The Baseball Thread

[YankeeCricketer]

As the resident American here, I thought I’d put myself out there if anyone has baseball questions…which might be relevant, as T20 tactics evolve and get more baseball-like

(I know Aussies have a more than passing familiarity with the game. Any Holroyd Giants fans out there?)

Anyway, fire away

 

[Ljp86]

Which team do you support, YankeeCricketer ?

 

[YankeeCricketer]

Which team do you support, YankeeCricketer ?

Back when the two leagues were truly separate, I supported the NY Yankees in the AL and St. Louis Cardinals in the NL. Now that the two leagues have practically merged, I still keep an eye on both…but must admit to the Yankees as my favorite

 

[Ljp86]

Back when the two leagues were truly separate, I supported the NY Yankees in the AL and St. Louis Cardinals in the NL. Now that the two leagues have practically merged, I still keep an eye on both…but must admit to the Yankees as my favorite

I've always been intrigued by the USA's tendency to have conferences within their major sports and the uneven draw that eventuates because of this. I understand why it happens but I always thought there would be scope to make things more even. I must say with baseball, the amount of games they play in a season is insane, something like four or five a week.

 

[YankeeCricketer]

I've always been intrigued by the USA's tendency to have conferences within their major sports and the uneven draw that eventuates because of this. I understand why it happens but I always thought there would be scope to make things more even. I must say with baseball, the amount of games they play in a season is insane, something like four or five a week.

As soccer players who come to play here learn…the US is huge. As a result, I think conferences first evolved to keep travel costs down and encourage local rivalries, a la derbies.

Baseball moves quicker than cricket, especially back when the sport first went pro (about 90 minutes)—this was a big reason why the sport overtook cricket here in the first place. As a result, playing 3-game series twice a week was no burden. Even now, with games more in the 3 hour range (still shorter than a T20 match), it’s considered normal. But baseball allows for more liberal substitutions and such, so players manage not to break down.

 

[Ljp86]

As soccer players who come to play here learn…the US is huge. As a result, I think conferences first evolved to keep travel costs down and encourage local rivalries, a la derbies.

Baseball moves quicker than cricket, especially back when the sport first went pro (about 90 minutes)—this was a big reason why the sport overtook cricket here in the first place. As a result, playing 3-game series twice a week was no burden. Even now, with games more in the 3 hour range (still shorter than a T20 match), it’s considered normal. But baseball allows for more liberal substitutions and such, so players manage not to break down.

Yes, the USA is a very big country. Australia is not far behind in terms of land size either.

I think the USA is more into fast paced games hence why sports such as basketball, American football, ice hockey, etc. are popular there. The only form of cricket played back then was the longest version of the game so taking four or five days to commit to a match can be difficult and it can be time consuming as a spectator.

The issue with T20 cricket is it has gone away from what it was supposed to be and that was to be a game that could be played in three hours. A T20 match was supposed to contain two innings of no longer than 80 minutes each plus a 15 minute innings break so that a full match could fit into a three hour timeframe. Unfortunately, some matches are going past beyond this timeframe with some approaching the four hour mark which is too long in my opinion. This is in addition to the general problem that cricket has with over rates at the moment with other forms of the game which is creating a number of issues with regards to a day's play. While it is a minor problem, the game needs to be more strict in this regard.

I think if T20 was introduced to the USA back when cricket was first played there then I think they would have been more receptive to the sport. The 2024 T20 World Cup is set to have games played there in co-hosting with West Indies so it will be very interesting to see how that goes. One thing they'll need are stadiums capable of doing that and I believe some are being built or converted to be able to host matches.