Question for MLB Baseball Fans

LapHunt
Saturday, July 22, 2023 5:28 AM
For those who never cared for or don't watch baseball, this won't be relevant. I'm interested though in getting opinions from those who either were or still consider themselves baseball fans to some extent. Are you still able to enjoy this game with all of the showboating antics of this new wave of young players? I mean, these guys are strutting around like peacocks and beating their chests after every home run (Kirk Gibson did it after winning a World Series game on a gimpy leg and even he showed more restraint than these guys). You've got relievers yelling like maniacs and beating their chests after striking guys out in the 7th inning. Most of today's MLB stars (Tatis Jr., Acuna, Soto, Guerrero Jr.) seem singularly focused on hitting home runs. The way they carry on at the HR Derby every year seems to be really closely aligned with their in-game behavior to be honest. I've been watching the game since the mid-to-late '80s, and I actually found the game mostly free of this kind of BS up to about 2010 (or, if it happened, players would self-police with beaning, etc. to bring things in line). But it's gotten really extreme in the last few years. The reason is obvious to me. Players like Bud Norris and Brian McCann tried to talk about this but were shouted down by liberal journalists at ESPN and other places. For those who've watched/enjoyed baseball at any point in the past, what are your thoughts on the complete cultural erosion of America's national pastime?

47 comments

I’m a huge baseball fan. I’ve been watching (and listening on the radio) since 1967. I’m an old school baseball traditionalist, so my answer might surprise some. The bat flips and chest-beating doesn’t bother me so much. In an ideal world, I’d prefer a more conservative approach but MLB has bigger issues. What probably bothers me more are the actions of NFL players - the choreographed dancing around after a TD is really annoying. Or the absolutely most annoying thing - when a defensive player sacks the QB, the excess celebration even if you’re down 42-0. Act like that’s your job As far as I’m concerned MLB has bigger issues. I hate the increase in inter-league play this season. Still hating the DH and the extra innings ghost runner. But most of all, they need to address the antiquated blackout rules.
motorhead
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10 months ago
Players have always been doing those type of antics as long as I've followed baseball. I'm sure Babe Ruth did it.
DandyDan
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10 months ago
I love the pitch clock rule and the ability to appeal close calls for review. It’s up to the players to enforce the “unwritten rules of baseball”. Next time one of the assholes from flamboyant cultures gets up to bat, they just happen to get hit by a 95 mph 4 seamer in the lower back or on their bubble butt.
Studme53
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10 months ago
I lost interest in baseball years ago, the pace was too slow, and there were too many showboating prima donnas. I occasionally still watch a playoff or World Series game, if the Yankees or marlin’s are playing, but I don’t follow the game very closely and no longer know players names or stats like I did when I was younger.
twentyfive
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10 months ago
Baseball is timeless, unlike 2 bits who’s fading quickly to irrelevancy.
Mate27
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10 months ago
Studme I agree. If all the rule changes - I love the pitch clock. I’m can go either way on the replay review. I’m all for reversing blatant errors but I don’t think the intent of the rule was to try and see if a finger touched the base (that could only be seen on a high def slow mo blown up review) - same applies to the NFL
motorhead
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10 months ago
^ I know - I get it - but I kind of like it when it’s a Phillie who’s finger touched the base.
Studme53
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10 months ago
why shouldn't a hitter show off flamboyantly after hitting a home run? if you played baseball or even stickball you'd realized trying to hit a ball is one of the most difficult feats in sports to attempt. then imagine doing that at the highest level of competition. if the opposition gets pissed off fuck them. have the pitchers pitch better and more smartly. best way to get back to these hitters is striking them out, go yeaaaah!! then stare and smile. acuna is the best offensive player by a wide margin over his peers. he's not just a home run hacker. great baserunner and is 3rd in the league in hits. he's a terror - an absolute nightmare that pitchers have to deal with.
