tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27400569.post116188140290071792..comments2024-02-23T02:43:28.895-06:00Comments on Yellow Chair Sports: Did Big Mac Really Save Baseball?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27400569.post-1161971176871576402006-10-27T12:46:00.000-05:002006-10-27T12:46:00.000-05:00Speaking of Chad Johnson (way off topic now), this...Speaking of Chad Johnson (way off topic now), this week's SI cover may be the best since that one from 1994 showing a pouty Derrick Coleman above the headline "Whaaaa."Vinniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11836050864225262267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27400569.post-1161952297877119832006-10-27T07:31:00.000-05:002006-10-27T07:31:00.000-05:00Slow down, Nate. I think you're overreaching by s...Slow down, Nate. I think you're overreaching by saying that baseball is still the national pasttime. I think by just about every metric you use, the NFL has taken over as the single most dominant sport in the country. <BR/><BR/>For probably the most ridiculous evidence of this, look how much attention is given during the week to a normal NFL game compared to the damn World Series. Seriously, Chad Johnson asking to be called "ochenta y cinco" (which was awesome, by the way) probably got as much coverage on ESPN as did Game 4. <BR/><BR/>So what I'm sayin' is, baseball's a dead scene, man. Sooo played.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01547108094270238761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27400569.post-1161936422427763512006-10-27T03:07:00.000-05:002006-10-27T03:07:00.000-05:00I guess I should qualify all that by adding this.....I guess I should qualify all that by adding this...<BR/><BR/>Baseball would be a better, purer sport without steroids. But without steroids, there would not be enough interest in MLB for it to be a success. In short: all things considered, baseball would have suffered from the absence of steroids.Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11889169796759342598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27400569.post-1161935520700882022006-10-27T02:52:00.000-05:002006-10-27T02:52:00.000-05:00Did McGwire and Sosa "save baseball?"No.Did they s...Did McGwire and Sosa "save baseball?"<BR/><BR/>No.<BR/><BR/>Did they speed up the process?<BR/><BR/>Yes.<BR/><BR/>Did the general concept of Sosa/McGwire (i.e. STEROIDS) save baseball?<BR/><BR/>Yes!<BR/><BR/>There is a reason that baseball is the National Pastime. It will most likely be popular for at least another thousand years or so.<BR/><BR/>But the McGwire/Sosa Race to the Record sped up the process of fan re-acceptance.<BR/><BR/>Stats and all that shit is just ridiculous for a situation like this. Anyone who lived through 1998 as a baseball fan knows that interest in the game was given a shot in the arm, so to speak.<BR/><BR/>For the first time since the strike, people had a REASON to tune in. They had a reason to cheer. They had a reason to watch.<BR/><BR/>Would baseball have come back eventually? Probably, but not to the extent that it has.<BR/>Unfortunately we have to accept that the majority of consumers are not as into the actual games as we at YCS are. