstood the test of time....here is the great Harry Caray.

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The guy was a genuine cool cat...met him once at O'Hare airport in Chicago and for 10 minutes he treated me like a long lost pal....a truly loved Chicago personality....RIP Harry.

When Harry passed...it became an "honor" for famous people visiting Chicago to "Caray" on the tradition and lead the fans in song....It led to many funny moments...

Here is a very drunken Eddie Vedder of "Pearl Jam" fame....I always liked Eddiedancing


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I've ordered a book I meant to read when first published, called playing hardball by Ed Smith. Smith is a pro' cricketer of some note who played a few times for England. The book is written to compare cricket and baseball and hopefully will be a good starting point for me.

OC pretty much all of us in the U.S. who are late 40's into the 50 year and up age bracket played baseball as little kids. At school it was softball, in Little League it was hardball, or just getting a buddy or two to pitch and hit to each other in a fireld or park somewhere. By age 7 or 8 most of us were playing, so that's one reason baseball is special to us.

Irish, your team the Pirates had one of my all-time favorites on their team years ago, the great Roberto Clemente...he put up great numbers and did it with flair and style too. :cheers:

Irish, your team the Pirates had one of my all-time favorites on their team years ago, the great Roberto Clemente...he put up great numbers and did it with flair and style too. :cheers:

mack,

I was once at a game at Wrigley Field when I was a kid that featured a bench clearing brawl between the Pirates and the Cubs....two future Hall of Famers, Billy Williams for the Cubs and Roberto Clemente for the Pirates, squared off for some fistacuffs...the real thingdancing

A memory to last a lifetime there nose. I'd have liked to have been at the Dodger ball park when Marichal conked Rosboro on the head with his bat. :bangin:

A memory to last a lifetime there nose. I'd have liked to have been at the Dodger ball park when Marichal conked Rosboro on the head with his bat. :bangin:

Later on in my 20's a couple of buddies an meself were drunk in the right field bleachers...my pal "Voo" got hit in the head by a Willie Stargell homer that we all lost in the sun...and he didn't even get the ball:bigfinger...some little kid ended up with it .....crazy stuff like this happened to "Voo" all the timedancing

There aren't many great moments in Chicago Cub history....but, this press conference by then manager, Lee Elia, has to rank as one of the "great moments"....audio only, but that's enoughdancing
uv23pqH9iG0....soon after....Lee was fired.:bigfinger

When I first started going to Cubs games I was in second grade...about 7 years old...and back then, this guy was a young man...when I was 7, we just thought he was a crazy fuck...

His act hasn't changed, but now he is revered....all he sez is "Cubs!" and you are to respond with a "Woo!"....he's "Ronnie WooWoo"....
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I've been following the Cubs progress via their web site. My plan is to read the book on the flight to LOS at the end of the month and then fire a few questions off about the sport via this thread. It is confusing to understand the concept of playing league games against teams not in your league, but then again I'm easily confused.

o/c...that's the nature of baseball....once you think you understand the game....they throw a curveball at you...

If I had a hat on...I'd tip it in your directiondancing:cheers:Hab a great trip!

The "Walk-Off" Home Run....bottom of the 9th inning...home team at bat...first game of the World Series 1988...felt like shit after this at bat....Gibson vs. the Eck.....
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just re-read this thread, great memories thanks guys, baseball, the whole atmosphere is so nostalgic. Sideline, I just read a great book I recommend to the baseball lover, written by the Sports writer Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie), (the five people you meet in Heaven), this book For one more day is striking the fire of all of us growing up in the 50,60, 70 with baseball a part of family. Suggest a 12 pack of beer, a few hours of reading and your reminisce the good old days and the twists and turns of family life.

:cheers: irish....you are soooo correct my frienddancing

Rolling Rock Beer commercial....

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Being "Tossed" or "Ejected" from a game is one of the duties of the manager....sometimes it serves to spark yer team on to victory....other times it settles them in to a 10 game losing streak....

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Sometimes you get a souvenir when entering the ballpark to commemorate a special event.....sometimes this happens to the souvenirs...d0aYZRh7qpg

A fan, a paying spectator....Steve Bartman....will go down in history...as the man most responsible for causing the Cubs to miss out on a chance at the World Series...he battled a player for a foul ball and the rest is Cub history....here he is being ejected from Wrigley Field...7u_IotAchqo

The way security was dealing with Bartman reminded me of when they led Lee Harvey Oswald through the underground garage in Dallas.

It's now "All-Star Break"....the official half-way point in the baseball season with the gala All-Star festivities scheduled for the next two days in San Francisco.

The All-Star Game, with the best players from the American and National League playing an exhibition game, is tomorrow evening.

