Why are you following Baseball?

[Machinehead]

Definitely not true the last 3 seasons.

The last SCF that didn't make me snore was 2010.

 

[Cassano]

The last SCF that didn't make me snore was 2010.

Haven't tuned in more than 1 game besides the 2014 one.

 

[Baxterman]

the mariners have never appeared in the world series but cardinals superfan over here is upset because the cardinals just won't move from being good to great.

Upset? Superfan?

I said it was a factor in me not enjoying baseball any more and why I don't follow the sport.

Also I have heard many fans upset when their team doesn't go for it. Am I supposed to not criticize a team just because they had success in the past.

 

[robert terwilliger]

it's a real reach to criticize a team who has literally been involved in over half of its leagues' championship series this millennium. a team which has constantly gone out and gotten its guy, spending in prospects when it needs to or dipping into free-agency when needed.

the idea that "They never seem to make a bold move to try and win a world series and instead just seem happy with making the play-offs and going out early" would make sense if they didn't make moves like the one for holliday and heyward and filling in the gaps with guys from the farm who just produce. the cardinals are arguably the model franchise in mlb in the last twenty or so years. dumping them and baseball because the cubs decided to finally put together a real team seems shallow and criticizing a team for basically being a contender but not always the contender is just pedantic.

again, there are teams who have literally never played in a world series. there are teams who haven't played in their lcs in over two decades. while it's not your fault, cardinals fan, it's a tough place to find common ground with people.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

While it's unreasonable for a Cardinals fan to feel like he's given a rough deal, it's also totally normal that fan interest and investment start dropping off once the team's window of contention has closed, and they're going to be mediocre or rebuilding for a while. Watching a ball game is a 3-4 hour investment, more if you attend the game and have to get there and back etc. and people will do that a lot less if their team stinks.

For example, my routine investment in the Wings has shifted considerably now that they're a bad team. I now typically just check the scores and hope they lost. I doubt that's something unique to me.

 

[Baxterman]

it's a real reach to criticize a team who has literally been involved in over half of its leagues' championship series this millennium. a team which has constantly gone out and gotten its guy, spending in prospects when it needs to or dipping into free-agency when needed.

the idea that "They never seem to make a bold move to try and win a world series and instead just seem happy with making the play-offs and going out early" would make sense if they didn't make moves like the one for holliday and heyward and filling in the gaps with guys from the farm who just produce. the cardinals are arguably the model franchise in mlb in the last twenty or so years. dumping them and baseball because the cubs decided to finally put together a real team seems shallow and criticizing a team for basically being a contender but not always the contender is just pedantic.

again, there are teams who have literally never played in a world series. there are teams who haven't played in their lcs in over two decades. while it's not your fault, cardinals fan, it's a tough place to find common ground with people.

You keep saying fan or Cardinals fan when i have said I am not a fan. So perhaps that is the problem is that you think I am complaining as a fan about my team when I have left the sport and am not coming back. This isn't like I am just waiting for them to be good it is I am done with baseball overall.

Also some of the examples you use are old or not really going in, Holliday was in 2009 and Heyward just sucks and they didn't really give up much to get him. As you said they were a model franchise that had prospects but instead of using them to add to the team to make a run they held on to guys and now have created a very mediocre team over the past 5-6 years.

I am also not sure why other teams being horribly run should affect what my team does or what I should expect. I don't think teams should be judged by what the mediocre/bad organizations do, that is not a standard that should be strived for.

 

[robert terwilliger]

sorry but the examples i gave are of how they literally sustained success over the last eighteen years.

"they didn't give up much to get [heyward]" that's kind of the point, man. they doled out what amounted to spare parts to pay heyward about eight million bucks to post a 6.5 bwar in right field for a team that won 100 games, tried to sign him long-term and got a draft pick for him.

"holliday was in 2009" right! they got him for three players i dare you to try and name and in return they only got a 136 ops+ for the next seven seasons!

a mediocre team over the last 5-6 years?

so in 2017 they only won 87 games. in 2016 only 86. 2015, 100. 2014, 90. 2013, 97. 2012, 88. that's six seasons now and they've not finished at or under .500. they haven't finished below .500 in a decade. mediocre must mean something different in canada.

teams are judged on the merits they finish their season with. when you have a team like the cardinals, a team that has won 96 games on average this century and have the audacity to want to fix their team on the fly and not turn into a laughingstock for a few years, that's a real blue ribbon look compared to most of the league that is all to keen to pocket money and not improve their team. the cardinals just this offseason had a deal for stanton, went out and got a pretty f***ing good outfielder instead and are content with their many options in house to go forward with...coming off a season in which they won 87 games.

