Talk:Baseball in the United States

Comments

Citation for the MLB wealth comment? I'm fairly certain that the MLB is not the richest professional league in the world. Within the US alone, the NFL is far richer, I believe, and a lot more popular.

I think the intended meaning is that baseball players generally make the most money of all four major professional team sports. Daniel Case (talk) 15:32, 26 March 2013 (UTC)

Baseball in the United States#International

Is discussion of the World Baseball Classic really germane to an article about Baseball in the United States? -- AndreCarrotflower (talk) 05:57, 20 February 2016 (UTC)

Yeah, adding an International section to this article seems to run counter to its purpose. I suppose the World Baseball Classic could be briefly mentioned in the "Outside the United States" section, but that's all the space I would give it. PerryPlanet (talk) 13:27, 20 February 2016 (UTC)

Length of the rules section

Guys, the rules section is just supposed to provide enough overview for a visitor to understand what's happening on the field. Do we really need to get into official terminology and events that occur just a few times a season? Powers ^(talk) 19:38, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

It's not very long, and I think it's good, so while we don't "really need" to get into this, I support it. Ikan Kekek (talk) 21:41, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

Well, the section is considerably shorter now. I cut out almost a full paragraph after LtPowers' comment above, and I think it reads a lot better now. PerryPlanet (talk) 00:50, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Getting to a ballpark without a car

Correct me if I am wrong on that (and I probably am), but my perception is that most ballparks tend to be more downtown than e.g. NFL stadiums and hence the chance of a good public transit connection existing is a bit higher. Is that true? If so, should it be mentioned in this article? Hobbitschuster (talk) 19:51, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

The simple answer is: it depends. While there is definitely a higher likelihood of a ballpark being more downtown than an NFL stadium, given the sheer size of most NFL stadiums, there are plenty of MLB ballparks that are located far from any downtown surrounded by parking lots. Examples that come to mind are the stadiums for the Angels, the Dodgers, the Royals, the White Sox, the A's, the Mets, the Rangers, the Rays, the Phillies... I think the Braves' new ballpark is going to be way out in the suburbs too. At any rate, given the range of conditions, I think its a question best left to the individual city guides. PerryPlanet (talk) 20:52, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

What makes Mike Trout "the game's best player"?

I am no Baseball expert by any stretch of the imagination, but is there any way in which a consensus on who is the "best player" in the game could be determined? I know a bit about soccer, handball and American Football. In the former two "best" is an inherently subjective category. In the latter, there are some statistical indicators, but it would be silly to try to compare the best statistical Quarterback in NFL history (Peyton Manning by almost all ways you could measure it) with a world class kicker, defense player or even wide receiver. Also, there are still people who make (to me not entirely convincing) arguments that statistics are meaningless and only championships should count. At any rate, should we make such a claim? I think not. But if there is some way in which Mike Trout is unquestionably the best (tm), we might mention that specific measure. Hobbitschuster (talk) 00:48, 8 January 2017 (UTC)

Mike Trout is certainly a great player, but I think he's a bit overrated; plus, he's been around for a little while now, so he's starting to get a bit long in the tooth. But beyond any of this, I think it's good practice to avoid mentioning specific current players in the context of a travel guide, since all that is readily subject to change. Not only do players regularly get traded, but it only takes one bad injury or one lousy season to sink a player's reputation. PerryPlanet (talk) 04:18, 8 January 2017 (UTC)

Angels of Anaheim

I think there was a clause in their stadium lease or something of the sort that specifies that "Anaheim" has to be part of their offical name. If this is (still) the case I think it might be worth mentioning as a Trivia fact. Hobbitschuster (talk) 08:59, 19 December 2017 (UTC)

Softball

I was wondering if we should add anything about softball here, since women's professional baseball is not very popular, and it's typically softball that is played by women on a professional level. I'm not familiar with either sport, but it looks similar to baseball though unlike in baseball, a softball pitch is underarm. What does everyone think? The dog2 (talk) 19:20, 25 June 2018 (UTC)

Outside the United States?

