Got the Baseball Bug

[dagenhamjim]

Got to admit when I was in Vegas last year i watched quite a lot of Baseball, anyone know when the new season starts?
I suppose if I were to pick a team to follow it would be St Louis as thats the first place I ever visited when I first went to the US.
What team do you Guys follow and whats the difference between AL and NL.

[warhawk]

Got to admit when I was in Vegas last year i watched quite a lot of Baseball, anyone know when the new season starts?
I suppose if I were to pick a team to follow it would be St Louis as thats the first place I ever visited when I first went to the US.
What team do you Guys follow and whats the difference between AL and NL.

dagenhamjim... i'm an avid sports fan.  in baseball, my favorite teams R the chicago cubs & the atlanta braves.  i grew up in the chicagoland area & my dad introduced me 2 the cubs.  i've grown 2 luv the atlanta braves when i moved 2 florida after high school graduation.  at that time... there were no florida baseball teams.  2 this day...there R a lot of floridians that R big atlanta braves fans.

the difference between the AL & NL leagues is that the pitcher in the NL can bat but the AL there is a designated hitter that bats 4 the pitcher.  that's why i'm such a big fan of the NL.

WARHAWK

[JDog]

Jim, Warhawk has pointed out the main difference between the AL and NL. Why this is the way it is, I am not quite sure.

Baseball is commonly referred to as Americas Pastime and boy do we sure love it. Growing up, in any town in America, there is a Little League where kids play baseball and quite often in small towns, this is a great way to spent a lazy summer evening. The whole town will gather at the local diamond and enjoy the game.

I can still, even after all these years, remember the smell and the taste of hotdogs and popcorn and pop after a big game, Win or Lose. It was about the sportsmanship. Baseball is to the US what Football(soccer) is to the UK. We live and breathe it.

[dagenhamjim]

Soccer is not as big in this country as it was when i was a Kid, its proberly due to the 'rip off' prices to get into a game.
I would say an average seat is about £50.00 ($100.00) per person in the Premier league (Manchester united, Arsenal, Chelsea etc) plus about $10.00 for a program, roughly the same for a burger and a coffee at half time. And dont forget a soccer game only lasts 90 mins (45 mins each side). Just out of interest how much does it cost to get into a top game of Baseball?

[Mikekoz13]

I love baseball and follow the lowly Baltimore Orioles..... I'm a lifelong fan.

Mel- If the Cubs pull off that trade for Brian Roberts you're going to love him.... a great and under rated player.

The Designated hitter began in the early/mid seventies. The idea at the time was that it would allow older stars to stay in the game in some capacity and draw interest from fans that thought the pitcher batting .092 all year was boring. I hated the idea at the time because I am a bit of a baseball purist. I live with it know because it is what it is but it takes a lot of strategy out of the game. It is funny though that nearly zero older stars are DH's.

[JDog]

Jim, I would go see my team the Detroit Tigers play at old Tiger Stadium and the best seat in the stadium behind home plate would be max $30. We would often sit in the bleachers behind left field and for $5 we would get a seat,hotdog and large soda.

But like you have pointed out accuratley, the shape of sports and the game have changed. I'm not sure how much a ticket would cost for a ticket to a game these days. I havent been to one in quite some time.

[schro]

Huge Oakland A's Fan. Born in Oakland, grew up apporx. 10 miles from the Oakland Coliseum. During my youth, I would attend at least a 20 games a year and would listen to them on the radio whenever possible. I still listen to them and/or watch them on TV whenever possible (currently live around 120 miles from "The O").

Now, Sacramento is home to the A's Triple A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. I love the minor league experience as well (Rivercat stadium is awesome). Given that the A's revenue stream is the complete opposite of the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Angels, etc. us A's fans are used to watching the minor league system closely.

[RodgerDodger]

I recently posted this in the
NAME a guilty pleasure that reminds U of your childhood... thread.

Sitting way up in the bleechers at Shea, eating peanuts and drinking orangeade. Man they had great peanuts at Shea, fresh roasted and in paper bags. And listening to Jane Jarvis play that mighty Wurlitzer. She really knew how to get the crowd going, with her renditions of "Meet the Mets" and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game"! The Wurlitzer is long gone and replaced by recorded rock. I wonder if the new Citipark will have an organ. I doubt it. 

Shea was a beauty.

2008 will mark the last game played at Shea Stadium. The field, which the Mets have called home since 1964, since leaving the Polo Grounds, will be replaced by a new stadium. Certainly this is the way of sports. So, it is with a lot of joy, but also some sorrow, I look towards Citi Field, the Mets new stadium modeled after Ebbets Field where the Brooklyn Dodgers played. My dad would have probably been excited, although he never forgave the Dodgers for leaving Brooklyn and deserting their fans.

Still, it is not with pure joy that I look forward to the opening of a new stadium. Shea holds lots of memories for me. The first live baseball game I ever saw was at Shea Stadium. I have memories of leaving school early on opening day and heading out to the park, with a few friends, to watch the game.

Perhaps the greatest Shea Stadium memory I have was September 17, 1986. That was the day the Mets beat the Chicago Cubs to clinch the NL East. I was at the game and, like the rest of the fans, following the victory made my way onto the field. I still have my grass and dirt from that day. It is protected, in a glass jar.

So yes, I acknowledge it is time to get a new stadium. Yes I am excited. Still, a part of me is sad to say goodbye to Shea Stadium.

Rodger, Over and Out 

[Mikekoz13]

Hey Rodger-

             I had exactly the same feeling when the Orioles closed down old Memorial Stadium in the late eighties. I had seen nearly every professional ballgame in my life in that place. I loved the memories I had in spite of the poor seating, poles in the way, bad sight lines, etc.. But it WAS the Orioles to me.
              I was there with a group of friends for the last game played in the old park. I was in my late twenties. The place was packed and after the game the Orioles rolled out many of the old greats that had played for the team over the years while the public address announcer reminded everyone about some of the greatest moments in team history. I never realized how many of those great games I had been at until that moment. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.
             Nobody wanted to leave. I remember that after all the festivities 52,000 people just stood there, tears in their eyes, applauding that old building. All the old players came back onto the field to see what was going on and stood in the middle of the infield and applauded along with the crowd. It was really a tribute to that old building before it was torn down.
              To this day it is one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed in sports.... a tribute to an old ballpark full of memories..... really an old "friend".

 Filled eyes and goosebumps just remembering that day while typing this.......

[Tyler]

I'm a Dodgers fan!