rattdog
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10 months ago
It doesn't bother me at all. Players showing some personality and star power actually appeals to younger fans, which baseball desperately needs. Together with the rule changes such as the pitch clock that have quickened the pace of play and shortened game times, it's finally headed in the right direction. Tradition is fine, but when it gets to the point that it becomes a weight that is dragging the sport's popularity down, then it is time for some changes. I just wish baseball had done it sooner.
crosscheck
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10 months ago
Rattdog - Acuna is a great young player having a historically great season. He may well be the best offensive player in baseball, but not by a "wide margin." Shohei Otani for one would like something to say about that.
crosscheck
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10 months ago
I was against the replay review when it first came out but I learned to live with it, and other than the time delay it didn't really interfere with my enjoyment of the game. However, the one thing that really turned me from a serious fan to just an occasional viewer and eventually to a non-fan was that fucking strike zone graphic. I hardly watch the game anymore because of that. I have to draw the line when my view of every single live play is completely obstructed by that garbage. IMO it's unwatchable. It would be fine (and a lot more logical) if you could at least watch the live pitch, and then on the replay they put their computer analysis all over the fucking screen. But blocking my view with that distracting box over the catcher's face, and then the dot popping up where the ball supposedly crossed the plate, but you can't even see the ball for yourself... fuck that shit. They might as well just show a blacked out screen with nothing but the graphics. Why even bother showing the players on the field? These new things, the pitch clock and the ghost runner or whatever, if you ask me I'd say I'm against them, but honestly I don't care because my love of the game was lost a long time ago.
misterorange
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10 months ago
I've been watching baseball for 5 decades. The new antics don't bother me a bit. And it doesn't hurt in attracting younger fans to the game. The pitch clock has improved the game so much. Last night I was at a game that was 9-4 and completed under 2.5 hours. Lots of home runs, lots of strike outs....a great balance between offense and defense excellence. What really drove me nuts was all the glove adjustments, stepping out of the box or off the rubber that could lead to taking more than a minute to execute 1 pitch. Baseball seems like it's in a real growth mode right now.
grand1511
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10 months ago
ay crosscheck, i knew that ohtani was doing real well this season but did not realize how well until i just looked at the stats - holy shit!!!! i stand corrected. if i owned the angels the guy i would get rid of is trout, not ohtani. and contrary to popular baseball consensus i actually like the angels roster. their fanbase constantly trashes them but i like that team as they're fun to watch and are regularly competitive, even without trout.
rattdog
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10 months ago
Yeah I see both sides of it. One one hand I hate the absolutely no fun types but I don’t want the game to turn into Caribbean baseball which is over th e top ridiculous. As far as the clock. I think there should be more time. The vets like Scherzer and Verlander need a little more time. And I agree there are a lot more douchebags coming up than there used to be.
Muddy
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10 months ago
One thing about the flamboyant young Latin players - they have to know they can’t have it both ways. I do watch a lot of baseball - every day - they seem to get very upset by even the slightest inside pinch. I guess I grew up in an era where players would get dusted by Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal and Nolan Ryan. It used to part off the game. I sort of miss the classic manager-umpire arguments. They’ve virtually disappeared with replay.
motorhead
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10 months ago
Automatic strike zone or no? Then there would really be no arguments. I really don’t know if it’s for the best, but I’d like to see it tried.
Muddy
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10 months ago
I’m really torn on the automatic zone. It may improve the quality of the calls which is good - but umpires, like players, are imperfect. Bad calls are going to be part of the game and I guess it helps make the game interesting in some way. I’m probably biased. I was a longtime softball umpire thru the high school level and would hate to see umpires replaced. But it’s probably inevitable.
motorhead
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10 months ago
^ That would be totally the end for me. Now I watch 2 or 3 games a year. With no umps I would never watch another game.