Isn't that by definition off-topic? Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:11, 12 December 2020 (UTC)

I guess, but I think it is useful to let people know what the other countries where baseball is popular are. If someone wants to create a Baseball in Japan article, go for it. The dog2 (talk) 14:51, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

Or, for now, Baseball outside the United States. Ground Zero (talk) 15:48, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

Is it possible to have the article titled simply "Baseball"? Seems like that would make a whole lot more sense... Mrkstvns (talk) 20:07, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

If there's enough content for it, then sure. We can move the rules from this article to that one then. The dog2 (talk) 20:10, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

I would suggest then a Baseball article with the rules and information about baseball in different countries, with a sub-article for each country for which we have a bunch of information, which for now is just Baseball in the United States ((and Canada), but may expand to other countries if anyone feels like researching and writing articles for them. Ground Zero (talk) 21:07, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

Yeah, I think that makes sense. The dog2 (talk) 21:08, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

I've implemented this proposal. The Baseball article would benefit from contributions from editors more interested in the subject than I am. Ground Zero (talk) 12:40, 16 November 2023 (UTC)

Thanks. I think this is a good solution. I made a few fairly minor edits. Ikan Kekek (talk) 15:40, 16 November 2023 (UTC)

Colombian Baseball

Colombia was recently removed from the "elsewhere" section given this, I am not 100% sure of said removal... Hobbitschuster (talk) 17:25, 27 February 2021 (UTC)

Your misgivings seem appropriate. Is there a good reason not to restore the mention of Colombia unless, as per the previous thread, we remove the "Outside the United States" section? Ikan Kekek (talk) 21:19, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

I agree with Ikan Kekek. If they have a professional league and have produced major league players, I'm not sure what justification there can be for removing the listing. Mrkstvns (talk) 20:09, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

@Mrkstvns, Ikan Kekek: The question is whether or not baseball is popular in Colombia. Australia has a professional baseball league and has had players in MLB, but it most certainly should not be listed because baseball is very much a niche sport in Australia, and hardly anyone follows it. I've lived in Australia before and can attest to that; almost nobody follows the Australian Baseball League (ABL) even though it exists, and even MLB gets hardly any attention from most Australian sports fans. If baseball is actually popular in Colombia then it should be listed, but if it is only a niche sport then it should not, regardless of whether it has a professional league or MLB players. The dog2 (talk) 12:31, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

Like any travel topic, something that is not of interest to most people will be of interest to some people. We have an article on Christian sites in Japan, so why not provide information to rapid baseball fans who want to see what baseball is like in other countries? Ground Zero (talk) 13:43, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

Australia

Does Australia even warrant a mention? Sure, baseball exists in Australia, and there might even be a pro league, but it's certainly not a popular sport in Australia. I've lived in Australia before, and we have some editors who are Australian, and baseball is not a major part of Australian culture. In Australia, the main sports are Australian rules football (except in New South Wales and Queensland), cricket and rugby league (only in New South Wales and Queensland), and hardly anyone follows baseball. It's not like Japan, South Korea or Taiwan where baseball is a major part of the local culture, and virtually everybody follows baseball. The dog2 (talk) 18:10, 10 March 2021 (UTC)

There's no question there are different degrees, but I think we have different definitions of "popular". I don't see how any sport that can support a professional league could be deemed "unpopular". Powers ^(talk) 19:37, 11 March 2021 (UTC)

I've lived in Australia before, and almost nobody pays attention to baseball there. It is very much a niche sport. Even soccer enjoys more popularity than baseball in Australia. The dog2 (talk) 00:12, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

Agree.

The only baseball that even gets attention is usually baseball in the U.S. and that's very rare. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:22, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

Suspect typo

from Wikivoyage:Correct typos in one click bobblehead->bubblehead? (replace) context: ~~~ special section to use it), a bobblehead
bobblehead museum, and colorful art elements ~~~

Booblehead is correct. See w:Bobblehead. Ikan Kekek (talk) 23:40, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

Caught stealing

I thought a pickoff was scored as "caught stealing" only if the runner is put out while trying to advance, rather than trying to get back to the base. Am I wrong? For example, should a pitcher pick off a runner who tries to get back to 1st base, is that still scored as a "caught stealing"? I thought not. Ikan Kekek (talk) 17:16, 16 June 2022 (UTC)

Pop-up, pop out, line out, liner, etc.

