Just a quick note: My usual writing computer will be in for repairs the next few days, so updates may be a bit more sporadic than I’d like. Sorry!
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Speculating on future All-Star Game Locations
This year, the All-Star Game is in Minnesota. In 2015, it’ll be in Cincinnati.
So what’s after that? Well, Commissioner Selig has said that they want to keep it on the NL-AL-NL-AL rotation, but that leads to this little problem: there are more stadiums in the National League that haven’t hosted the ASG than the American League: After this year, the AL will have only two stadiums (New Yankee Stadium and Tropicana Field) that haven’t hosted an All-Star Game- and practically that just means that there is just one AL stadium still to host, since I doubt Tropicana will get ever get one. Meanwhile, the NL will, after next year, still have four stadiums (Philly, San Diego, DC, Miami) and will have another (the new Braves park) on the way.
So, it’s looking like the next decade or so will see a pattern of new stadiums (in NL years) followed by old stadiums (in AL years), with the exception of the year that New Yankee Stadium gets it or (less likely) in new Athletics or Rays parks.
Let’s look into the Crystal Ball (speculation is:
2014: Target Field, Minneapolis
This, of course, is already set.
2015: Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati
This also is already set.
2016: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore
Type in “2016 MLB All-Star Game” into Google, and the front page is almost entirely of articles talking about how Baltimore and Camden Yards are the front-runners for the game. The only other place mentioned is Wrigley Field (as 2016 would be the 100th Anniversary of the Cubs playing there), but that was from an article in 2011, and goes against the current schedule and also doesn’t take into account that Wrigley will be heavily remodeled in the next few years.
2017: PETCO Park, San Diego
The only things I could find on early 2017 speculation was around Nationals Park and Marlins Park. I don’t think either will get it. The Nationals won’t get it because I doubt MLB would have an All-Star Game site so close to the previous year’s site. The Marlins probably wouldn’t get it because it’s likely that the rest of baseball’s owners will still be angry at Jeffrey Loria, should he still own them, for being a constant PR nightmare who blows up teams every few years. By the way, if my current prediction is correct, the next Marlins fire sale should be in either 2016 or 2017.
So, instead, the game would go to PETCO Park in San Diego, partially due to process of elimination, and partially because San Diego is gorgeous.
2018: New Yankee Stadium, New York City
By 2018, it’ll have been five All-Star Games since the Mets hosted the All-Star Game in 2013. That, coincidentally, is also the span of time between when old Yankee Stadium hosted and when the Mets had it. So, by 2018, it should be safe for the All-Star Game to come back to the Bronx.
2019: New Atlanta Braves Stadium, Cobb County GA
With the exception of teams that are unlucky enough to have new stadiums dangerously close to when their neighbors gets All-Star Games or that are borderline pariahs (the Marlins), Major League Baseball likes getting the All-Star Game to them, particularly if the local government paid for most of the stadium’s construction. So, the new Braves Stadium, due to open in 2017, would be a prime candidate in 2019. Another possibility: Wrigley Field.
2020: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada
By 2020, the Blue Jays will be playing on grass, not turf! That will change a lot about the once-Skydome, and will make it a more appealing place to hold an All-Star Game.
2021: Nationals Stadium, Washington DC
By 2021, it’ll have been long enough since the Orioles’ held it for DC to hold the ASG. Alternate possibility: renovated Wrigley Field.
2022: New Athletics Stadium, Who-Knows-Where
Technically, the Athletics recently signed a 10 year extension to their captivity at the Oakland Coliseum, but, I’m sorry, if the Athletics stay in the Oakland Coliseum as it currently is for the next 10 years, I’ll eat my hat. Maybe the Raiders will move to LA (again) and they’ll blow up Mount Davis and turn the Coliseum into a baseball-only venue. Maybe they’ll finally move to San Jose. Maybe they’ll go to Montreal, San Antonio, San Juan, Las Vegas, Portland or any of the other bugaboos that are drummed up anytime a team wants a new stadium. I don’t know, but I’m guessing that by 2022 the Athletics will be in a new place.
If not, uh, I dunno, Texas maybe? Or Cleveland?
2023: Marlins Park, Miami
Loria will have either sold the Marlins or died by this point, and even if he hadn’t the turnover in MLB ownership would have been enough where maybe there won’t be enough people who dislike him enough to keep the All-Star Game away from him. If neither of those things are true: Wrigley Field.
2024: Fenway Park, Boston
It’ll be the 25th Anniversary of the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park. That was the All-Star Game when Ted Williams came out and waved to the crowd. I can only presume that he can be stitched back together and unthawed in time to repeat the feat in 2024.
…
So, what do you think of these predictions? Too pessimistic on the chances for Miami or DC?
