2023 MLB Season Thread

[Sec19Row53]

36 minutes ago, Sport said:

Injuries happen and that’s always a risk in international tournaments, but lots of players have been injured playing in pointless spring training games already this year. How’s this any different? 

ThEy GoTtA pLaY THOSE gAMeS

[monkeypower]

42 minutes ago, Sport said:

Injuries happen and that’s always a risk in international tournaments, but lots of players have been injured playing in pointless spring training games already this year. How’s this any different? 

 

Because Mets fans can view someone getting hurt in a pointless Spring Training game as something that happens while doing a team activity in attempting to win a World Series (or whatever the Athletics are attempting to do *rimshot*).  This was a non-Mets baseball game, playing for a country the vast majority of Mets fans are not from, that now has a potentially negative impact in the Mets attempting to win a World Series. I'm not saying I totally agree with the mentality, but I'm saying why it's different than a Spring Training game and why I think it's kind of weird that people aren't being able to understand why there would be a difference. If Trout tore up his knee or Shohei threw out his arm in the WBC, I wouldn't be pretty happy about it as an Angels fan.

 

It's funny though seeing baseball fans now going through the same exact panic as hockey fans with the Olympics. The same refrain of "Growing the Game" vs "Meaningless Exhibition". It's not a perfect comparison between the WBC and Olympic hockey, but it's close enough. I've gathered most NHL fans are now on the side of the NHL (or at least understand of the NHL's view/predicament for not going) as opposed to the Olympics, but we'll see where baseball fans fall.

 

"Is Edwin Diaz the New John Tavares? (and How Does This Impact the Leafs Legacy?)" - Sportsnet.

[Sport]

53 minutes ago, monkeypower said:

 

Because Mets fans can view someone getting hurt in a pointless Spring Training game as something that happens while doing a team activity in attempting to win a World Series (or whatever the Athletics are attempting to do *rimshot*).  This was a non-Mets baseball game, playing for a country the vast majority of Mets fans are not from, that now has a potentially negative impact in the Mets attempting to win a World Series. I'm not saying I totally agree with the mentality, but I'm saying why it's different than a Spring Training game and why I think it's kind of weird that people aren't being able to understand why there would be a difference. If Trout tore up his knee or Shohei threw out his arm in the WBC, I wouldn't be pretty happy about it as an Angels fan.

 

 

Would you be upset at the WBC or that it occurred at all? I think you can be unhappy the injury happened, but it's silly to blame the tournament that is simply replacing their spring training games. It's not like they wouldn't be playing right now if the WBC wasn't happening.

 

 

 

[WestCoastBias]

12 hours ago, Cujo said:

Welp. This'll be the last year you see star players allowed to play in this silly exhibition.

 

 

Looks like the biggest stars don't share your sentiment at all. 

 

 

[Cujo]

1 hour ago, WestCoastBias said:

 

Looks like the biggest stars don't share your sentiment at all. 

 

 

 

But it's not going to be up to the players. If owners tell them they can't play next time send, they won't.

 

Look for the next WBC to look similar to Olympic hockey, where it's composed of amateur and retired players.

[WestCoastBias]

5 minutes ago, Cujo said:

 

But it's not going to be up to the players. If owners tell them they can't play next time send, they won't.

 

Look for the next WBC to look similar to Olympic hockey, where it's composed of amateur and retired players.

 

Eh doubt it. 

 

Doesn't MLB own the WBC too? No way they'd let that happen. 

[Cujo]

2 minutes ago, WestCoastBias said:

Eh doubt it. 

 

Doesn't MLB own the WBC too? No way they'd let that happen. 

 

Again. Owners who don't want their star players injured in a meaningless exhibition will have final say.

[TBGKon]

41 minutes ago, Cujo said:

 

Again. Owners who don't want their star players injured in a meaningless exhibition will have final say.

So the FIFA World Cup is meaningless?  Don’t tell players that playing for country vs. club is that different.

[JerseyJimmy]

pretty sure the only way things will ever be different is when Tank croaks. until then I'm done. maybe the Yankees can break past Houston this year, I don't know.

[Cujo]

1 hour ago, TBGKon said:

So the FIFA World Cup is meaningless?  Don’t tell players that playing for country vs. club is that different.

 

I can guarantee you winning the World Cup means more to players than winning a pro league championship. Can't say that about baseball.

 

And playing for country? A lot of these WBC teams are comprised of players who have probably never stepped foot in the country they're playing for. Please.

[TBGKon]

25 minutes ago, Cujo said:

And playing for country? A lot of these WBC teams are comprised of players who have probably never stepped foot in the country they're playing for. Please.

Sorry, but FIFA rules for national eligibility aren't that different than the WBC.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_eligibility_rules

 

Quote

The relevant current FIFA statute, Article 7: Acquisition of a new nationality, states:^[18]

Any player who refers to art. 5 par. 1^{[note 1]} to assume a new nationality and who has not played international football [in a match (either in full or in part) in an official competition of any category or any type of football] shall be eligible to play for the new representative team only if he fulfils one of the following conditions:
a) He was born on the territory of the relevant association;
b) His biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant association;
c) His grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant association;
d) He has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant association.

