then coronavirus happened, 2020 baseball

just looked up ken oberkfell's stats (he turned 64 today)

16 seasons, 1602 games -- 1046 of them as a 3B and another 43 at 1B

he hit 29 homers total, never more than 5 in a season

Anyone know which KBO team has a solid record of futility and dashed hopes? Want to maintain some consistency in my fandom.

Let’s just say that’s KT Wiz

probably bullshit but who knows

Want some good baseball news??

I just heard from multiple sources that on June 10th, Spring Training 2 will start. July 1st will be Opening Day and all teams will be playing at their home ballparks.

We’ll be discussing it in full on the next @TalkinBaseball_

— Trevor Plouffe (@trevorplouffe) May 4, 2020

for no reason, i'm watching the pine tar game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvu_1JMY36k&list=PL9qa1Jiw7oNLoWf4OturkhsqawIbcTzOn&index=2

it's the yankees broadcast, with phil rizzuto and frank messer. i'd never heard either of them before. there are some awkward moments!!

it's interesting to watch, not knowing when the moment is going to happen. almost an hour and fifty minutes in now, in the bottom of the 7th.

a young hotshot named don mattingly just pinch-hit! it's going to be tough to figure out whether or not to send him down, once ken griffey gets back from the DL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvu_1JMY36k

also dave winfield crushed a HR early on, it was amazing. he also made some VERY bad plays in the OF.

jose martinez: actually about as good in the OF as dave winfield??

was so hilarious to hear phil rizutto trash wade boggs as "contact only", before pointing to his lack of RBIs

wade boggs was a goddamned hero

HERE COMES THE GOOSE

never knew the bit about gaylord perry snatching the book off the field!

ha! and when they resume the game, ken griffey is back, and mattingly's at second! classicbaseball.com

"it's being played under protest, we just got the sign, there it is, the peace sign, from the plate umpire, in this case that george maloney that billy martin has protested this ballgame."

the crowd is wasted

in multiple dimensions of time

i was born 2 months before this game. i was pooping my pants DURING this game

lol that the umpires from the first game signed an affadavit indicating that brett touched all four bases on his home run trot, foiling martin's plan to destroy the royals with dastardly logic. fuck you martin! seriously

also - *passes out* - mattingly comes to bat in the bottom of the 9th, and in a bizarre circumstance, has a chance to create a 25-game hitting streak out of nowhere. apparently, the pine tar game was the only one out of 25 games where he didn't get a hit. so in the resumption of the game, he has a chance to fill in that gap in the hitting streak by getting a hit. he makes great contact, but it doesn't fall in (same deal with his earlier pinch hit appearance, actually).

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2020/5/6/21248854/the-joy-and-anxiety-of-watching-kbos-return

baumann on watching the KBO

i'd never heard either of them before.

Rizzuto, besides being comically inattentive, had some of his freeform musings compiled into a 'poetry' book. Yankee haters listened for the lols.

i didn't even know he was an announcer after his playing days. and doing play-by-play, to boot! usually the ex-players are color commentary guys, it seems

Those broadcasts suffered a blow when Scooter left...he started doing fewer and fewer innings, and just leaving sometimes in like the middle of the 5th inning w/o telling anybody incl. Bill White

He was enflesslessly entertaining. One of my favorites was when he said nobody will ever forget where they were the day Joe D's hitting streak began

late in his career they would insert a long shot of the GW bridge would begin Scooter's trek home to New Jersey...around the 6th inning.

Yankee telecast, circa mid 80s, as Rickey Henderson slides into second with a double (Bill White, if you don't know, is black):

PHIL RIZZUTO: Boy, that Rickey is so graceful... He's like Fred Astaire! Or Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

BILL WHITE: Now, is he more like Fred Astaire, or Bojangles?
(pause)

RIZZUTO: Awww White, you huckleberry! (both laugh heartily)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, August 17, 2004

he was no ralph kiner

Huckleberry! Everybody was a huckleberry.

https://i2.wp.com/fullinbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/valkilmerbook.jpg?resize=450%2C679

wait what

can the noncabled get a feed for these KBO games?

appears that they are streamed on twitch and on a korean app called naver, but either one likely requires a vpn

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/gf31ky/kbo_twitch_broadcast_links/

i don't think the twitch streams require a VPN (but i could be wrong).

they're listed here, at the bottom:

https://www.twitch.tv/search?term=kbo

and here's a direct link to one of the games: https://www.twitch.tv/kbo3/video/614666650

sweet

so, the draft is only going to be 5 rounds this year. things are going to get weird.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/05/mlb-to-hold-5-round-draft.html

MLB has decided upon a five-round draft this summer, according to Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com (links to Twitter). The union had previously agreed to the possibility of a draft as short as five rounds, though more recently had pushed for a lengthier process.

