The 2024 Baseball Thread

[Pariah]

Well, it looks like we had our first spring training game last night, so the new baseball year has officially begun. Let's kick it off with an amusing little article from college baseball:

 

LOOK: LSU designated hitter Hayden Travinski uses pencil bat

 

 

Maybe he can land an NIL deal with Ticonderoga.

 

Edited February 23, 2024 by Pariah

[unclevlad]

ARRRGGHHhhhhh....

 

MLB Network will have multiple games...a few live, but most of em time-shifted, VERY often into graveyard hours...like, 10 PM Saturday night, then 1, 3, 6, and 8 am Sunday morning, Eastern time.

 

But the MLB Network listings STILL say "games subject to local blackout rules."  Even tho they're pre-season, time-shifted, and very often compressed replays.

 

 

[Cancer]

New manufacturer for MLB jerseys ... is not popular.

[Pariah]

The pants are worse. The white ones are practically see-through. And a certain member of the Giants (as I recall) had a fully-clothed wardrobe malfunction that probably can't be posted here.

 

Nike has totally fubared this thing. 

[unclevlad]

A local SF station said "can't post it, it's NSFW."  The Twitter post has also been deleted.

 

Yeah, I think I first heard about this a couple days ago from the Athletic, but now, the criticism's everywhere.  It'll be interesting to see how much and how fast Nike can respond.

[Cygnia]

Spoilered for swearing

 

Spoiler

 

[Grailknight]

Spring training wackiness.

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/#:~:text=Rays infielder hits a homer... to second%3F

[Cygnia]

[slikmar]

the day there can be a picture of HU on first and Wat on second would be the best.

[unclevlad]

Methinks the future of most secondary-market team broadcasts may have arrived.

 

Last year, the D'backs games were shown on...I think it was Bally Sportsnet's channel, but who knows the branding.  Even after the production was taken over by MLB.  Now, tho...it's not listed in my Xfinity channel listings, and Bally says it's not available in my area. 

 

If I want to watch the D'backs?

 

DBacks.TV.  $100 for the season.  Or a full MLB.TV pass, if I wanna spend more.  The good news?  I'm no longer in their blackout area.  So, it's a mixed bag.  And to be fair...$100 for the season really isn't bad, for a fan of the team.  And it helps clean up the ridiculous broadcast-area issues...I'm still in the Padres' broadcast area.  Who are you kidding?  But I've beaten that horse many times.... 

[Starlord]

'Interesting' career

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Caldwell

 

 

Edited March 13, 2024 by Starlord

[unclevlad]

There is just something intrinsically WRONG with Cleveland winning a title................shocking, even.................

[Pariah]

I never thought I'd live to see the day where the Broncos were in the running to finish with a lower season winning percentage than the Rockies, but here we are.

[unclevlad]

ESPN is going to add a live Win Probability to their baseball graphics.  One story here:

https://awfulannouncing.com/gambling/espn-mlb-win-probability-sports-betting.html

 

I agree.  WP is meaningless most of the time, especially as a static number.  Its transitions can be interesting...runner on 2nd, down a run, tries to steal third, gets thrown out.  But generally, it's not needed or useful.  And I also agree, it's pandering to the gamblers...if not with WP, then with follow-ons like live money line.  Remember:  ESPN has a branded sports book now.

[unclevlad]

Oh my.

 

From the Athletic just now:

 

Quote

The Los Angeles Dodgers have fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, after Ohtani’s representatives accused Mizuhara of engaging in a “massive theft,” using the player’s money to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker under federal investigation.

 

[slikmar]

And they are praying that it doesn't turn out he was placing them for Ohtani. Sad though, from everything every player on Angels said, he was a great guy.

[unclevlad]

Story seems a bit unclear, but it doesn't look like it.  From the general indications, Ohtani's a victim here.  On a few levels, if he's been backstabbed by a friend...

[Pariah]

This is an amusing take on the MLB Nike uniform fiasco.