misterorange
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10 months ago
I was at a AAA game this summer that was experimenting with automatic review of ball strike calls. The umpires were not replaced. It was like watching tennis where line calls can be challenged.. Each team started the game with three pitch call challenges. If the challenged call was overturned, they got to keep the challenge. If it was upheald, they lost the challenge. Get three challenges upheld and you have no more challenges for the game. When a challenge was made, within 10 seconds an image was flashed on the scoreboard that showed where the pitch went in relation to the strike zone. It did not slow the game down, but did seem to get things right. I have no idea how the technology works, but it seems well accepted in tennis and I can see it being another needed improvement to baseball.
grand1511
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10 months ago
Yes - of course automatic strike zone. It’s great technology - like instant replay - why not use it? Tradition? Some umps are god awful at calling balls and strikes and ruin the game. An ump can remain behind the plate to call everything else that happens there if you love them so much.
Studme53
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10 months ago
How about they just put computer controlled robots on the field. That would be SO much more fun to watch!
misterorange
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10 months ago
Let's see who has the better programming skills instead of baseball instincts.
misterorange
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10 months ago
I've done my time caring about sports but made parole and am done.
skibum609
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10 months ago
Mr. O - I don’t think anyone watches the game to see the umps. Would you really miss them if the game could function without them on the field?
Studme53
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10 months ago
^ it’s just not as much fun to watch the team manager kick dirt on a robot
twentyfive
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10 months ago
^plus they might make the robot managers too. Both the manager bot and the umpire bot would kick dirt on each other until it got in their gears and the bots would break down. We’d be back to 4 hour games. So I guess I lean anti-bot. As far as antics in the game, baseball still seems to be pretty watchable and enjoyable to me.
Huntsman
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10 months ago
@Studme53 - Yup
misterorange
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10 months ago
^ ha ha ok - I wouldn’t. I don’t miss blockbuster or pay phones either
Studme53
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10 months ago
I love baseball but the fact that it’s a horrible, torturous, painful as all fuck to watch sport has nothing to do with the umps or rules but more due to the fact that I’m I’m a Met fan
Muddy
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10 months ago
I suppose I'm just nostalgic. For example, I can appreciate the magnificence of modern ballparks but given the choice, I'd much rather watch a game at Wrigley or Fenway.
misterorange
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10 months ago
^ I've been a lifelong Red Sox fan. Fenway is just about the most physically uncomfortable venue in sports to watch a game in person. I don't even enjoy going anymore.
crosscheck
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10 months ago
some of the best looking girls i've ever seen was my only visit to yankee stadium in the late 80's.
rattdog
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10 months ago
Was a Cubs fan stopped following when they left wgn.
StudlyJohn
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10 months ago
Watching a game on TV as I write this. I still enjoy it. I know I can't change the behavior of the players. It's just the way young people are these days.
ancientlurker
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10 months ago
To a degree it’s kind of fun. I’m a Braves fan and I love the enthusiasm of Acuna and Allbies.
boomer79
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10 months ago
I have been in person at Cubs, White Sox and Pirates home games this summer. If you’re only watching highlights one might see a lot of flamboyance but if you watch an entire game it’s 99.9% good behavior and players grinding for outs and hits. Pitch clock is great for fans. Though it must suck for the guys who would circle the mound or adjust their hat or nuts for days out if habit.
captainfun
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10 months ago
Above comment is spot on. I watch a game almost every night and the antics really aren’t that prevalent. It’s mostly just ESPN outtakes
motorhead
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10 months ago
It doesn't bother me.
BGSD3100
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10 months ago
I don’t care that much. If violation of the “unwritten rules” or disrespect bothers the other players they should do something about it. There’s no rule against a pitcher losing a bit of control on a fast ball that happens to hit a batter in the back or bubble butt.
Studme53
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10 months ago
At this point, I don't think we're going to see beanings for this behavior anymore because the newer generation behaves this way en masse. Players like Brian McCann who were bothered by it are no longer in the game. Change the demographics, change the culture. What's happening in baseball is just a microcosm for what's happening to the country.