Also, if you are wondering why Philadelphia isn’t listed, it’s because they are on record as wanting the game in 2026, as part of America’s 250th birthday. Of course, that would require a break in the current rotation of AL-NL, but, hey, there’s 12 years to figure that out.
MVP of Yesterday (7-10-2014): Mike Trout
Mike Trout is good at baseball. Mike Trout went 4-5 with a HR and 4 RBIs last night. Mike Trout is the MVP of Yesterday.
Because Mike Trout is awesome.
Standings, as usual, after the jump:
Coming up…
Aside
Coming up in the coming days: All-Star Game stuff, a Bizarre Baseball Culture unlike any other, the usual stuff… and, in ONE WEEK, not just a book review, but also a VIDEO GAME review!
MVP of Yesterday (July 9, 2014): Kevin Kiermaier
4-4 with a Grand Slam, Kevin Kiermaier of the Rays is the MVP of Yesterday.
Standings after the jump, obviously:
How Babe Ruth’s trade was reported (Updated!)
This is an updated version of an article from last fall, now including things from The Sporting News of the era. Thanks to the Society of American Baseball Research (of which I am now a member!) for the access to the Sporting News archive, which made this update possible.
It could be said that the last vestige of the “Curse of the Bambino” fell last year, as the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in Fenway Park itself for the first time since 1918. To be more exact, they were the first Boston team to clinch the title at home since this game.
Take a look at that game. And notice how different it was: it took only 1:56 to play, it was a day game and only 15,238 were in attendance. It took place in September since the season was shortened due to WWI travel restirctions. Hall of Famers Harry Hooper and Babe Ruth (who was used as a defensive replacement, despite still being primarily a pitcher at the time) were on Boston, and HOF umpires Bill Klem and Hank O’Day were working the corner bases (there were only four umpires in the playoffs back then).
Of course, that ended up being the last World Series game that Ruth would play for the Red Sox, because on December 26 of the following year, he was infamously sold to the New York Yankees. And that’s what brings us to this article, where I take a look at how the Ruth sale was reported in the papers of 1919.. or, rather, 1920, since it took TEN DAYS for them to officially announce it.
(JUMP)
MVP of Yesterday for July 8, 2014: Jacob DeGrom
Jacob DeGrom of the Mets pitched 7 innings of shutout ball last night, striking out an impressive 11 Brewers. He’s the MVP of Yesterday.
Check below the jump, of course, for the standings:
MVP of Yesterday for July 7, 2014: Manny Machado
I’m not sure if somebody that young can truly give a “vintage” performance, but if they could, Manny Machado gave one last night, going 5-6 with a HR in the extra-innings Orioles victory.
Standings, as always, after the jump:
MVPs of the 4th of July Weekend
The MVPs of the weekend are Clayton Kershaw (again), Nelson Cruz and Jeff Samardzija.
Standings, as always, after the jump:
Somebody is selling a trading card of Mike Trout in Little League
In yet another case of eBay providing mankind access to anything possible, we now see the ultimate souvenir for the discerning Mike Trout aficionado (which is, to say, everyone): a card of the Millville Meteor back when he was a Cub.
“When was Mike Trout a Cub?”, you ask? I can understand, after all, as likely as it is that the Cubs would be able to squander away Mike Trout, it feels like that’s something you’d remember, right?
Well, that’s because it’s not the Chicago Cubs, but rather the Steelman Photo Cubs of the Millville American Cal Ripken League. Yes, it’s a baseball card of 11-year-old Mike Trout:
And it’s all available for the low, low, price of $8,927.27! It’s signed too! Yes, somebody not only went through the trouble to somehow track down a little league trading card from 2003, but they got Mike Trout to sign it. As far as I know, there are only a few types of people who would have been able to do that:
A) Mike Trout himself.
B) Mike Trout’s immediate family.
C) Mike Trout’s Little League teammates and coaches.
D) The guy who was hired to make and print these cards in the first place, who keeps copies of them just in case any of the kids become the greatest player on the planet.
E) A local bully who beat up Mike Trout and then took his lunch money and baseball card, which Trout had signed because he believed that if he became a big-leaguer one day, he’d better have had practiced his signature.
F) Somebody who Mike Trout should really consider putting a restraining order on.
Logically, one of them is who put this up on eBay.
Sadly, whoever acquired this didn’t find the true holy grail, as something that needs to be noted here is that this card lacks Trout’s Little League statistics. This is very important. I remember when I was growing up (and I’m, alas, older than Trout), I got my statistics on the back of my card. But, nope, all we get for Trout is this:
All that we can learn from this is that Mike Trout, when he was 11, was 5’1” and weighed 102 lbs. So, guess what, folks? Young Mike Trout was not fat! In fact, he was a little slim! That’s nice and all, but I wanted to see what his stats were. Was he a Pablo Sanchez-level secret weapon? We may never know…
The Baseball Continuum 