How much baseball do you watch?
 

I thought it would be interesting to find out how much present-day baseball people here consume.

I watch more than 50 games a year. However, many times It is just partial games.....just a few innings at a time if I have somewhere to go. But added all up would amount to over 50 games.
Bob

There was no 0 answer. The poll is skewed...

.

Apologies, Leon. I don't know how to add another option for 0.

If anyone feels that an emphatic "0" represents your baseball consumption more accurately than "fewer than 20 games", please kindly post that!

I could change it for you (*admin and all) but no need to. I think there are only a few of us that never watch baseball. Plus, I do watch a few innings, here and there, so it might total up to about 1 game a year....
.

+1
I never watch- just replay on sportscenter

I’ll watch the Giants most times they’re on in the evenings after work, many times the games are on in the background while I’m doing other things like cooking etc. but I love the sound of a ballgame even if I’m not glued to the screen.

Playoff baseball is compelling and I try to watch as many games as possible.

I watch as close to 162 Reds games as humanly possible (I may miss less than a handful per year). I also have mlb.tv and watch dozens of other games each season. Add to that probably 100 minor league games as well. I usually have the Reds on the tv and a Reds minor league game on my phine every night. I love baseball.

I watch whenever I can, but as others stated, it's often not complete games. Also, I will not watch zombie baseball, so any regular season game that's tied after 9 I will turn off.

1-2 live games a year
Highlights of another 12-20 games

Baseball is the best sport to watch live, and the most affordable. It was commercialized at a time when live games and the radio were the only option, and guess what… it’s the best sport live and on the radio.

Hmmmm. I don't know how to answer. I listen to a lot of games on the radio but I don't watch much TV at all.

:confused:

Only during the post season and only when it's free (CBS, NBC, ABC, or FOX.)

And I love Cracker Jack! Sadly though it's no longer available at the Rogers Centre here in Toronto or most other MLB stadiums.

:(

This much...

To answer the question, I watched the marathon last night from eleventh to fifteenth inning in the battle between the Tigers and Mariners.

That said, as a Pirates fan, I only watch when Skenes pitches. Can't stand the DH and a runner at second base each extra half inning is the dum(b)est rule ever adapted.

That game was awesome start to finish...3 inning ending double plays in a row for DET 12/13/14th inning...walkoff single after 5 hours for first SEA ALCS in 21 years. It was fun to watch a traditional "slow" game without the extra innings runner. I could have done without all the yelling from the announce crew, though.

PIT has Bubba Chandler. He could make watching at least 2 games a week interesting next year. PIT pitching could easily be one of the deadliest top to bottom in all of MLB. Those bats, though...

Whereabouts in Ohio do you live? Do you attend many games live?

Have you ever acquired a strong rooting preference for any wider area AL team, e.g. Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers?

:confused:

Once again, do you attend many games live?

:confused:

Minor league, yes. It's a much more relaxed and "close to the action" experience that's easily affordable, easy in/out of the park, and overall very relaxing.

Major league, meh...I'd rather just watch the HD broadcast at home relaxing than deal with the "event" that going to a MLB game is these days (with the price tag to match).

Listening to games counts as watching in the spirit of the poll!

This is a staggering accomplishment.

I'm a 4 hour drive from Cincinnati. I make it to 3 or 4 games a year. We do go to several games in other stadiums. We spent a week in Arizona for spring training this year and saw 6 games. We are working on visiting every stadium and are about half done. Toronto is on our list for next season. Maybe we'll see you there. ;)

I watch or listen to every Redsox game. If not playing I'll listen to the Yanks.. I've done this all my life. While serving Overseas and being stationed outside the Northeast was rough but I managed through contacts and positioning the radio just right with out of state broadcasts. Did alot of smooching while in the military to hear the Sox..

I have mlb.tv (it's free with t-mobile!) and often switch back and forth between games. So, if you need to watch five innings to count as having watched a game, then I probably watch zero games per year. But I'll watch when interesting players are pitching or coming up to bat. I don't really care who wins or loses any particular game.

Also - I'll often watch when players on my fantasy team are pitching or coming up to bat. mlb.tv is great for that.

The real accomplishment is still being healthy and fit while having that much television going on.

I watch most of the time, but sometimes I drift in and out and it's on the television.