Commissioner Rob Manfred laid down the decision when MLB and the MLBPA could not come to an agreement on the particulars. Interestingly, Passan notes, a ten-round draft was also preferred by baseball operations departments. The version on offer from the league would’ve effectively separated the draft into two five-round sections with greater spending limitations on the latter half, along with a cap on undrafted signings.

Ultimately, it seems, owners were more concerned with avoiding the cost of additional bonuses than they were intrigued by the potential to acquire more high-end talent in the later stages of the draft. Draft-eligible players that are not selected in the five rounds will be eligible to sign for a maximum bonus of $20K.

Teams may struggle to woo players they don’t select. Typically, later-round choices can be paid quite a bit more than $20K. With collegiate play a viable alternative, many will elect to await a (hopefully) more lucrative professional starting point.

Then again, perhaps teams will find some success competing with geography, promises of advancement and opportunity, and other creative inducements. Manfred will no doubt need to be proactive in policing this arena. There’s huge potential upside to be had, which creates some potentially worrying incentives.

Finding value in the draft has long been a chief aim of baseball ops departments. Now they’ll have never-before-seen chances to sign an unlimited number of players for bargain prices. That’ll involve recruitment, of course, but there’s a rare possibility for major imbalance in the talent haul.

Even putting aside worries of rule-breaking behavior, there’ll be potential for havoc. Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes (Twitter link) the possibility of pressure on “late”-round picks to take what they can get or face a $20K cap. There’s also a sense that innumerable soft factors could sway large numbers of players in varying directions, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com notes on Twitter. There’ll certainly be downstream effects for players that choose to enter or remain in the collegiate and JuCo ranks.

MLB owners have approved a proposal for the 2020 season to present to the players’ union, source tells The Athletic. Meeting expected between union and league tomorrow.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 11, 2020

latest proposal, i think, was for teams of each geographic region to only play teams in their region. for example, an AL West team would only play AL West and NL West teams. 7 teams would make the playoffs in each league, with only the top team receiving a bye for the first round.

I don't know why they don't just write this season off. (I do know why: money.) Winning a title won't mean anything. I guess the counting-stats are important to possible outer-circle HOF-ers (I can think of a few players '94 hurt in that regard: Lofton, Cone, etc.), but there are a lot of hoops to jump through to salvage a mess. Doesn't some kind of insurance kick in? It did during the strike years.

union already hates the proposal, views 'revenue-sharing' as a salary cap

considering the way it's being framed (already) in the press, i don't think this is ground the union should want to fight on. it may not even be united on the matter, as long as the provisions cover just this season. they'd be better off focusing on the still-extremely-vague health and testing protocols

otoh, if you're gonna be guaranteed a certain percentage, one would assume that you'd get to look at the books in depth

fuck the press, the union and the owners agreed on payment a month ago and the owners are changing the deal last minute. why wouldn't they fight back on that? the union isn't beholden to public opinion, bob nightengale and his headline writers aren't a factor

mark teixeira says he would play for pennies on the dollar, (democratic) illinois governor slams players for 'holding out'

all v. cool

The billionaire governor, representing the people by supporting the owners

this doesn't seem like the move of an organization expecting to play anytime soon

About 40 percent of #Marlins baseball operations employees will be furloughed June 1, sources tell The Athletic. Total expected to be between 90 and 100. Team paying employees through May, expects to cover health benefits of those furloughed through October. Evaluating monthly.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 13, 2020

(pittsburgh's own) art howe is in the icu with the rona

Open-ended hospital stay for watching KBO.

Ravech and Perez are so Trumpist about having a season it's disgusting.

you alright?

Art Howe has been hospitalized in a Houston ICU for the past 5 days. It's been 13 days since first feeling symptoms and he tried to recover at home.

get well soon, morbs

this is extremely detailed and complex to the point of seeming impossible. oh, and also ownership wants the players to take less money while assuming these risks

MLB today sent the players’ union a 67-page document on proposed health and safety protocols for the 2020 season. The Athletic obtained a copy. The highlights, from me and @EvanDrellich: https://t.co/lsCvmShbuQ

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 16, 2020

summed up here: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29183345/mlb-safety-proposal-includes-10000-tests-per-week-social-distancing

stay \m/ morbs

so stupid the whole thing, just bag it

Is it really going to be balm for the people to watch these games?

It makes me anxious just thinking about it.

The sweep model or some variant of it already exists in Taiwan i think? Maybe the KBO.

that's kind of silly. cool your team finally made the postseason, now you just gotta beat the MegaSox five times in a row

yeah it would suck, which is why middle-of-the-pack teams would still be incentivized to improve. would also incentivize the mega teams to keep getting better because there's a jump in value between each of the top seeds. i'm talking myself into liking this!