 

[robert terwilliger]

While it's unreasonable for a Cardinals fan to feel like he's given a rough deal, it's also totally normal that fan interest and investment start dropping off once the team's window of contention has closed, and they're going to be mediocre or rebuilding for a while. Watching a ball game is a 3-4 hour investment, more if you attend the game and have to get there and back etc. and people will do that a lot less if their team stinks.

For example, my routine investment in the Wings has shifted considerably now that they're a bad team. I now typically just check the scores and hope they lost. I doubt that's something unique to me.

as a fan of the 2012 red sox i completely understand. if it's a one-and-done season like that where not only has shit hit the fan but got into the motor and filled the room with the rank smell of shit mixed with bobby valentine's f***ing personality, i completely know what that's like.

that's a whole other ball of wax from calling a team that is literally in the playoff picture every year a team a "mediocre team" with "continued acceptance of being good not great" despite nine nlcs appearances this century, including four in a row.

 

[PG Canuck]

They average 96 wins this century? Wtf. Talk about entitled.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

They average 96 wins this century? Wtf. Talk about entitled.

Out of curiosity I looked at my Pirates. Their average over the century has been a record of 73-88. No sympathy for the Cardinals here.

 

[Baxterman]

sorry but the examples i gave are of how they literally sustained success over the last eighteen years.

"they didn't give up much to get [heyward]" that's kind of the point, man. they doled out what amounted to spare parts to pay heyward about eight million bucks to post a 6.5 bwar in right field for a team that won 100 games, tried to sign him long-term and got a draft pick for him.

"holliday was in 2009" right! they got him for three players i dare you to try and name and in return they only got a 136 ops+ for the next seven seasons!

a mediocre team over the last 5-6 years?

so in 2017 they only won 87 games. in 2016 only 86. 2015, 100. 2014, 90. 2013, 97. 2012, 88. that's six seasons now and they've not finished at or under .500. they haven't finished below .500 in a decade. mediocre must mean something different in canada.

teams are judged on the merits they finish their season with. when you have a team like the cardinals, a team that has won 96 games on average this century and have the audacity to want to fix their team on the fly and not turn into a laughingstock for a few years, that's a real blue ribbon look compared to most of the league that is all to keen to pocket money and not improve their team. the cardinals just this offseason had a deal for stanton, went out and got a pretty ****ing good outfielder instead and are content with their many options in house to go forward with...coming off a season in which they won 87 games.

They had zero World Series appearances but the basis of a team and the prospect capital to go out and make a run.

Win totals are nice but how many fans look back and think about that magical 90 win season versus a World Series?

As for this offseason who cares? I am not a fan anymore so don't really care how they build their team to finish with 85-90 wins and a first round loss.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

They had zero World Series appearances but the basis of a team and the prospect capital to go out and make a run.

Win totals are nice but how many fans look back and think about that magical 90 win season versus a World Series?

As for this offseason who cares? I am not a fan anymore so don't really care how they build their team to finish with 85-90 wins and a first round loss.

At this point I'd gladly take consistent 90-win seasons considering the last time the Pirates were in a World Series I wasn't even alive at the ripe age of -3 years old.

 

[Baxterman]

At this point I'd gladly take consistent 90-win seasons considering the last time the Pirates were in a World Series I wasn't even alive.

Just to be clear my main issue wasn't that they were "only winning 90 games" but that they seemed happy to stay there and not go for the World Series.

I don't think it is crazy as a fan to want to see your team go all in for a title when they are that close. I found it more frustrating to know they were that close and refusing to go for it than if they had just been bad and had no shot.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Just to be clear my main issue wasn't that they were "only winning 90 games" but that they seemed happy to stay there and not go for the World Series.

I don't think it is crazy as a fan to want to see your team go all in for a title when they are that close. I found it more frustrating to know they were that close and refusing to go for it than if they had just been bad and had no shot.

Must be a nice frustration to have. Personally I'm frustrated that for the majority of my life my team has been non-competitive before the first pitch of the regular season was ever thrown and that we had a general manager for quite some time who prioritized "signability" over "talent." Considered we burned a 1st overall pick on a pitcher the GM considered projecting as a #3 man who ended up not even becoming that, I'd love to have the problem of "they were good but just not quite good enough."

 

[robert terwilliger]

how were they refusing to go for it? they made the nlcs four straight seasons by tweaking and adding when necessary.

in 2011 they made significant bullpen additions at the deadline as well as addressing depth at short with furcal. they won the world series.

in 2012 they signed beltran and added a relief pitcher at the deadline to a team that finished second in its division to a team that won 97 games. made it to game 7 of the lcs.

in 13 they returned most of the team and won 97 games and lost the world series.

in 14 they tweaked a little, bringing in bourjos and grichuk, neshek via trade and turning joe kelly and allen craig into john lackey. made it to game 7 of the nlcs.

i see a front office that knows how to construct a roster here. they make cuts when they need to and had a 91 win team on average in this time period.

