Red Mosquito

well it's root root root for the Phillies
if they don't win it's a shame
cuz it's one! two! three! strikes you're out
at the old balls game

You happen to be jumping in when perhaps the greatest baseball player of all time is playing, so—I can’t believe I’m saying this—be sure to watch Dodgers games this postseason. You don’t necessarily have to root for them, but it’ll be worth your time.

It’s also a time of pretty great parity in the game—of the past 9 World Series winners, there’s only been one team that’s won more than one World Series (the Astros, more on them in a minute). In the approximate decade before that, 8 of 11 championships were won by just three times (Boston and San Francisco with 3 each, St. Louis with 2). In the late ‘90s, the Yankees won 4 championships in 5 years.

If you’re looking to root for a front runner who might go deep into the postseason, your best bets are probably the Yankees or Dodgers, but top seeds get knocked out early all the time, so it’s no guarantee (LA got swept out of the playoffs without winning a game last year, for example).

If you’d rather root for a good story, go with either Detroit (front office decided to sell at the deadline, weren’t expected to do much, roared into the playoffs) or maybe San Diego (after starting the season 50-50, they exploded since then going 46-21). Well known losers the Mets are also still in the hunt and could make the playoffs, so keep an eye on that.

Don’t get sucked in by the Astros, they’ve had great success since 2017, making the playoffs every single year and winning 7 division titles and 2 World Series, but they had a cheating scandal and are widely loathed. You’d be rooting for the bad guys, basically.

Jorge, what do you know about baseball? I know you said you don’t know the rules, but I assume you know the basics just from watching The Simpsons.

Please calm down

Jorge, one important thing to keep in mind right out of the gate is that you hate the Yankees and Red Sox.

doug rr wrote:

spike wrote:The postseason starts in a couple days, so your timing is impeccable as it’s the best baseball. Immerse yourself in the games if you can, soak up the drama, and we’ll answer your gameplay questions along the way. There is only one October.

look at that physique

96583UP wrote:

doug rr wrote:

spike wrote:The postseason starts in a couple days, so your timing is impeccable as it’s the best baseball. Immerse yourself in the games if you can, soak up the drama, and we’ll answer your gameplay questions along the way. There is only one October.

look at that physique

was dane cook your sexual awakening

I can’t wait to attend a game with yiu

spike wrote:

96583UP wrote:

doug rr wrote:

spike wrote:The postseason starts in a couple days, so your timing is impeccable as it’s the best baseball. Immerse yourself in the games if you can, soak up the drama, and we’ll answer your gameplay questions along the way. There is only one October.

look at that physique

was dane cook your sexual awakening

Yes

I think you can be a fan of baseball the way you can be a fan of war. What it is today does not resemble the romanticized version of the 20th century. Crafty starting pitchers, dependable iron men, and iconic managers have given way to bullpen games, DH mvps, and analytics. You’d be better off watching Ken Burns documentaries, 30 for 30s, and game 7 of the 1991 World Series to understand what made it incredible. The 21st century has added very little to its legacy save the incredible Boston comeback against the Yanks in the ALCS and Ichiro challenging Pete Rose for the greatest hitter of all time. Ohtani is incredible, but Theo has literally shortened the base paths and taken away pitchers’ ability to hold the runner to make the 50/50 thing possible.

Take note, Jorge: just like music, movies, or literally anything else, with baseball it’s always acceptable to just whine and say “It used to be way better back when I was younger!”

I'll try and post more later on this...

But baseballs greatest strength can be it's greatest weakness. It can be slow, and even boring. But as pointed out, this is a great time to see how that becomes a strength. Just the absolute tension of waiting for each pitch in an important moment is unparalleled in sport for me.


Also, and this will seem silly, just go watch highlight reel catches on YouTube to get a sense of just the excitement the game can have.

Shit is pretty boring. Just watch Munenori Kawasaki interviews instead.

Simple Torture wrote:Take note, Jorge: just like music, movies, or literally anything else, with baseball it’s always acceptable to just whine and say “It used to be way better back when I was younger!”

Dude, Christ. I’m not whining. It’s a different game now. All games are. They’ve evolved/devolved, depending on your viewpoint, due to rule changes and money. Music production and film-making has changed because of technology, but great songwriting and great storytelling have not. Horrible analogy.

Jorge..it doesn't happen often but familiarize yourself with the infield fly rule...

When do we introduce Jorge to the "fuck face" card? Too early for that?

When do we introduce Jorge to the "fuck face" card? Too early for that?