It's Opening Day!!!!!

[Jdurg]

The first sign that winter has ended and summer is approaching.  Tonight is opening night for the 2008 major league baseball season.  (Yes, I know the Red Sox and A's opened up in Japan last week, but that was more of a joke than a real opener.  When the Yanks/D-Rays did it a few years back, I considered it a joke as well.  I don't agree with it at all.  It is far from being a true opening day).

As a baseball fan, this is awesome as I LOVE baseball and it means that for the next few months there will always be something to watch on TV.  Tonight, it's the Braves at the Nationals.  Tomorrow, while I'm at the gym at work, I'll watch Yankee Stadium open up for it's last season.  A bittersweet moment indeed.   

[wp34]

But my Cubs were rained out. 

Just like the last 100 this will be the year!

[billf]

But my Cubs were rained out. 

Just like the last 100 this will be the year!

They weren't rained out, they got beat by the Brewers.

[ChadTower]

When I was a kid I lived and breathed baseball.  My team doesn't exist anymore.   

As an adult I just can't spend energy on 4 hour games in April.  I have to wait until they're either back down to two and a half hours or it is the end of August.

[CCM]

I'm just not a baseball fan at all.  Never really have been.  To me it is just way too slow of a game, especially after watching a season of hockey.

On that note, the NHL playoffs start next week, now that's something to look forward to!

[shardian]

When I was a kid I lived and breathed baseball. 

Same here. Baseball was everything as a kid. I spent Saturday mornings organizing my newest baseball cards I picked up during the week. I knew pretty much every player on every pro team. I basically lived at the Little league field, either watching games, playing games, practicing, or playing rundown in the batting cages.

Baseball is just a dying sport now. The pro's have become polluted by money, ego, and drugs. All of the baseball "heroes" have been hung out to dry in front of congress.
Noone plays hardly any more. Heard on the radio that black baseball players are almost gone from the major leagues - only make up around 10% of the majors. It will just get worse as inner city youth have less and less role models to want to even play the sport.

Another major detachment from American society and MLB is that a huge number of the best players are foreign, and in many cases barely speak English. You tune into the All-Star game, and all of the best players are waving flags of other nations. It is no wonder that the American past time has switched from baseball to football.

The main reason I could care less for pro baseball though, is the overall apathetic attitude of the athletes. 99% of them just dial it in. There is no emotion, unless it is selfish in nature. I have never been able to stand the self-congratulating team handshake line at the end of the game. That is utter retarded-ness.

The moment I completely quit caring about MLB was the All-star game a few years ago that was cancelled in extra innings by Selig. That game was very special in my opinion. There was a very high level on camaraderie among the players, the game was great, and everyone was playing hard. Then the "money" side of the game reared its ugly head when they conferred and cancelled the game. The brilliant solution - make the game decide homefield advantage in the World Series.  OMG, what a ---smurfing--- idiotic idea. That was the nail in the coffin. The whole atmosphere of the Allstar game has been destroyed. Just the shear idiocy of that makes me want to puke!

I've been robbed of the magic of baseball, and I solely blame the major leagues for that. Bud Selig is a worthless piece of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- that has single-handedly destroyed the sport.

[ChadTower]

Baseball is just a dying sport now.

Baseball is a rapidly expanding sport that is probably growing faster than the rest of US sports combined.  What you're describing is true globalization of the sport.  That is great for baseball, not necessarily great for pure US interests in baseball.  It could be worse - you could have grown up an Expos fan like me.

[shardian]

Baseball is just a dying sport now.

Baseball is a rapidly expanding sport that is probably growing faster than the rest of US sports combined.  What you're describing is true globalization of the sport.  That is great for baseball, not necessarily great for pure US interests in baseball.  It could be worse - you could have grown up an Expos fan like me.

Then I'll rephrase - baseball is a dying sport...in the U.S.

[wp34]

But my Cubs were rained out. 

Just like the last 100 this will be the year!

They weren't rained out, they got beat by the Brewers.

My bad.  I was listening until the rain delay.  Wife told me last night they were rained out and I did not doublecheck.

[billf]

...Heard on the radio that black baseball players are almost gone from the major leagues - only make up around 10% of the majors. It will just get worse as inner city youth have less and less role models to want to even play the sport.

Another major detachment from American society and MLB is that a huge number of the best players are foreign, and in many cases barely speak English. You tune into the All-Star game, and all of the best players are waving flags of other nations. It is no wonder that the American past time has switched from baseball to football.

Haven't heard about black players making up only 10% of MLB, but you may find the starting lineup for the Brewers interesting.  Every single player that started the game yesterday was American - 4 black players, 5 white players - Ryan Braun, Tony Gwynn Jr, Corey Hart, Bill Hall, JJ Hardy, Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, Ben Sheets and Jason Kendall.  And on the 40-man roster only 8 of the players are foreign born players.

[ChadTower]

I'm surprised black players are as much as 10% now.  The NAACP has been crying about that for years now.  Note that at the same time every other nationality in MLB (other than US) is rising dramatically.  It's not White Americans' fault there are less black players now.  Their spots are being taken by Japanese, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, etc.

[shardian]

I'm surprised black players are as much as 10% now.  The NAACP has been crying about that for years now.  Note that at the same time every other nationality in MLB (other than US) is rising dramatically.  It's not White Americans' fault there are less black players now.  Their spots are being taken by Japanese, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, etc.

Inner city kids don't play baseball because there is nowhere to play. Also, an errant baseball in the street does a hell of alot more damage than an errant soccer ball, basketball, or football.

[ChadTower]

Inner city kids don't play baseball because there is nowhere to play.

So there were places for them to play in the 70s and 80s?  Did these places get taken away?

[chopps]

It could be worse - you could have grown up an Expos fan like me.

I feel your pain.  As a kid Gary Carter was at the top of my sports hero list.