— FIFA.com

 

WBC Eligibility

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/world-baseball-classic-rules-and-regulations-2023

 

Quote

Each player on a Federation Team’s approved Provisional Roster must be eligible to participate for that Federation Team. A player will be so eligible only if:
• The player previously appeared on a Federation Team’s final roster at the start of either a World Baseball Classic Qualifier or Tournament round; or
•  The player is a citizen of the Federation Team’s country or territory, as evidenced by a valid passport the player holds as of three months prior to the start of the Tournament; or
•  The player is currently a permanent legal resident of the Federation Team’s country or territory, as evidenced by documentation satisfactory to WBCI and the World Baseball Softball Confederation (“WBSC”), or
•  The player was born in the Federation Team’s country or territory, as evidenced by a birth certificate or its equivalent; or
•  The player has at least one parent who is, or if deceased was, a citizen of the Federation Team’s country or territory, as evidenced by a passport or other documentation satisfactory to WBCI and the WBSC; or
•  The player has at least one parent who was born in the Federation Team’s country or territory, as evidenced by a birth certificate or its equivalent; or
•  The player presents documentary evidence satisfactory to WBCI that he would be granted citizenship or a passport in due course under the laws of the Federation Team’s country or territory (excluding any requirement of the Federation Team’s country that the player would need to renounce his current citizenship), if he were to apply for such citizenship or passport.

 

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

To call the WBC "meaningless exhibitions" is embarrassingly clueless. That tournament is for the championship of the entire world.

 

It's also for the growth of the global stature of baseball. The WBC is important for countries where baseball is already huge, such as Japan, Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela (and, of course, the U.S.); but it is more important for countries where baseball is still small but growing, such as China, Italy, and the Czech Republic.

 

Comparisons to the World Cup ignore the reality that even the World Cup wasn't immediately regarded as huge.  England didn't send a team to the first several iterations of that tournament.

[monkeypower]

6 hours ago, Sport said:

 

Would you be upset at the WBC or that it occurred at all? I think you can be unhappy the injury happened, but it's silly to blame the tournament that is simply replacing their spring training games. It's not like they wouldn't be playing right now if the WBC wasn't happening.

 

 

 

 

But dumb sports fan monkey brains can justify, rightly or wrongly, a player getting injured while playing with the team in a Spring Training game.

 

Again, I'm not saying I agree with the Mets fans but I am explaining why I think some people are reacting they way they are.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

2 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

To call the WBC "meaningless exhibitions" is embarrassingly clueless. That tournament is for the championship of the entire world.

 

It's also for the growth of the global stature of baseball. The WBC is important for countries where baseball is already huge, such as Japan, Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela (and, of course, the U.S.); but it is more important for countries where baseball is still small but growing, such as China, Italy, and the Czech Republic.

 

Comparisons to the World Cup ignore the reality that even the World Cup wasn't immediately regarded as huge.  England didn't send a team to the first several iterations of that tournament.

 

 I wish the WBC meant more. The idea of the tournament is really cool and I don't understand why it doesn't have a profile.

 

Though, if I had to hazard a guess, it's because the US hasn't been more competitive in it (though I was shocked to learn they were the most recent winners, back in 2017).

[Cujo]

If the WBC were as as important as some of you are making it out to be, it would have it's own thread on here. And in fact, nobody mentioned the WBC on here before last night's injury. One post about the WBC was made, and it about the drunk bros behind home plate in ringing up batters. Nothing was said about the actual games going on at all, which tells you how much of an afterthought the tournament is. So please, let's not pretend it's this grand event on the same level as the World Cup.

[McCall]

11 hours ago, Cujo said:

If the WBC were as as important as some of you are making it out to be, it would have it's own thread on here. And in fact, nobody mentioned the WBC on here before last night's injury. One post about the WBC was made, and it about the drunk bros behind home plate in ringing up batters. Nothing was said about the actual games going on at all, which tells you how much of an afterthought the tournament is. So please, let's not pretend it's this grand event on the same level as the World Cup.

Yeah, because it not having it's own thread on these boards means an entire tournament is meaningless.

 

Sadly, it may not mean as much to American baseball fans (maybe because our league is the top level in the entire world), but to just about every other country, including Puerto Rico, it does. Baseball is the national sport there and the players and fans take great pride in playing for the national team. So you can't really project your own personal feelings of the WBC onto people from the other countries.

[Germanshepherd]

[floydnimrod]

15 hours ago, Cujo said:

If the WBC were as as important as some of you are making it out to be, it would have it's own thread on here. And in fact, nobody mentioned the WBC on here before last night's injury. One post about the WBC was made, and it about the drunk bros behind home plate in ringing up batters. Nothing was said about the actual games going on at all, which tells you how much of an afterthought the tournament is. So please, let's not pretend it's this grand event on the same level as the World Cup.

March Madness doesn't even have it's own thread here.

[BrySmalls]

I expect the Nats to win almost the same number of games as last season (55) and finish last in the NL East again. I enjoy watching bad baseball teams while hoping for better seasons to come. Does anyone else feel that way when their team is bad?

[dont care]

On 3/16/2023 at 12:50 AM, Cujo said:

 

Give me one scenario where players are going to celebrate like that during Spring training. I'll wait.

Give me a scenario where a player jumps during spring training. Oh wait every day during warmups