OT: The new breed: NFL only sports fan.

[Husky25]

Well, I think they've created your antedote.

What is Banana Ball? Here are the Savannah Banana rules of the game

Always thought baseball games should last only two hours? That's Banana Ball. Check out the Savannah Bananas' unique rules for their exhibition games.

news.yahoo.com

1. Every inning counts. Rather than counting up a cumulative total of runs at the end of the game, each inning is like its own mini-game. Imagine each inning as a “game” in a tennis set. This also means every inning can end with a walk-off.
2. Two-hour time limit. A new inning won’t begin after the one-hour and 50-minute mark. If they fail to reach nine innings in that time, they fail to reach nine innings and the game ends with whichever team has won the most innings.
3. No stepping out. If a batter steps out of the box, he is given an automatic strike.
4. No bunting. Pretty self-explanatory -- and there's absolutely no wiggle room.
5. Batters can steal first. If the pitch gets away from the catcher at any point during the at-bat, the hitter is free to run to first.
6. No walks allowed. If a batter is walked, he can keep running the bases until every fielder touches the baseball. Usually that means the team congregates around second base and they play a game of hot potato.
7. 1-on-1 Showdown Tiebreaker. Should the game be tied after two hours, they go into a sudden-death Showdown. The batter steps into the box and faces off against a pitcher, catcher, and one lone, solitary fielder. The batter will try to hit the ball and race around the bases before he can be tagged out.
8. No mound visits allowed. Hey, what do those coaches say beyond, “Throw some strikes, bud"?
9. If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out. A whole new reason to bring your glove out to the ballpark.

They are coming to Dunkin next season. Bill Lee pitches sometimes in these games. I know he got sick in one of them so I'm not holding my breath in seeing him, but I am hoping to take my kids. We will likely be in NJ though.

 

[Jaydumo20]

And that's the way it is for me going forward. Even a great team can have a stinker of a performance on the field/court. Even if you comp'd tix you are still spending some money and investing time having zero ability to influence outcome. So, for me it's all about fan experience before and during the game.
Make getting to the game and leaving the game functional. Sure, it's going to be slow and there is almost always at least one choke point, but make the flow make sense and keeping things at least moving at a snails pace.
Make the pre-game a low stress event. 95% of the fans just want a few brews and some food before the game. Leave them be. They are more than capable of self-policing their own little event. Have the event security focus their attention on the obvious smaller percentage who are there to drink as much as possible and be as disruptive as possible. They are easy to see.
Make the in-game experience fun. Concessions should run smoothly, bathrooms should be accessible and clean (and no touch for the flushing, hand washing and drying).
When you actually attend a well thought out event it makes seeing the flaws in other events very easy and you can see how a little bit of effort and foresight can make a huge difference in fan experience.

I once went to a Saturday day-game at the big A in Anaheim that blew my mind. I bought tickets day of and there were about 20 ticket agents, all with their windows open, so no one waited in line. Then you have to walk under the highway to get to the field and the highway underpass was pristine and they had a jazz trio playing for the fans! Not to mention the stadium being immaculately clean and well run. It changed the experience for sure.

 

[HCCForever]

Tailgated since 2 pm for the Bears game this afternoon and now just finishing up the night. The experience surrounding the game was a blast but on field product blows. Granted it's about the worst product in the league but the games in person seem to suck each time I go no matter who the Bears are playing. Everything surrounding the game is a blast but the actual play on the field kind of stinks. I would probably feel differently if I was watching the Bills v. the Chiefs but watching the bad teams play each other is brutal.

I could also do without the little guy in front of me trying to fight everyone sitting behind him, shoving his girlfriend over and the guy who passed out in the bathroom and took a dump in his pants as security had to physically remove him from the facility.

Chicago certainly looked inept in the fourth quarter but still they were only a foot short of a TD at the end.

Al Michaels apologized for the last two Thursday night games and said that next week's game between the Cardinals and Saints should guarantee more points and a better game.

Hard to believe that people get so trashed at games especially with the high cost of beers. I have been to games at the old Schaefer and a Rams game vs Giants in Anaheim and fights broke out. The reason for the fight between the Giant's fans and Rams's fans was one guy telling a New Yorker to get a suntan. That fan from NY had weightlifting gloves on so obviously he was itching to fight.

 

[HitDog]

Hard to believe that people get so trashed at games especially with the high cost of beers.