Either way, I'm totally getting my money's worth for the MLB package.

The Tigers two time Cy Young winner asked out of the game after 6 innings and 99 pitches. That is why I don't watch games. The modern game and players are terrible.

Still a couple of workhorses out there. 42 year old Verlander threw 121 pitches over five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts to record his 265th win this year for the Giants.

Could be done cause I'll still be here!

:)

More than 50, and between my 2 sons 48 in person college games last year to see them play, throw in a few MLB and MILB in person games as well.

Gavin Williams threw 126 pitches in a near no-hitter earlier this year. That might be the record for this season.

It is, Verlander was 2nd.

I missed Verlander's game but I watched Williams'. Vogt let him continue to go for the CGSO even after he gave up a hit in the 9th, which I thought was a very cool, old school move.

I’ll go to 4 or 5 Giants games each year and watch a few on TV. I can’t watch a game unless the Giants are in it or it’s the playoffs. Baseball is a very regional game.

Speaking of recent stats and recent rule changes...

It may be a coincidence, but .300+ hitters are more of a rare thing since they banned the shift 3 years ago (9, 7, 7).

We don't have the shift, we have less .300+ hitters than ever.

Even before then the .300 hitter was becoming more rare over time.

Watching the game, I was shocked he didn’t go out for the 7th. Had he thrown 15 more pitches and gotten three more outs, Tigers probably win.

My son, wife and I watch almost every Mets game. Thanks to streaming we are able to watch while we are away on vacation. It’s fantastic. Our son is in high school and has always played so we are a baseball family. And we go to a handful of Mets games a year as well as a game or two away from home, usually when we are on a baseball tournament road trip for our son, even when the Mets aren’t playing, such as in Fenway or Washington. Too bad the Mets keep breaking our hearts but they’ve also given us some incredibly exciting moments that we’ll never forget. We also watch other teams’ games. Today’s pitchers fascinate us with the way their pitches move. To me, it’s true that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. We don’t let bother us how today’s game is different than it was years ago. Every sport is different than when I was a kid (I’m 58) but at its heart, baseball is still about hitting, pitching, fielding, great teamwork and in-game strategy, all things I wished I could perform at an elite level. But since I wasn’t able to, I’ll continue to enjoy watching others do it. With the Mets out, I’m rooting for the M’s and the Brewers.

Maybe but pitchers who utilize the knuckleball (the liveliest pitch of them all) are almost extinct.

:(

Strange that outlawing a defensive adjustment should result in batting averages dropping.

:confused:

That's a very small data set, and cause-effect is far from established.

As a former data analyst, I'd say the theory is unproven.

Indeed. That's why I was skeptical myself.

:)

Overall MLB batting averages went up .005 the first year of the banning of the shift. MLB batting averages have been declining over the past 8 seasons.

This is why Manfred's going to lower the mound and put it behind second base

I used to watch around 150 games a year. This was when the Cubs were on WGN and then there were National games I would also view on occasion. When they began changing the rules, adding a clock, restricting defenses, etc. i completely stopped watching. My collection is now my only connection to the game.

I've lost my interest in the game over the years. I was a fanatic as a kid, then out until around 1996, then fanatical until about 2000, and gradually faded away. I am much more likely to watch a boxing match or a race (F1, NASCAR, Indy) than a baseball game. I follow the Dodgers but I don't watch until deep into the postseason. Hopefully will see my first games of the year in a week or two.

My sons take me to see the Orioles each year when they come through Houston. Went to two of those this year, my only games to watch live.

I catch a few innings of playoff baseball here and there if a game interests me. I flipped over to the Tigers-Mariners the other night after the Rangers hockey game ended and watched to the end. Sometimes a game is so intriguing that you forget that you don't care who wins, and you're watching as if you do.

To be fair, my sports watching in general is way down. I still follow my teams, almost entirely through the usual sports sites online, but sitting down to watch just doesn't appeal to me anymore.

Something about watching a broadcast is too stressful, perhaps because of its association with everything else that appears on screens these days. I’ll attend a handful of games each year and those are all the live baseball I watch.

