2025 MLB Thread

[TigerNation]

6 hours ago, oblong said:

I want to know.

Seems like a double whammy. You lose 2 home games and they get priority on merchandising.

 

I believe merchandise in Japan is shared equally amongst all teams.

[chasfh]

13 minutes ago, TigerNation said:

I believe merchandise in Japan is shared equally amongst all teams.

I don't think there's much doubt that in terms of sales appeal among Japanese baseball fans, Dodgers Homes >>> Dodgers Roads >>> Cubs Homes >>> Cubs Roads.

[TigerNation]

18 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I don't think there's much doubt that in terms of sales appeal among Japanese baseball fans, Dodgers Homes >>> Dodgers Roads >>> Cubs Homes >>> Cubs Roads.

Yeah, but the Dodgers don't get extra money for that.

[chasfh]

18 minutes ago, TigerNation said:

Yeah, but the Dodgers don't get extra money for that.

Yeah, but even if everybody shares equally rather than Dodgers getting extra, the hierarchy of sales appeal still applies and drives the decision for Baseball in general.

[TigerNation]

3 hours ago, chasfh said:

Yeah, but even if everybody shares equally rather than Dodgers getting extra, the hierarchy of sales appeal still applies and drives the decision for Baseball in general.

Agreed, but I don't see that that would be a whammy to the Cubs.

[papalawrence]

Trailing 7-0 into the 9th, Philly scores 8 to win. Means nothing, but always get a little joy when the Yankees take a punch

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/game/_/gameId/401704569/phillies-yankees

[Tenacious D]

Old friend Rick Porcello will be on next year’s Hall of Fame ballot.  He’s only 36, but his last season in the bigs was 2020.  Rick finished with 150 wins and a 4+ ERA.

[gehringer_2]

25 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

Old friend Rick Porcello will be on next year’s Hall of Fame ballot.  He’s only 36, but his last season in the bigs was 2020.  Rick finished with 150 wins and a 4+ ERA.

I hope wherever the two of them are now,  Rick sends Jeff Jones a nice birthday or Christmas present every year - Jones probably saved his career and the $80million he eventually earned.

Edited March 23 by gehringer_2

[Motor City Sonics]

There is talk that MLB might cancel Jackie Robinson Day over fear of reprisals from the Trump Administration over DEI rules. 

I don't know that I'll ever forgive MLB if they did this.     Stand up for something, Rob Manfred.    Have a backbone.     I mean, Rachel Robinson is still alive.    What a horrible thing to do to her.   Probably want to think about that part too.  

Edited March 26 by Motor City Sonics

[IdahoBert]

24 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said:

There is talk that MLB might cancel Jackie Robinson Day over fear of reprisals from the Trump Administration over DEI rules. 

I don't know that I'll ever forgive MLB if they did this.     Stand up for something, Rob Manfred.    Have a backbone.     I mean, Rachel Robinson is still alive.    What a horrible thing to do to her.   Probably want to think about that part too.  

That is unbelievable, you can’t erase history. 

[Motor City Sonics]

1 minute ago, IdahoBert said:

That is unbelievable, you can’t erase history. 

I'm not putting this in the political thread, this is about MLB standing up for something.    Take them to court.   You can't tell MLB who they can and can't honor.    I mean, what the hell? 

[RaceDog]

Fear mongering …..not gonna happen

[davidsb623]

4 minutes ago, RaceDog said:

Fear mongering …..not gonna happen

This

[oblong]

It would expose their previous tributes as nothing more than marketing.  I have some problems with what they've been doing regading Jackie Robinson.  They haven't done enough to own up to the reason the entire country knows who he is in the first place.  By presenting it as HIS accomplishment they are able to frame it in a way that doesn't tell the real story.  This wasn't a guy who was just so damn good he worked his way into the leagues and finally a black player could play.  MLB kept him and them out.  They were all just as good.  It was blatant racism.  "Jackie broke barriers".  No, Jackie had a door opened up for him that a bunch of assholes kept closed. His greatness beyond his play is in how he dealt with the continued racism and blowback.  I've always felt MLB took themselves off the hook in how this was presented.  

and if MLB truly felt sorry about it and had sincere intentions they'd not be reconsidering this, if they are doing that. 

[chasfh]

1 minute ago, oblong said:

It would expose their previous tributes as nothing more than marketing.  I have some problems with what they've been doing regading Jackie Robinson.  They haven't done enough to own up to the reason the entire country knows who he is in the first place.  By presenting it as HIS accomplishment they are able to frame it in a way that doesn't tell the real story.  This wasn't a guy who was just so damn good he worked his way into the leagues and finally a black player could play.  MLB kept him and them out.  They were all just as good.  It was blatant racism.  "Jackie broke barriers".  No, Jackie had a door opened up for him that a bunch of assholes kept closed. His greatness beyond his play is in how he dealt with the continued racism and blowback.  I've always felt MLB took themselves off the hook in how this was presented.  

and if MLB truly felt sorry about it and had sincere intentions they'd not be reconsidering this, if they are doing that. 

