A friend of mine sent along this graphical guide for baseball spring training 2013. I’ve admittedly been slow to get into baseball season this year and I found this information useful, especially the overview of a few of the bigger named prospects. One of the great joys of baseball is that you see new stars emerge each year, often from unexpected places. It is one of the few sports where true gems can be found that have been off everyone else’s radar until they make a huge impact.
Of all the sports, baseball is probably the most notorious for failed prospects. Players who have all the measurable qualities (body size, speed, college stats) but simply can’t make the transition to the major leagues. Sometimes it’s the slight increase in pitch speed and pitcher command. Often it’s a purely psychological issue. Because of all the team sports, baseball is the most distilled down to the one-on-one interaction between two players, the pitcher and the batter. The weight of the moment falls on the individual, rather than the team.
Here’s an infographic on the Business of Sports. What surprised me most about this information is the low profit margins in the 4 major sports. Most revenue gets eaten up by expenses. Every league but the NFL has less than a 10% profit margin. The NBA is the worst of the bunch. Which means it’s the poorest run business of the 4 major sports. Which doesn’t really surprise me. David Stern has been terrible for the league over the last decade.
Another thing that I think this infographic overlooks is the portion of this $422 billion that gets spent on gambling in sports. I’m willing to bet it’s close to 50%. Look at that one gigantic “red” state in the middle of the USA map.
The last not so surprising thing I see in this infographic is the fact that hockey generates almost as much revenue and profit as basketball despite the fact that basketball is less regional. Hockey is definitely a more regional sport (northerners) but has managed to gain passionate fans wherever it goes, even in the south.
Game 5 of the World Series was on last night. I figured I better start out by mentioning that because I’m sure most of you were watching the Colts-Texans NFL game instead.
I know nobody cares about baseball, but since it was the World Series I suppose we should try to care at least a little bit.
Anyways, the San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers to win the series and become World Champions. After the game the mainstream media desperately needed a quote from somebody we actually care about, so they went to former Giants’ Barry Bonds.
“There is no city that deserves this championship more,” Bonds said in a statement. “I grew up watching my dad and godfather as Giants, lived out my dream playing in the same uniform in front of the best fans in the world and I just witnessed the Giants winning the World Series. I am ecstatic for the team, the city and all the fans — you truly deserve it.”
Awesome. So, now we can all focus on football and continue not caring about baseball. Congrats Giants! And thanks for ending the series as quickly as possible. I appreciate it.
You have to love dumbass fans like this. They’re such big fans of their favorite team that they forget the most important thing. They CAN’T sing to save their lives!
These drunks need to stop believing they can sing.
Washington Nationals rookie ace Stephen Strasburg will undergo his Tommy John surgery on Friday in Los Angeles by Dr. Lewis Yocum. The surgery to repair his elbow is expected to keep him out of action for 12 to 18 months.
“He is dealing with it like a professional,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said. “He’s very determined to get it done and start the process.”
The Tommy John surgery is a very serious one, and only God knows if Strasburg will ever be even half the pitcher he could have become before he injured his elbow. IT’s doubtful that he’ll ever make a full recover, and we’ll likely never see Strasburg in the same light again.
He’ll be back, no doubt about it. But he will never be great like he would have been.
Matt Garza threw the fifth no-hitter of the 2010 and the first in Tampa Bay Rays franchise history in a 5-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday.
“It was one of those days where everything lined up,” Garza said. “The defense made great plays. I really can’t say enough about them.”
What is up with Major League Baseball? Five no-hitters and it’s not even August!? Back in the good ol’ days, no-hitters were HUGE memorable moments, but nowadays no-hitters are just an ordinary thing.
A lot of people will hate me for saying this, but baseball is a dying sport and anything that used to be special, no longer is.
The Los Angeles Angels acquired starting pitcher Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday in exchange for Joe Saunders and two minor league pitchers ye to be named. The move further strengthens an already above average group of pitchers who some consider to be the best in the league.
“We really feel good about our starting five moving forward,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “This is a huge opportunity for us to upgrade not only now, but for the next couple of years. He’s definitely a guy who has pitched in big games, has terrific stuff and he’s a young veteran.”
The Angels have a lot of great pitchers, but what they really need is a great slugger. Hopefully they won’t look back in a few weeks and realize they made a big mistake by making this trade.
Chicago Cubs’ manager Lou Piniella has decided to retire at the end of this season. During his time as an MLB manager, Piniella has made five trips to the World Series and owns three championship rings.
“I’m proud of our accomplishments during my time here and this will be a perfect way for me to end my career,” Piniella said. “But let me make one thing perfectly clear: Our work is far from over. I want to keep the momentum going more than anything else and win as many games as we can to get back in this pennant race.”
Piniella will never be remembered as the best manager ever, but he should find himself in the Hall of Fame someday. Most of his former players would agree.
“For me, he’s obviously a Hall of Fame manager and a great player,” Alex Rodriguez said. “He is a rare breed, a rare combination of a guy that played and played in New York, won a championship, and is proven and is tough — and is from Florida like me. I just have a lot of love and admiration for Lou.”
Even the umpire, Jim Joyce, was in tears after making the worst call of his career and ruining Armando Galarraga’s perfect game. But heartless Bud Selig still refuses to make it right by overturning the horrible call.
When the news broke, there were a ton of people around the league who expressed their disappointment over the commissioners decision.
“What an idiot. How the hell can [Selig] not do that? What is it, the integrity of the game? I can’t believe that, after the umpire even admitted what he did,” Former Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas said. “[Joyce] ruined the kid’s perfect game and said so. Unbelievable. It’s too bad.”
There’s no reason NOT to reverse this call. Bud Selig is the dumbest commissioner in sports history.