I think it's the approach being taught in the minors, with more and more players being taught that approach getting to the majors. I was covering minor league ball for years when I saw a shift in the batter teaching in 2017 I believe. All of a sudden charts with exit velocity were being posted on walls for everyone to see, and a heavy emphasis on launch angle was being spread more. They are teaching pitchers to throw harder for shorter times at the same time they are teaching batters to swing harder with an uppercut swing. It's almost as if they wanted the pitchers to succeed. Baseball has been turned into a two outcome game. You throw hard, I swing hard, you win more often, but homers account for more of the hits.

It's very strange. If you told anyone here that they will get one swing on a 90 MPH fastball and if they hit it, they will win $10,000, the people with common sense will probably choke up on the bat for better control, take a shorter swing and a direct path to the ball. Baseball is emphasizing the complete opposite. Smaller bat, uppercut swing, swing hard.

I don't know who here watches a lot of minor league ball, but the level of play is garbage compared to 5-10 years ago. I watched hundreds of Low-A games during that time, scouting them for my work. The level of play at Low-A was better than High-A is right now. Part of that is MLB cutting down roster spots for organizations in the minors, which eliminated a lot of those low ceiling skilled players in favor of raw tool players. Teams are hoping to develop upside. I don't blame them at all for that approach, but those low ceiling skilled high IQ players made minor league games better. I watch some Low-A games now where it feels like everyone just learned what baseball was a month earlier. It's also why college stars are shooting through the minors quicker.

MLB in 5-10 years is going to be even worse than it is now, and I don't think they care. That's especially true if they expand and increase on the 1,500 players they already use each year. There aren't 1,500 big league quality players now, just like there weren't 1,200 quality players five years ago when that was the typical league usage. They want quicker games, highlighting solo homers and strikeouts and pretending every catch made with a little difficulty is now the "PLAY OF THE YEAR!!!!", even though you saw a better catch made two days ago.

Fascinating observations. Sounds like you watch baseball with more of an expert eye than a lot of us.

This is exactly what I do. I listened to around 100 Phillies games this season.

1. I listen to more baseball than watch on TV

2. Do my son's games count? He's a 10u local legend (think Greg Luzinski/Bartolo Colon hybrid). That's at least 50+ games this year.

I'm in the 20-50 game camp, and that includes playoffs and the World Series games. I still enjoy the modern game, and even have MLB.TV, but I'm often too busy with other stuff to just sit and watch baseball in the summer. I seem to always have more free time November to April, so I've been watching a lot more hockey in the last 5 years or so. I probably watched 80+ complete hockey games last year, and really find it to be the most entertaining of modern sports.

Go to about 15 games a year with my wife, grandson, and son. Great family bonding. Watch about 50 games on tv and turn on games when in the car.

I'd estimate that I've watched 90+% of every Red Sox game since 1986. This season I watched every game except 1. This level of fandom doesn't allow me to watch any other sport and stay married. haha. So except for Super Bowl, I don't watch any football, basketball etc.

really?! bummer. I've had it at every park I've been to this year including Seattle, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Diego and NY Y.

Yeah I agree. I doubt you'll find many Canadians who think that Rogers aren't bums.

:(

Incidentally, is Cracker Jack still sold in little boxes in the States? Here in Canada it's now sold only in potato chip type bags.

:confused:

Hmmmmm. A couple of thoughts:

1) I wonder if they post similar charts with metrics for hitting the ball where it's pitched and hitting it where they ain't?

2) I wonder what some of the all time great hitters such as Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Ted Williams, Pete Rose, Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn would say to suggestions that they give consideration to launch angles and exit velocities when stepping up to the plate?

:confused:

Ted Williams would have probably given the suggestions an in-depth analysis.

I don't watch any games.


When it comes to baseball I live in the past. I lost interest when all of the players of my youth retired (early 1990s).

Pre youtube I built up a large archive of radio broadcasts by recording games and trading with other collectors. On a clear night in North Buffalo I used to pick up the Twins and Rangers broadcasts. Now I can barely pick up the Blue Jays 90 miles away. I listen to these old broadcasts regularly.

Nothing like listening to Harwell and Cary. Herb Score, Dave Van Horne, Shannon and Buck, Tom and Jerry and the rest.

I've been on the same cycle every year.

From April through mid May I watch like a madman. 90% of Yankee games, 75% of Nats games, multiiple screens going to watch ABs of guys like Ohtani, Chourio, Vlad, the big names I love.

