MLB Thread - 2022
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
Maybe the Giants' even year dominance of the 2010s will become odd year dominance this decade? It already felt like the end of an era with Buster Posey retiring and you had to expect a team led by players in their mid 30s was going to flame out pretty fast. Fortunately the farm system is stacked. It's going to take a couple years to get all those 19 and 20 year olds up to the big leagues but I think they're in pretty good shape with their position player prospects. And you have an owner that will spend for pitching so it should only be a brief downturn before they're challenging the Dodgers and Padres for the division lead again.
Jed in Green and Gold is a freakin' stud! I remember back in 2018 (the 50th Anniversary season) when I was hiking for three weeks in July while he was in the middle of his All-Star season. Now Olson, Chapman, Davis, Canha, Manaea, Mengden, Cahill, Anderson, and even Bob Melvin are gone and he's still crushing it. I thought that team was going to win the WS but the starting rotation was too banged up by the end of the season.
I started watching Hiroshima Carp games a few years ago and he's a total stud. I expect him to compete for MVP and silver slugger awards once he gets adjusted to MLB.
Awesome! He's as professional as it gets with his approach at the plate so I was confident his skills would translate. That contract is going to pay for itself 10 times over in marketing and international brand recognition. Ohtani is basically the face of MLB right now and the Angels got him for practically nothing. Suzuki cost more, but compared to what the top MLB free agents are this season that was a slam dunk no-brainer of a deal for an elite hitter in his prime.
I don't think most of these franchises really understand how to sell baseball to anyone under 40 anymore. Local market share is meaningless in a post-cable world, what matters now is brand recognition. I can watch any MLB team I want on my phone or laptop right now -- why would I choose to watch a team that isn't interested in competing if I have 29 other choices? Not to mention all of NPB -- yeah the time difference sucks, but the product is just as good and in some cases better than what MLB is offering. Many of these teams are going to find their market share falling off a cliff in about 20 years unless they find a way back into popular culture, and selling international superstars who bring fans from outside the local market is one way to do that.
The Oakland A's sent a fan survey out about the possibility of the team moving to Vegas during the off-season and in addition to a lot of other things I told them they would be idiots not to sign this guy (in so many words). And of course they traded everyone and slashed the payroll down to around $45 million instead cause that's who they are. There's nothing I can do about it though, their business is their business. I'm happy to root for youngsters but as the time between rebuild cycles gets shorter and shorter I'm starting to wonder why I continue to care. If they do end up leaving Oakland maybe I'll become a Cubs fan.
I don't think most of these franchises really understand how to sell baseball to anyone under 40 anymore. Local market share is meaningless in a post-cable world, what matters now is brand recognition. I can watch any MLB team I want on my phone or laptop right now -- why would I choose to watch a team that isn't interested in competing if I have 29 other choices? Not to mention all of NPB -- yeah the time difference sucks, but the product is just as good and in some cases better than what MLB is offering. Many of these teams are going to find their market share falling off a cliff in about 20 years unless they find a way back into popular culture, and selling international superstars who bring fans from outside the local market is one way to do that.
The Oakland A's sent a fan survey out about the possibility of the team moving to Vegas during the off-season and in addition to a lot of other things I told them they would be idiots not to sign this guy (in so many words). And of course they traded everyone and slashed the payroll down to around $45 million instead cause that's who they are. There's nothing I can do about it though, their business is their business. I'm happy to root for youngsters but as the time between rebuild cycles gets shorter and shorter I'm starting to wonder why I continue to care. If they do end up leaving Oakland maybe I'll become a Cubs fan.