That's what the tailgate is for.

 

[HCCForever]

That's what the tailgate is for.

I agree that most start at the tailgate but some continue at the stadium as well just to maintain their buzz.

 

[whosurdaddy2720]

Well, I think they've created your antedote.

What is Banana Ball? Here are the Savannah Banana rules of the game

Always thought baseball games should last only two hours? That's Banana Ball. Check out the Savannah Bananas' unique rules for their exhibition games.

news.yahoo.com

1. Every inning counts. Rather than counting up a cumulative total of runs at the end of the game, each inning is like its own mini-game. Imagine each inning as a “game” in a tennis set. This also means every inning can end with a walk-off.
2. Two-hour time limit. A new inning won’t begin after the one-hour and 50-minute mark. If they fail to reach nine innings in that time, they fail to reach nine innings and the game ends with whichever team has won the most innings.
3. No stepping out. If a batter steps out of the box, he is given an automatic strike.
4. No bunting. Pretty self-explanatory -- and there's absolutely no wiggle room.
5. Batters can steal first. If the pitch gets away from the catcher at any point during the at-bat, the hitter is free to run to first.
6. No walks allowed. If a batter is walked, he can keep running the bases until every fielder touches the baseball. Usually that means the team congregates around second base and they play a game of hot potato.
7. 1-on-1 Showdown Tiebreaker. Should the game be tied after two hours, they go into a sudden-death Showdown. The batter steps into the box and faces off against a pitcher, catcher, and one lone, solitary fielder. The batter will try to hit the ball and race around the bases before he can be tagged out.
8. No mound visits allowed. Hey, what do those coaches say beyond, “Throw some strikes, bud"?
9. If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out. A whole new reason to bring your glove out to the ballpark.

I actually like most of these except the last one. Totally ridiculous and super hard to monitor.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I don't think MLB needs to change it's sport to be different to draw in new fans, but rather lean into the uniqueness of the sport to bring back old fans.

1) They should remove Interleague play and make it the one sport where the two leagues don't compete until the World Series.

2) Get rid of the universal DH. Again just homogenizing the sport.

3) Go back to 25 man rosters so that we can please stop the unrelenting wave of bullpen moves.

4) Reduce the playoff size so that the regular season matters more. Each league should have 2 divisions, top two division winners advance to Division series to face the two wild cards.

5) Dead the ball and lower the seems. This in theory should give pitchers less velocity/command allowing more balls to be put in play, but by deading the ball it will make it so it's not a home run derby but more action.

6) Pitching pace of play with the pitch clock. Pitcher exceeds the time limit it's a ball.

7) Hitting pace or play. Allow the batter to step out of the box 1 time per AB. Batter steps out twice it's a strike.

8) Last and most important (and this goes for all sports) GET RID OF INSTANT REPLAY.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Unless you're talking about fantasy sports, I don't understand the argument that legalized sports betting has driven people to follow individual sports instead of being a well-rounded sports fan.

Just in the last week I've placed bets on -- and subsequently watched parts of -- baseball, hockey, and football games. I've bet and watched soccer and basketball at other times.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

To say attendance is rising is disingenuous IMO. In 2007 attendance was nearly 80 million. In 2018 it was 69. Just because it jumped from a pandemic reduced 45 doesn’t seem to me to indicate it’s rising, especially since the population rise of 10% since 07

apparently, it went from 45 mills to around 68 mills, with high 70s as the alltime peak. many other pre/post covid numbers should be as lucky. 23 millions up in attendnce is a pretty big matzoh ball. large cash an all that.
now, howzaboot the record 11 billion page hits in 2022?
thats billion with a B.

on another topic,

1. Batters can steal first. If the pitch gets away from the catcher at any point during the at-bat, the hitter is free to run to first.

this i like as it seems coherent to the game.

 

[NJHusky]

And the sports science has almost everyone throwing high 90's pushing 100.

apparently, it went from 45 mills to around 68 mills, with high 70s as the alltime peak. many other pre/post covid numbers should be as lucky. 23 millions up in attendnce is a pretty big matzoh ball. large cash an all that.
now, howzaboot the record 11 billion page hits in 2022?
thats billion with a B.

on another topic,

1. Batters can steal first. If the pitch gets away from the catcher at any point during the at-bat, the hitter is free to run to first.

this i like as it seems coherent to the game.