From June until early September it's 2-3 games a week, tops. Once September rolls around it's just like April. Game(s) on just about every night right until the end of the World Series.

I totally understand why some people are not interested in the current game. I would just say that it is worth looking in every now and then because there are some amazing players performing at a very high level and it would be a shame to miss them (case in point, Ohtani today).

+1
Arguably the single greatest performance in the history of baseball.

K'ing 10 in 6 scoreless innings...and hitting 3 homers.

It's amazing seeing this guy doing everything at a HOF-caliber level except playing defense. I would really like to see at least 2-3 healthy season in a row while he's still in his prime to see what he's really capable of.

He’s the greatest player that ever lived and I’m not sure how it’s even debatable.

Agree!
Last night was for the ages
& just a year past his 50/50 season

When he wins a Cy Young and at least 8 MVPs. That was Babe Ruth.

He is a 1 in 100 year player. Just unbelievable what he can do.


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Not taking anything away as Babe was the GOAT of his era but he never won a Cy Young (award didn’t exist until 1956) and only 1 MVP.


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Agreed


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I probably attend more Minor League and College League games in a season and watch from beginning to end, then I actually watch games on TV.

I still follow the games pretty religiously, check in on the box scores and highlights while the games are going on and I'm doing other stuff or hanging with the wife on the couch while she's watching "not sports".

Might catch a few innings at the end after the wife falls asleep on the couch...and before I fall asleep on the couch.

Wish I had the foresight to catch the Ohtani show last night in real time though. Not a fan at all of the Dodgers, but remembered seeing Kirk Gibson's HR off of Eck as it happened, and it's been etched in my brain ever since. This would have been similar. Like if Reggie hit 3 HR's on 3 swings in the 77' Series...and then threw 6 shutout innings on top of that. :eek:

Have you tried picking up radio broadcasts of baseball games from the internet?

:confused:

I just wish that Shohei Ohtani played for a team I liked.

I've never liked the Angels for whom he played from 2018 to 2023. The California Angels name the team used from 1965 to 1996 and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim name that they used from 2005 to 2015 permanently poisoned me against the team. (Los Angeles Angels or Anaheim Angels would have been fine.)

Meanwhile the Dodgers were the anti-Yankees while in Brooklyn until the start of the 1958 season. They were David trying to slay the Yankee Goliath. But since 1958 they've been the West Coast Yankees.

:mad:

But would Babe Ruth actually have won a Cy Young for either of his 1916 or 1917 seasons? In just the American League, Walter Johnson and Eddie Plank would have competed with Ruth for that honour. Then there were Christy Mathewson and Grover Alexander in the National League.

:confused:

Pirate fan livngin theeEastern Sierras.
 

Bought the lower rent mlb package to pretty much watch Skenes. Dude is playing for the worst owner in baseball with a ca-RAPPY defense and bullpen behind him. One big problem with the mlb deal is the sheer number of games blacked out because of baseball’s need for local team revenue. Won’t be doing this next year.

P S. The Angel owner is an evil money grubbing self-sabotage loser. Hard for me to watch the team. As for the Dodgers, always blacked out. Always.

Ohtani? A performance to remember. Timeless, legendary. Never saw that level of focus on the mound from him before. Gutsy, dominant, breaking pitches just sharp as a knife.

You mmight want to check the baseball stats. Yes, WaJo and Alexander would have been viable candidates for Cy Young awards in 1916 and 1917, but NOT Plank and Matty. Matty's great career was over after 1916, and he played sparingly in his last year.

Like here perhaps?

https://hosting.photobucket.com/85c5...0583b117f7.jpg

:D

Checking Babe Ruth's stats was trying enough for the day.

;)

Blackouts, those days are numbered.

In the past 5 years regional and national (ESPN, notably) baseball contracts have been abandoned with those waiting to pick up the pieces either absent or not willing to pay anywhere near the old values.

All of this while stadium revenues and the popularity of the game is strong...not a good indicator of the health of the current model for distributing the game.

The owners will have to re-imagine how the game broadcast framework is going to work and the money from local/regional commercial sales are being less important.

Note to self - No longer put faith in this poster's comments.

I'll be needing to steel myself mentally for looking over Babe Ruth's stats for another question that's popped to mind.

:p