Very good points. I wonder whether it’s also that they did not want to generate antipathy from the black community for highlighting a white mans role in Robinson coming in. After all, it was always going to take a white savior to make it happen, which is an uncomfortable thing to highlight—and to your point, also highlighting Baseball’s culpability for keeping black players out in the first place.

[lordstanley]

I liked this feature on Jazz Chisholm from the Atlantic. Baseball needs players with personality and attitude.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6230899/2025/03/26/jazz-chisholm-yankees-individual-boone/

When Chisholm arrived in the big leagues in 2020, he brought 20 custom pairs of cleats that he bought and designed himself. They displayed his passions, from Oreo cookies, to the anime series “Black Clover,” and even the video game, “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.” Marlins infielder Miguel Rojas did not see artistry. Rojas saw a flashy rookie who needed to be put in his place. That meant taking a pair of those custom cleats and cutting them up with scissors. That meant ruining another pair of shoes by filling them with milk.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

“The unwritten rules of baseball are White,” he said of the sport’s set of arbitrary standards, many rooted in a time before integration. “And I always broke the unwritten rules of baseball.” “Nobody would ever cut up my cleats or throw my things away if I were White,” Chisholm said. “I’ll tell you right now, if this was a White boy’s stuff, you weren’t gonna cut that sh– up because if a White boy goes and complains, now everybody’s f—ed. I go and complain and it’s not that big of a deal. It’s, ‘Let’s try and find a solution for this.’ But if a White boy goes and complains, nah, f— that.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron Boone danced along to a song from the 1980s — the Yankees manager couldn’t remember which — but Chisholm immediately noticed. Already, things felt different. This was two weeks after the Yankees traded for him in a deadline deal last season, not long after several clubs made it clear that they were “completely out” on acquiring the infielder because of his strong personality. “Watch, I’m about to go to the plate right now and hit a homer,” Chisholm promised his new manager. “I’m gonna come back and do that little dance.” Chisholm followed through. After stepping into the batter’s box late in the first game of an August doubleheader against the Texas Rangers, Chisholm launched a 416-foot blast into the Yankees’ bullpen. Before shaking hands with teammates in the dugout, Chisholm pointed at Boone and performed the same step routine his manager did an inning before. It sent Boone into hysterics. Months later, the memory of the incident still cracked him up. “That’s why I appreciate him so much,” Chisholm said.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Chisholm would be the first to tell you that he spends too much time online caring about what nameless, faceless people say on social media. 

---------------------------------------------------------------

Chisholm named eight different players he hung out with away from the park last season, including the team’s ace. “Gerrit Cole might be White, but he could pass any day,” Chisholm said. “Gerrit Cole is 1,000 percent invited to the barbecue.”

---------------------------------------------------------------

[papalawrence]

I think Max Clark will be bringing similar spirit when he arrives

[Arlington]

They should just bring him up now.  He has the glove to manage the position and the personality to manage the attention.  With the expectation that he's not ready at the plate he goes back down in six weeks knowing what he has to do. 

[monkeytargets39]

Nick Maton made the White Sox opening day roster.

[Tiger337]

5 hours ago, monkeytargets39 said:

Nick Maton made the White Sox opening day roster.

That's a good team for Nick.  

[chasfh]

8 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

That's a good team for Nick.  

It’s a good transition to Asia, then Mexico.

[casimir]

16 hours ago, Arlington said:

They should just bring him up now.  He has the glove to manage the position and the personality to manage the attention.  With the expectation that he's not ready at the plate he goes back down in six weeks knowing what he has to do. 

That’s an interesting thought.  One thing I did hear that kind of parallels young pitchers is that Clark, from Indiana, hasn’t played as much baseball during a season as most other prospects due simply because of climate.  I don’t know how much of that is true, at least for him personally.  My guess is he’s had lots of hitting reps which could be done indoors.  There are probably some defensive drills that can be done in those big athletic bubbles which are more available these days.  But I thought it was a comment worth putting in the back pocket.

[chasfh]

The chances Max Clark gets promoted to the Tigers this season is approximately zero, ±0.

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

The chances Max Clark gets promoted to the Tigers this season is approximately zero, ±0.

Maybe under the old roster rules you let guys come up and get acquainted in Sept, but definitely not so much anymore. 

[Tiger337]

On 3/26/2025 at 9:07 AM, oblong said:

It would expose their previous tributes as nothing more than marketing.  I have some problems with what they've been doing regading Jackie Robinson.  They haven't done enough to own up to the reason the entire country knows who he is in the first place.  By presenting it as HIS accomplishment they are able to frame it in a way that doesn't tell the real story.  This wasn't a guy who was just so damn good he worked his way into the leagues and finally a black player could play.  MLB kept him and them out.  They were all just as good.  It was blatant racism.  "Jackie broke barriers".  No, Jackie had a door opened up for him that a bunch of assholes kept closed. His greatness beyond his play is in how he dealt with the continued racism and blowback.  I've always felt MLB took themselves off the hook in how this was presented.  

and if MLB truly felt sorry about it and had sincere intentions they'd not be reconsidering this, if they are doing that. 

I agree fully.  

I doubt they will cancel it simply because it would be bad for marketing