Alejandro Kirk?!?!

i like him

Some good arguments against playoffs expansion and mostly I agree with them but really it's been fun to watch that young Mariners team scuffle and try to make the post-season for the first time in 18 years.

the NL has five teams with a positive run differential

Something beautiful at how the Phillies are cratering despite the money spent and the prospects traded.

Yeah, nothing like the heat of September baseball, waiting to see which mediocre team can stumble to a 4-3 week and edge out the competition. This is what will bring kids to the national pastime!

— Joe Sheehan (@joe_sheehan) September 22, 2020

Reds team batting average is like .214 and they are going to make the playoffs (maybe). Crazy thing is if Sonny Gray comes back and can pitch like he was earlier this year, they got a pretty decent 1-2 in a short series. As I said in the NL central thread, it will be hilarious and pretty good if the Reds somehow make the playoffs at .500 and knock out the Dodgers. That would be just deserts for the MLB. Have the NL championship series be like Cincy and SD.

I'm sure the public would love a San Diego and Tampa World Series!

I fucking would!

the reds shall humiliate clayton kershaw in the 2020 NLCS, it is known

marlins making the playoffs is the future of baseball: kids too young to be expensive plus quad-a filler and some luck

-39 run differential? complain to old hoss

I think I am in favor of the robo umpire at this point. TV guys point out the differential every chance they get and maybe it makes sense to use technology in this case for the benefit of the players

Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez has been cleared to resume light exercise and is expected to be able to follow a normal offseason conditioning program. The 27-year-old developed myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) after testing positive for COVID-19 early this summer.

What games you watching today?

I propose this week's thread be called FIRST-ROUND CLUSTERFUCK.

Mattingly’s Marlins decapitating NY

watching the cardinals clinch (i hope) against the brewers

Must be satisfying on some level for Don to beat his old team, maybe in a passive aggressive kind of way, a subtle F you to the franchise that may have caused him agita in ways we’ll never know

fact check: did "all of the owners lose money" by putting on a season this year? a certain idiotic broadcaster i know believes this to be true, but i have learned over the years that he is wrong about almost everything.

no one knows, but i'm extremely skeptical. despite the uncertainty, someone just agreed to buy the mets for $2.5 billion, which doesn't even include their tv network. and if they can make money *without* fans in the stands, imagine what they earn in a normal year.

in any case, so what? businesses aren't owed an annual profit. they like to claim that their earnings are a reward for taking 'risks' -- well, here's your risk, assholes

Im a diehard Brewers fan but lmao no way is having them in the playoffs good for the game. They were under .500 the entire year!!

Owners make most of their money off the value of the franchise itself no? In that case, I don't see how MLB lost any value over the last 12 months.

Plus the TV deals weren't suddenly canceled.

marlins making the playoffs is the future of baseball: kids too young to be expensive plus quad-a filler and some luck

-39 run differential? complain to old hoss

― mookieproof, Saturday, September 26, 2020 2:57 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Meh I'm here to watch good baseball, I couldn't care less if the owners/GMs could see the seismic shift in player evaluation and players didn't have time to adapt yet (they will in the next CBA). I'm not going to suddenly start watching the Red Sox because they are the 4th biggest payroll in baseball, and yeah, Sixto Sanchez is exciting.

the one thing that's confusing to me is why the players never filed a grievance (apparently). they were constantly threatening to, it was their one bargaining chip and the general assumption was that they would win. manfred and the owners clearly weren't operating in good faith and dragged negotiations as long as they could before forcing the season. so what gives

playoffs thread:

MLB general postseason 2020 thread

what a weird fucking year this has been

Tommy Pham was stabbed outside a strip club

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/story/2020-10-12/padres-tommy-pham-stabbing-hospital-san-diego-club

damn

Oh god

He’s stable, for those I need to know before clicking the link.

sorry should’ve specified he’s described as being in good condition

Much to unpack

i'm honestly blown away people are going to strip clubs during a pandemic.

Yeah as someone who lives on the other side of the same state and our city barely just reopened distanced outdoor dining, that article feels like it could have taken place on a different planet.

Dodger pitchers can't throw strikes anymore

ahhhh... Kershaw was a late scratch, typical.

2020: MLB announces partnership with Lysol, in part to work on how best to disinfect ballparks with fans expected back in 2021.

From the press release: "Lysol products are also included in Postseason hotel welcome kits for players, staff and their families."

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) October 14, 2020

Got COVID up
all in your cup?
LYSOL DOUCHE!!!!

"i'm honestly blown away people are going to strip clubs during a pandemic"

It occurred to me this spring that having a staff Zoom call preparing for COVID reopening at a NJ "Badaboom" gentleman's club could be a funny setup for a comedy sketch.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/story/2020-10-14/county-orders-san-diego-strip-club-to-cease-and-desist