Chances of making it to the Major Leagues

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  • #126080
    bccran
    Participant

    Baseball has been on the decline for many years among younger Americans, but the crowds still come to major league games.

    #126082
    bicyclemike
    Moderator

    Paid - Annual

    Basketball has a natural advantage as well. Now with these portable hoops parents can get, most every other house has one.

    In my neighborhood a family got one of those 3 or 4 years ago and set it up on the sidewalk in front of their house. Weather permitting, every day kids flock over there to shoot baskets and play some pick-up games.

    When I was a kid in the ‘60s, we were always playing catch and getting a baseball game together in a vacant lot. You never see that anymore. Basketball is the modern “sandlot” game, and I can see it passing baseball in popularity and revenues someday.

    Baseball will stay strong – a walk over to the beer league softball fields most any summer evening tells you it is popular and will continue to be. Not sure it hangs on to second place though.

    #126084
    bccran
    Participant

    A friend of mine from Rawlings told me 20 years ago that baseball was declining. It’s not just today’s news. But it’s interesting to see what the trends are.

    Todays youngsters are into continuous motion – whether it’s sports, movies, video games, etc. That moves baseball down the list. Sports like soccer, lacrosse, hockey, basketball are constant motion. Baseball is standing around waiting for the ball to be pitched, and continuous breaks in action happen between every half inning. The grandfathers and dads still love baseball, but that will fade to a certain extent over time.

    Secondly, go to the Cardinals minor league Spring Training and stand behind the benches during the games. You’ll hear more Spanish spoken than English.

    Football? The decision by the NFL to sweep under the rug all the information available on concussions is coming back to bite them. There’s a huge movement by parents of youngsters right now to keep their kids away from a full contact sport like football. That will eventually take it’s toll on the NFL as far as fans and dollars. It’s coming, as less and less kids are playing tackle football. They may not be fans of the sport in the future.

    NBA? Maybe, but the whole sport may be affected some day by the reasons the St. Louis Hawks moved to Atlanta. The fan base shriveled. For a number of reasons.

    #126086
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual
    #126091
    Minuteman3
    Participant

    Free

    Brian Walton wrote:

    MLB attendance is declining.

    Do you think that the fact that every game is televised to homes that have multiple televisions could be a factor in that decline? NASCAR has the same problem and it seems to depend on the economy and access via TV that helps make a difference plus societal changes just change a lot of things.

    #126092
    Minuteman3
    Participant

    Free

    My observation on those portable hoops. I think we have 10 or 15 of them in my neighborhood. I have lived here 13 years and I don’t think I have seen more than one or two kids ever playing basketball on one of those hoops. We have no open fields so no baseball either but we do have lots of kids around……inside playing computer games I suppose. I know about hoops because one day I drove my motorhome down a narrow street and met a car coming the other way so hugged the right curb and busted out a windshield on one of those hoops sticking out over the street (illegal). Thankfully insurance covered the $1200 bill. Have since sold the motorhome – age is a beech.

    #126099
    bicyclemike
    Moderator

    Paid - Annual

    Television and smart promotion through video by NFL Films went a long way towards making the NFL the giant it is today. Pro sports have evolved to where they are financed more by media dollars than live attendance.

    The big difference is the NFL and NBA get revenue mostly from national television deals, whereas MLB is from regional sports agreements. The problem with that for MLB is the regional deals vary greatly in dollars, making the big-market teams more valuable than small market clubs.

    I see this as yet another potential advantage to the NFL and NBA, as fans in places like Pittsburgh and Oklahoma City will have competitive teams more often in those sports than baseball. Give it a couple of generations, and you will develop many more lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fans than Kansas City Royals fans. Actually we are already there. An informal look at people shows me a lot more Pittsburgh Steeler garb around town that Pittsburgh Pirates, and more Dallas Cowboy than Texas Ranger.

    The only baseball stuff I see somewhat regular, other than local teams, is New York Yankees. Now and then I might see a car with a Cub sticker on it, and my Cardinal-red truck has a Cardinal sticker (go figure). But the NFL is king of the hill today. We will see how the injury factor plays into their future. Due to the concussion issue and long-term health risks it poses, I heard a guy say recently that the NFL stands for “Not For Long”. 🙂

    #126103
    stlcard25
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    But the NFL is king of the hill today. We will see how the injury factor plays into their future. Due to the concussion issue and long-term health risks it poses, I heard a guy say recently that the NFL stands for “Not For Long”. 🙂

    Is it damaging hockey, MMA/UFC or boxing? With the possible exception of boxing, all of those sports seem to be growing. I don’t see the NFL receiving a knockout blow from the medical side of things any time soon.