LapHunt
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10 months ago
Kirk Gibson was so injured he couldn't even play and yet comes off the bench to win a world series game with a walk-off homer. Very entitled to fist pump as he painfully hobbled off the field. Very unlike the stupid celebration we now see when someone hits a home run to make it 14-1.
skibum609
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10 months ago
@SizeMatters - I agree with you. My point was the Gibson HR was completely understandable and a great moment given the circumstances. I was noting it merely to contrast with this new generation of players who strut around (more arrogantly and brazenly than Gibson did) when they hit a HR to extend a 8-3 lead to 9-3 in a regular season game in May. Kirk Gibson was baseball personified and a throwback to when baseball was a game truly emblematic of American culture. The undertone of my message is linked to demographic change. I didn't want to push that too heavily right away in my OP, but that really is the undercurrent of what I mean when I say "change the demographics, change the culture." Mind you, there were some wonderfully behaved diverse players in the past like Roberto Clemente and Albert Pujols who never engaged in such antics, but if we are being truthful and look at these 22-year old stars who are carrying on this way, I mean let's be honest, their names aren't Chapman or Smith. Again, what's happening in baseball is just a microcosm for what's happening to the country.
LapHunt
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10 months ago
I make this comment any time someone mentions Kirk Gibson, I was a kid when I saw it live and back then, and still do, think that bat was corked. I don't mind the antics and I like the analytics stuff. I watch mostly White Sox so they really only do it on the replay. However, I was watching a national game and I swear they re-drew the box to show a strike when it was clearly high and a ball. I'm only an avid watcher when the Sox are in it to some extent (unlike now), so take what I say with a grain of salt. My older cousin who is an avid baseball watcher does agree with me on the strike zone bs. He says it's forced to keep integrity of the umpires.
chiefwiggum
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10 months ago
I’m curious why you think Gibson corked his bat? I hate the Dodgers so not arguing, but I’ve never even heard of hint of that allegation before. And he auctioned off the bat to raise money for his charitable foundation - I don’t think he would have risked that with a corked bat And almost all of the corked bat incidents happened after Gibson. The famous Sosa one wasn’t until 2003
motorhead
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10 months ago
I was in elementary school at the time, but the older kids in the neighborhood talked about corking and other stuff you could do to a bat. Gibson could barely stand let alone walk with that hammy injury or knee or both. Somehow, he was able to do bp? Either he wasn't really hurt or Dodgers were super desperate. Anyway, he's up against Eckersley, down 0-2 and not only hits the ball but out of the park! With that many ailments and hurdles ahead of him, I thought, either his bat is of suspicious origin or he was touched by God. It was such exciting baseball and so great for the sport that no one bothered to question it. I heard much, much later that the scouts knew that a backdoor slider was coming if Eckersley had a man on or something like that. Ok, even if you know the pitch is coming, coming from Eckersley, barely able to stand, just makes the whole thing at least a little suspicious. I was also highly rooting for the American League that year.
chiefwiggum
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10 months ago
^Yeah, I hear ya but not buying it chief. Kirk just read the pitch and belted it. His arms and upper body were fine. Lasorda would have surely pinch-ran for him if he had reached via walk or base hit. And he was really hurt as that was his only plate appearance of the entire series.
LapHunt
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10 months ago
I played the game and still love it to this day as much as when I was a kid in the 80’s. I loved when Sosa would do his little hop-skip after hitting one, or when Barry would stare at the ball for 10 seconds after it. Babe Ruth allegedly pointed his bat to right field before launching one into the stands back in the “Murderers Row” days. The game should be played with passion, flair, pizzazz, etc. if it’s done with the intent of just expressing emotion over doing something fantastic - and not showing up your opponent then I’m okay with it. Hitting a home run is one of the most exhilarating feelings there is - almost like a powerful orgasm. Doing so at the top level has to feel amazing - as does making a diving stop to a hard-hit grounder in the hole - and flipping the ball to 2nd base using the glove hand for the force out to end the inning.
FLAP3000
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9 months ago
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