The "National Anthem" will be sung before the start of the game, as it is for every ball game, by a famous celebrity whose name escapes me right now.

There have been many memorable National Anthems sung over the years...some good some bad....this one by Roseanne is probably the most infamous....bHMVuT3Gl6g

Whitney Huston gets it right for Super Bowl XXV.....

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Great thread. I grew up a Kansas City Royals fan. Spent 20 years watching one of the greatest hitters the game has ever known, George Brett.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/VicVegas62/Brett_George_3.jpg

Then in the late 70's my family got cable TV, and thanks to the WGN TV station I got hooked on a lousy team that played in Chicago - the Cubs. In the mid 80's I worked for a hotel and they had an affiliation with the Drake Hotel in Chicago. Me and a couple buddies would fly up for 2-3 days, stay for free at the Drake, and take the train up to Wrigley Field. Spent many sunny afternoons sitting in the bleachers, singing along with Harry at the 7th inning stretch, and watching Ron Cey, Gary Matthews, Leon Durham, Jody Davis, and Rick Sutcliffe. They also had this young, slick-fielding secondbaseman named Ryne Sandberg, who became one of my favorite players.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/VicVegas62/ryno25.jpg

Then, in 1985, something crazy happened - the Royals won the World Series. Oh, the feeling when your hometown team wins it all. :lol1:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/VicVegas62/WS85.jpg

Then came the strike of '94. They actually cancelled the last half of the season, along with the play-offs AND the World Series. All because of greedy players and owners. :thumbdown:

Now I'll catch a few games here and there (I was banging my head against a wall when Steve Bartman wrestled that foul fly away from Moisus Alou), but because of the greed and corruption, the game has never been the same for me.

I still love "the game" of baseball, just not the current condition of MLB.

All great memories Udon, George Brett, a truly great hitter, he had a brother Ken Brett, ended up playing for my team, Pittsburgh Pirates, he was a hell of a hitter for a pitcher, they used him several times to pinch hit! of course were talking of the Pirates. Think I read he may have died. Pirates also picked an outfielder from the Royals, Amos Otis, an allstar with KC, past his prime with Pitt. Also I remember a "Shortstop" 5'4" Freddie Patak, played both on Royals and Pirates.

You're correct Irish, this is from the net:

"Ken Brett, the brother of Hall of Famer George Brett and the youngest pitcher in World Series history, died on Nov. 18 in Spokane, Wash. after a long battle with brain cancer. He was 55.

In 14 seasons in the major leagues, Brett was 83-85 with a 3.93 ERA in 1,526.1 innings pitched.

He was also a pitcher who could hit, compiling a .262 average with 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 347 career at-bats. In 1973, while pitching for the Phillies, he set a record for pitchers when he hit a home run in four straight starts.

A "Walk Off" Home Run....a dramatic blast that ends the game with the home team victorious......Robert Redford gets into the act in "The Natural"...pGH_mtib9fo

Even the Queen likes baseball....here she makes a guest appearance in...."The Naked Gun"....a F N funny 5 minute clipdancing....

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Team mascots have never really been accepted by fans in Major League Baseball.... with a couple of Big exceptions....here is IMHO, the best ever baseball mascot....the San Diego Chicken....

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Nose, I confess that being a Pittsburgh Pirate fan all my baseball life has had its ups and downs (down for the last 15) I started reading about the Montreal Expos, enjoyed Rusty Staub, Steve Rogers, and the whole idea of a Canadian team (weird) I remember they had what had to be the most stupid mascot in sports, the Youppi, any memories of this?

Babe Ruth is the most famous of all sports hero's in the US....sure...Michael Jordan, Ali and Tiger Woods are or were giants in the sporting world and made/make an incredible amount of dosh in endorsements, but the biggest of the big names of sport and legend is still Babe Ruth.

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They made movies about his life and he popped up in newsreels that were featured at theatres all over America during the great depression....
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Ask 10 knowledgeable baseball fans "who was/is the greatest baseball player of all time?":detective:....9 of them will reply..."Babe Ruth".

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Pirates also picked an outfielder from the Royals, Amos Otis, an allstar with KC, past his prime with Pitt. Also I remember a "Shortstop" 5'4" Freddie Patak, played both on Royals and Pirates.