@Ikan Kekek, Dale Arnett: Do you think these terms should be explained? I've seen them in baseball news though I don't really know what they mean, but pop out and line out seem to be variants of a fly out. Also, is there an unwritten tradition that pitchers do not catch a fly out? Apparently it is perfectly fine for a pitcher to catch a fly out in the official rules, but there is an unofficial tradition that pitchers do not do so and leave this job to their catchers or other fielders. The dog2 (talk) 11:54, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

Popup/pop out is fairly self-explanatory, I think: a high, short fly ball in or near the infield. You're right that pitchers usually let infielders or the catcher catch them, but the better fielding pitchers sometimes catch them, themselves. A line out is a line drive that's caught for an out, and a line drive is a ball that's neither hit high in the air nor beaten into the ground (which would be a ground ball) but hit on a line. Are those clear explanations? Ikan Kekek (talk) 21:17, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

Yes, that look clear to me. The question is whether or not these terms are common enough to warrant explanation in the article. And one more thing; I've seen videos of pitchers catching the liners, but is that very rare, or does the pitcher usually catch liners hit close to him? The dog2 (talk) 21:46, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

That's unusual because line drives travel toward the pitcher's mound so quickly. Pitchers who catch line drives right at them are usually either great fielders, have their glove in the right place at the right time, or both. A pitcher catching a hard line drive is always a great play. On whether popups, line drives and ground balls require explanations, maybe. Ikan Kekek (talk) 23:37, 13 September 2023 (UTC)

There's a weird new rule that should be mentioned, in my opinion, because it was very confusing when I saw it this year, and I'm quite knowledgeable about baseball rules: Major League Baseball decided to do this stupid thing of starting each half inning in extra innings with a runner already on 2nd base. Their purpose was to shorten games, and it's worked, but it's horrible to baseball purists. I believe it's new this year, but I stand to be corrected. Ikan Kekek (talk) 04:05, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

Another thing we should explain is when managers can appeal an umpire's call and instant replay is viewed by an official, because that could really confuse viewers. Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:09, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

Sure. You know baseball better than I do, so go ahead and make the additions. Also, I tried to make a fly out explanation clearer but it's a little complicated, so it would be appreciated if you can copyedit. My understanding is that if the catcher catches a fly ball, it is a fly out only if the ball is a fair ball, while a foul ball caught by the catcher would result in a foul tip. On the other hand, it's always a fly out if the pitcher or any of the fielders catch a fly ball, regardless of whether it is a fair ball or foul ball. But correct me if I'm wrong. The dog2 (talk) 14:51, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

Popups behind the plate foul that are caught are also outs. Foul tips don't go high in the air. I'll add the explanation soon. Ikan Kekek (talk) 19:19, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

And I think we also need to explain tag ups, and whether or not runners can advance if a fly ball is caught. I know the batter will be out in such a scenario, but I'm not sure about the runners. Also perhaps you can explain better than me what a "steal" is, when it can be attempted, and how a runner attempting a steal can be "caught stealing". I tried my hand at it from Wikipedia but it still confuses me. And are runners on 3rd base allowed to steal home base to score a run? The dog2 (talk) 00:14, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

Yes, you can steal home. It's unusual but does happen. I'm not totally sure about all the situations that are scored "caught stealing." Tagging up is a good thing to explain. Ikan Kekek (talk) 07:16, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

I tried to add and clarify information. I hope I didn't get too far into the weeds, but of course I could have gone much further, and I think that part of the charm of going to a baseball game is talking to fans who will be happy to explain the game to someone new to baseball. Ikan Kekek (talk) 02:50, 16 September 2023 (UTC)