It’s a big up because it had a bigger down. The trend is a negative slope, not positive

 

[superjohn]

It’s a big up because it had a bigger down. The trend is a negative slope, not positive

Attendance is up!!! It's up over the Covid year and lower than it's been every single season since the mid-90's.

 

[Waquoit]

Attendance is up!!! It's up over the Covid year and lower than it's been every single season since the mid-90's.

Because going to games is fun. The only MLB game I came close to completing this season was the one game I attended in person. And it wasn't even my team. In person, boring stuff is less boring and the time between innings isn't as noticeable. When I started watching, it was a minute between half-innings. Now it's 3, that's 33 minutes added to gametime right there.

 

[donyell34]

Yankees in a good one right now. Judge at the plate.

 

[HCCForever]

Yankees in a good one right now. Judge at the plate.

Good game but he is 0 for 5

 

[Husky25]

I actually like most of these except the last one. Totally ridiculous and super hard to monitor.

they don't play at CitiField. The game is meant for minor league parks.

 

[donyell34]

Best of 3, next 2 in Cleveland puts the pressure on. Judge having a horrible first 2 games but do expect him to get hot. Truly for baseball fans the playoffs have been really good. Baseball drama.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

It’s a big up because it had a bigger down. The trend is a negative slope, not positive

try again.
Yankees' playoff opener is most-watched LDS Game 1 in four years

now, explain the 11 billion+ page views thing, cuz iffn u understood it, then this story would be expected. foreseeable.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Best of 3, next 2 in Cleveland puts the pressure on. Judge having a horrible first 2 games but do expect him to get hot. Truly for baseball fans the playoffs have been really good. Baseball drama.

Watching these baseball playoffs and the NFL simultaneously I can unbiasedly say, (I have no team in the mlb playoffs and I love football) that the mlb product is better than the NFL. More drama and the fanbase has more heart. If you disagree, you either don't watch baseball or are heavily invested in fantasy. Remember: when you're rooting for a team because you have a fantasy stake you aren't rooting for the team, you're rooting for yourself. That doesn't count

 

[NJHusky]

try again.
Yankees' playoff opener is most-watched LDS Game 1 in four years

now, explain the 11 billion+ page views thing, cuz iffn u understood it, then this story would be expected. foreseeable.

I sure hope you aren’t a finance or technical guy. My post was about ATTENDANCE. And secondly if you think one game is a trend….

 

[ClifSpliffy]

I sure hope you aren’t a finance or technical guy. My post was about ATTENDANCE. And secondly if you think one game is a trend….

ESPN Finds Viewership Success With Updated MLB Wild Card Series

ESPN saw significant viewership numbers for the 2022 MLB Wild Card Series. Here's the details.

www.forbes.com

imagine that.

nope. i ain't no 'finance or technical guy.' gave all that up in junior year of uni, when i became 'retired guy,' but i still had to go thru the motions for a few years after, to keep certain unnamed 'rents happy. nowadays, i mostly chop some wood (cord prices hitting $325 lately) and cut a lot of grass (no real value in that, other than good ol exercise. priceless). don't ask me to fix nuthin tho, as i'll prolly break it. pretty good at picking stock, bond, forex, and commodity winners - is that what 'finance guys' do? how can they do that without chopping timber, or changing the drive belt on the scag?
now, im going out to make a new wood cover for a well. even bought one of those ratchet/sprocket lock getups for the bucket lift. it really rots when u crank it up, but lose attention for a second and the whole thing unravels. could break an arm or head iffn the crank hits you when that happens. splash!

 

[HCCForever]

I heard Ross Tucker talk about the MLB playoffs and his point was that the playoffs are more exciting since every at bat is critical. I agree with his take and he is a football guy but born outside of Philadelphia. I love baseball but really enjoy the playoffs no matter who is playing. I have no horse in the race since the Sox had such a pitiful season. I enjoyed watching the Padres and Phillies last night. Zach Wheeler had a heck of a game.

I thought that I saw Bill Walton behind the plate and then saw other posts which confirmed it. Fox later showed Walton with Del Harris, Paul George and even Ralph Sampson enjoying the action. Posters joked about people sitting behind Walton and Harris who may have paid a lot of money only to be stuck behind Walton and missing the action.