    Also, good thoughts on basketball. I’ll add another…it’s estimated that there are 500 million basketball players in China now. They are getting TV ratings there equivalent to the US ratings. Think that won’t play a part in eventually causing the sport to zoom past MLB in revenue? Like I said…5 years, max.

    #126106
    Minuteman3
    Participant

    Free

    My view of the NFL. I was a big fan until CK took to his knee. That ended it for me. Only watch Super Bowls now and have missed a couple of them. Judging from seeing open seats in NFL stands I think one or two more did not take to CKs expression of his rights. Perhaps my being a retired military person had something to do with my choice but the NFL has a lot more negatives with it. No need to list them here as each of us probably sees it different.

    #126137
    14NyquisT
    Participant

    My interest in sports:

    Baseball 90% always a huge fan ever since I could spell “baseball”.
    Hockey 5% only because the Redwings have taken a nosedive.
    Golf 2% I used to follow the LPGA more closely now mainly the PGA on weekend afternoons.
    Soccer 1% World Cup only.
    Horse racing 1% mostly the Triple crown races.
    Boxing or the octagon 1% catching something good while surfing.
    NFL >1% not even the Super Bowl. I used to be a big Redskins fan.
    NBA >0% no appeal at all. I used to follow the Sixers closely.

    I started playing baseball as a kid and spent many summers playing on an empty lot that I mowed and made wooden bases for. If there were too few other kids we played one-a-cat with shadow runners. I played in organized grammar school leagues and some in High School until studies became more important. At 21 I started playing so much softball in organized leagues most years playing on 5 weekday teams plus a weekend ASA travel tournament team. Beer was out of the question during games but afterwards I can tell a lot of stories.

    Sure I played a lot of basketball too. Had a rim nailed to a shed in the back. I really loved playing… even pick-up games.

    It makes me sad to see so few kids playing baseball today…. I see mostly empty fields. I wonder where the future players will come from. Too many gadgets for the young I guess and too many parents doing the same. ps… my dad hated sports, mom too, so it took determination. I had to walk to practices…. some a great distance and uphill going and returning home 🙂

    If you even bothered to read this I apologize. Blame bikemike for starting this.

    #126165
    bccran
    Participant

    It may depend on where you reside.
    Most friends in St. Louis could care less about the NFL after the Kroenke fiasco. Left an acidic taste. I used to go to most of the Rams games, but only turn the NFL on now to watch a St. Louisan who’s a running back for the Cowboys.

    #126167
    bccran
    Participant

    Let’s bring that draft forward a few more years –

    2012 – Wacha (1) Piscotty (CA) Wisdom (CA) Carson Kelly (2)
    Barraclough (7) no dark horses
    It would be nice to still have Piscotty. Good player, good guy.

    2013 – Marco Gonzales (1) Mercado (2) Voit (22)
    Would also be nice to still have Mercado. No dark horses

    2014 – Weaver (1) Flaherty (2) Gomber (4) Ponce (9)
    no dark horses. Excellent draft for pitchers.

    2015 – Woodford (CA) Bader (3) Hicks (3 Supp) DeJong (4)
    Helsley (5)
    Wow, what a draft!

    2016 – Carlson (1) Hudson (1) Gallen (3) Edman (6)
    Knizner (7)
    Way up there on being one of the best drafts

    2017 – Kruczynski (9) Whitley (27) Fagalde (30)
    Maybe we’ll salvage something out of this penal draft.

    2018 – Gorman (1) Roberts (CBA) Baker (2C) Gil (3)

    2019 – Thompson (1) Fletcher (2) Locey (3) Gallante (4)
    Pages (6) Romeri (12)
    You never know.

    At least in the last 9 drafts, we may have some more impact players. Expecially Flaherty, Bader, DeJong, Hicks,
    Helsley, Carlson, Edman, Hudson. Gorman, Knizner, etc.

Viewing 12 posts - 26 through 37 (of 37 total)
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