 

[Cheese Wagstaff]

I definitely came to enjoy baseball more when I stopped viewing the regular season as just a precursor to the regular season. Like in the 2011 ALDS the Yankees lost to the Tigers after they left approximately 68,000 runners on base in Game 5. It was about as frustrating a series loss as possible and was the last time my favorite player ever played. But, they still won 97 games and guys like Cano, Granderson, Mariano, and David Robertson were really fun still. It didn't feel like a failed season, even if they didn't win. I had a lot of fun for six months, so I lived with a disappointing playoff run. I would say the same about last year, which was about as much fun as being a baseball fan can be even if it ended with the Yankees losing a winnable ALCS.

I realize that "don't worry too much about the postseason" is easy for me to say since I'm in my twenties and have watched my team win five World Series, but really it's the key. 29 teams don't win a World Series every year, your team will probably be one of them. Enjoy the ride anyway.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

The last SCF that didn't make me snore was 2010.

You snored in 2013?

C'mon now.

 

[Machinehead]

You snored in 2013?

C'mon now.

Nah, that one was pretty good.

Still, 2 in 7 years...

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I definitely came to enjoy baseball more when I stopped viewing the regular season as just a precursor to the regular season. Like in the 2011 ALDS the Yankees lost to the Tigers after they left approximately 68,000 runners on base in Game 5. It was about as frustrating a series loss as possible and was the last time my favorite player ever played. But, they still won 97 games and guys like Cano, Granderson, Mariano, and David Robertson were really fun still. It didn't feel like a failed season, even if they didn't win. I had a lot of fun for six months, so I lived with a disappointing playoff run. I would say the same about last year, which was about as much fun as being a baseball fan can be even if it ended with the Yankees losing a winnable ALCS.

I realize that "don't worry too much about the postseason" is easy for me to say since I'm in my twenties and have watched my team win five World Series, but really it's the key. 29 teams don't win a World Series every year, your team will probably be one of them. Enjoy the ride anyway.

I agree. Baseball for me is a lot less about the playoffs than the NHL. Small samples can be brutally misleading in baseball and theres no point in getting hung up on it. Baseball for me is the journey from early April through the end of September. I want to see my team win, but the World Series isnt the be all end all of it. I dont know why but i can be a lot more philosophical about it than in other sports.

 

[PG Canuck]

Out of curiosity I looked at my Pirates. Their average over the century has been a record of 73-88. No sympathy for the Cardinals here.

Nobody tell me what the Mariners record is at. Please, don't.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

I found two main things have turned me completely off of the sport. The first is the Cardinals continued acceptance of being good not great. They never seem to make a bold move to try and win a world series and instead just seem happy with making the play-offs and going out early. Now I have been lucky to have had seen two WS wins and 3 other appearances (although losing to the pathetic Red Sox was killer). But watching year after year knowing that they wouldn't make a move slowly had me less and less interested in the team.

I could legally drink before I saw my team in a playoff game and this guy is complaining that 2 World Series titles and 5 appearances isn't enough. My greatest MLB memory before 2008 was a fat guy forgetting he stuffed hot dogs in his pocket, sitting on them and then eating them.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

Nobody tell me what the Mariners record is at. Please, don't.

It's 80-82 but a lot of that comes from the 2000-2003 when they averaged 98.25 wins.

 

[Baxterman]

I could legally drink before I saw my team in a playoff game and this guy is complaining that 2 World Series titles and 5 appearances isn't enough. My greatest MLB memory before 2008 was a fat guy forgetting he stuffed hot dogs in his pocket, sitting on them and then eating them.

Nope that isn't what I said at all but people find it easier to spin it that way so they can whine about how bad their own team is.

I am not complaining about anything i was explaining why I lost interest in baseball. I also wasn't saying that it wasn't enough but that my feeling like the Cardinals had the assets to make a bigger push towards a World Series was frustrating for me and likely contributed to my declining interest.

 

[FourRings]

It's my 2nd year watching baseball, I love learning about it. I'm excited for opening day!

Please tell me you didn't intentionally become a Met fan. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

To answer the OPs question: it's the most popular sport in my city. Everyone follows the Mets/Yankees closely. My friends and I find it interesting when breaking down pitcher/batter match-ups, but I also think it's popular here because of the minimal amount of equipment needed to play and how it was a game that the immigrants to NYC could play and pass it on to their kids/grandchildren. Full disclosure: I'm a long suffering Mets fan, but I wouldn't change that. Yankee hatred runs deep! My Grandfather, upon immigrating to Brooklyn became a Dodger fan and when they left he adopted the Mets when they added them.

 

[tacogeoff]

ugh. baseball is one of the worst spectator sports out there but decent to play. You are lucky you lasted 30mins before you changed the channel.