 

[Jaydumo20]

I heard Ross Tucker talk about the MLB playoffs and his point was that the playoffs are more exciting since every at bat is critical. I agree with his take and he is a football guy but born outside of Philadelphia. I love baseball but really enjoy the playoffs no matter who is playing. I have no horse in the race since the Sox had such a pitiful season. I enjoyed watching the Padres and Phillies last night. Zach Wheeler had a heck of a game.

I thought that I saw Bill Walton behind the plate and then saw other posts which confirmed it. Fox later showed Walton with Del Harris, Paul George and even Ralph Sampson enjoying the action. Posters joked about people sitting behind Walton and Harris who may have paid a lot of money only to be stuck behind Walton and missing the action.

After I saw Bill Walton in the stands all I could see was Bill Walton. He was chilling with Del though which is cool. Great game. People trash a scoreless game, but there is beauty in what Wheeler , and Darvish for that matter, did last night. Sports is supposed to be hard. Scoring should come at a premium. The game should not be changed into a score fest. That only pleases the casual fan. Some CBB are very low scoring but I don't want a 9 foot hoop.

 

[Husky25]

After I saw Bill Walton in the stands all I could see was Bill Walton. He was chilling with Del though which is cool. Great game. People trash a scoreless game, but there is beauty in what Wheeler , and Darvish for that matter, did last night. Sports is supposed to be hard. Scoring should come at a premium. The game should not be changed into a score fest. That only pleases the casual fan. Some CBB are very low scoring but I don't want a 9 foot hoop.

Who is advocating for a 9 foot hoop? What an awful idea.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Who is advocating for a 9 foot hoop? What an awful idea.

I was exaggerating. But I have heard of people talk about the 11 foot hoop. There'd be more people shooting from the waist like AJax if that happened.

 

[Husky25]

I was exaggerating. But I have heard of people talk about the 11 foot hoop. There'd be more people shooting from the waist like AJax if that happened.

It can't just happen on a whim, either. College kids have been shooting and a 10-foot hoop for 6-8 years. Anyone who has ever played in the NBA can tell if the rim is off by as little as an inch just by looking at it. Heck it happened at UConn last season. The entire Association with more than 5 years in would retire en mass, rather than go through that adjustment.

The long and short of all sports is that big games are more exciting, and the Playoffs are all big games. So right off the bat (NPI), there is no wonder how anyone who remotely likes baseball is confused by the NFL-Only fan.

On the other hand, There are multiple issues with MLB, beyond the pace and how the game is played, which are all tied, loosely or directly, to money. However, since they can't take money out of the equation, they can only treat the symptoms.

1) Playoff games start at odd times. 1:00, 4:30 or 8:00ET, Done and done. If, in the 8:00 window, rain delays the 1st pitch, it's by one hour, at most. At that point, the ground crew better start rolling up the tarp, or see you tomorrow. This is not 1978 anymore. Anyone with the My Radar app knew that game the other night was getting postponed. The only reason the Yankees/MLB did not call it before 10:00pm the other night was to maximize beer sales. That's dirty pool.

2) The players are really freaking good. Sure some may have a bad day here or there, but being so good creates a stalemate, as compared to all of the players being various degrees of mediocre. It's what makes the minors and college so entertaining. It's certainly not as simple as thinking the casual fan wants more scoring. I'm in the middle of a 12 year run of coaching various levels of Little League. Farm and Minors games end in scores of 15-12 and they are excruciating.

3) "Moneyball" changed the way the game is played, for better or for worse. Gone are the days Ozzie Smith, Devon White, Vince Coleman, Rickey Henderson, and Brett Butler. Virtually gone is the bunt. It's barely taught in youth baseball anymore. Stealing is also a lost art. Billy Beane or some other personnel guy will see it's not enough for his hulking OBP guys to get on 1st, only to be routinely wiped out by a 6-4-3 double play. They will need to eventually acquire some speedy, punch & judy hitters to manufacture runs again.

4) Baseball is great live, but there's a flip side to that coin. It has become an awful television sport. There is a minimum of ten players on the field at any given time and the camera is usually focused on three. Considering the amount of time the pitcher takes between pitches only makes it seem worse. Now the pitch clock should at least partially address the latter (Minor Leagues Games are phenomenal live events, thanks to, I believe, the clock.), but TVs are large enough and wide enough to enlist a regular split-screen feature so that the home viewer can see what is going on in the field. Particularly with men on base. Think of the old Nintendo RBI Baseball or Bases Loaded games. Who says no?