 

A Uniformity Of Errors

[Michael Hopcroft]

On 3/20/2024 at 8:48 PM, unclevlad said:

Story seems a bit unclear, but it doesn't look like it.  From the general indications, Ohtani's a victim here.  On a few levels, if he's been backstabbed by a friend...

On one hand, I don't think Othtani would risk throwing away three-quarters of a billion dollars. On the other, he is going to have to bear the taint of these allegations the rest of his career, and we have seen ballplayers with gambling addictions who do really stupid things.

[slikmar]

The story has changed a bit now, from what I understand. Now he gave the money to Ippei to pay off gambling debts, not stolen. Also, others being questioned in the investigation have supposedly said they saw Ohtani with the bookie.

First point I would make is if there are no bets on baseball this should be a non-story. But, if he is using Ippei as a go between to place bets and it comes out those were on baseball, wow, because a precedent has already been set with the man who has the most hits in baseball history.

I suspect Ippei and the Bookie fall on their swords for Ohtani with a little more money in their bank accounts, because I no longer believe that his interpreter spent $5 million dollars on gambling in the last 2 years. I hate this as a fan of baseball and Ohtani, because he is, by all accounts, a good guy. It also makes me wonder if Arte Moreno (who I can believe was also cheap enough to not match the offer, so who knows) knew something and was why he made only token resistance to Ohtani walking away.

[Starlord]

3 hours ago, slikmar said:

First point I would make is if there are no bets on baseball this should be a non-story. But, if he is using Ippei as a go between to place bets and it comes out those were on baseball, wow, because a precedent has already been set with the man who has the most hits in baseball history.

 

I believe if any betting (on any sport) is done illegally though, its at least a year suspension.

[unclevlad]

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/could-shohei-ohtani-face-punishment-for-interpreter-gambling-scandal-what-legal-expert-mlb-rules-say/

 

Yes, it's a 1 year minimum...but the potential criminal issues may be far more serious.

 

None of us want to think Ohtani's involved in actual betting, but the law is such that even paying off his translator's debts can be prosecuted.  My gut feeling is, so long as that's ALL it is?  California won't prosecute, and MLB won't suspend.  

[slikmar]

and the cynic in me really wonders about his interpreter betting 5 mil over 2  years himself or placing bets for Ohtani as a go between. Of course, I have to wonder why they are using an illegal bookie as opposed to somewhere legitimate. Again though, I doubt, unless it is really pushed, we will ever know. I suspect, even if it is the case, that Ippei and the Bookie get richer in their accounts and take the fall over it.

[unclevlad]

I think it unlikely that the bookie would have direct contact with, and/or accounts naming, Ohtani.  That's the only way he's gonna get off, as the operation's drawing federal attention, so it's much larger than just Ohtani.  The translator...he's already becoming a tainted witness to try to implicate Ohtani.  If he helps to get the bookie, then it's plausible to me he'll have his visa revoked, and barred re-entry for a period...but that may be it.  Making illegal bets is only a misdemeanor offense in California...for an individual offense.  The kicker, as the CBS article points out, is that the laws are designed to go after the bookies...because that's an organized crime activity.

 

And of course, it may be that the translator could be charged with a whole, whole, WHOLE lot of individual charges....

[unclevlad]

The latest twist?  It appears Mizuhara has been treading the Santos path....  From the Athletic:

 

Quote

As a brewing gambling scandal has ensnared Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, questions have arisen about the reliability of the tale’s primary narrator thus far: Ohtani’s now former interpreter and best friend, Ippei Mizuhara. Those questions have only grown, with increased scrutiny on Mizuhara revealing that key points of his publicly available biography appear to be either exaggerated or inaccurate.

 

And it's probably snuck up on most of us, but...the real opening day, forget the Korea series...is Thursday.  THIS Thursday.  Still in March.  But I believe they did this last year.  IIRC, they built in more off-days during the season, to break up the grind to a degree, and hopefully to allow open dates to make up weather delays.  Let's not get dive too deeply into the point that in MANY cities, they've just extended the Pretty Bad Weather (for baseball) period an extra week.  Shorten the season???  C'est impossible!!!!