Irishmic you have hit upon two of my favorite players from my youth. Freddie Patek was a hero to lots of kids in KC back in the early 70's, since most of us were about the same height. Here's a shot of Freddie leading off of first base with 6'6" Frank Howard of the Senators holding him on.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/VicVegas62/PatekHoward.jpg

Then there was "Famous" Amos Otis, who patrolled centerfield for the Royals for most of the 70's (thanks to Amos and Willie Wilson the Royals only had 2 centerfielders over a 20 year span). The fans used to chant "A-O, A-O" when he batted. He was known for his nonchalant manner of catching fly balls with one hand. Everybody used to yell, "Two hands, Amos" when he'd catch a fly ball. A really good solid ball player who could hit for average, steal bases, and knock one out of the park when needed.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/VicVegas62/AO.jpg

Thanks for letting me stroll down memory lane. :thumbsup:

I remember Otis and Wilson, both of them could fly around the bases. My favorite Pirate, being older than everyone on this board except figjam, was the great Roberto Clemente, who died in the off season while he was still playing, when a plane flying emergency supplies to quake victims in Nicaragua crashed with him on board. He was not only great but played with a style and flair that's rarely seen. Roberto Clemente :rip:

I remember Otis and Wilson, both of them could fly around the bases. My favorite Pirate, being older than everyone on this board except figjam, was the great Roberto Clemente, who died in the off season while he was still playing, when a plane flying emergency supplies to quake victims in Nicaragua crashed with him on board. He was not only great but played with a style and flair that's rarely seen. Roberto Clemente :rip:

mack...Roberto Clemente was one of the greatest ballplayers I've ever seen play the game.

He was one of my fav players as a kid until.....he squared off with one of my all time fav's, Billy Williams of the Cubs, in a bench clearing brawl at Wigley Field in the late 60's....will never forget my two heros trading blows...they must of hated each other.

Roberto finished with exactly 3000 hits before he perished in the plane crash. A great player trying to help a ravaged country by hauling in medical supplies....a far different story than the ones we read today about selfish athletes and athletes who are/or act like thugs.

:cheers: to you Roberto.

Billy Williams had a sweet swing nose, I know Clemente had a temper so let's blame him for the fight and not your favorite Mr. Williams. :angel: :innocent:

My all-time favorite growing up in Oakland for the first 8 years of life was Willie Mays, the Say Hey Kid. The Giants moved to S.F. the year our family moved to the San Joaquin Valley but we stayed through the 1st summer the Giants were there, when they played at Seal Stadium before the Stick was finished. Then after that summer my dad would drive the 3 or so hours to see them play at Candlestick.

My father knew Bill Thompson very well, who was an announcer for a few years on the radio with his friend Lon Simmons who you will remember nose. Thompson played catcher for Simmons when they both played in the minors.

So anyway, due to that connection Lon Simmons took me as a 12 year old down to the field at the Stick to meet some of the players before a Giants-Cubs game. Nose, I was way into baseball, playing on teams and following the players, collecting cards, etc. so I was walking on air! :angel: Got to shake hands with most all the Giants...all three of the Alou brothers, Orlando Cepada who was a big fucker, and also Willie Mays who was my favorite player still to this day, although his "people skills" weren't so great since he gave me a limp hand and stared off into the distance without saying anything or making eye contact with little mack. Went into the clubhouse where a sleepy and relaxed Juan Marichal, the Dominican Dandy, was on his stomach getting a rub down from a trainer (I didn't see a happy ending thank God!) and he was very pleasant and chatted a bit and smiled.

But the topper was going behind the batting cage when the Cubs were hitting, and waiting for his turn was Ernie Banks, who was also one of my favorites. He was so personable, asking me questions, "So what position do you play...who's your favorite team, etc.?" and when I told him the Giants were my favorite he started kidding and joking around saying how I should follow the Cubs instead...just a super-nice guy who had either a pleasant personality to begin with or who understood that it really takes very little effort to make a little kid feel good. Jeez a trip down memory lane... :spam:

....that's a great story mack...thanks for sharing it:cheers:

....you never know when a foul ball is gonna find yer noggin' at a ball game...so you always have to be on the look out.

This poor f'er wasn't expecting a F N bat to the jaw when he set out for the old ballyard...http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/spike67/ouch1.jpg....luckily the lumber didn't find one of those kids oblivious to the proceedings.

Well....being that today is the first day of Autumn.... means that the regualar baseball season is drawing to a close.:bigfinger

With only a weeks worth of games left before the playoffs begin, few divisional races have been settled. It is going down to the wire and everything is still up for grabs.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/spike67/cubs.jpg

With six games left...the Cubs have a two game lead on the Brewers. The Red Sox and the Yankees are still fighting it out for the divisional crown. The Angels made mincemeat of the A's and the Indians look like the class in the Central.

Surprises this season....guess you'd have to say the Diamondbacks from Arizona....didn't see it coming meself...the Mets are choking and here come the Philles....the Brewers were a bit of a success story with there young players and the complete collapse of the White Sox was surprising as well.

The playoffs should be exciting....Go Cubs Go!
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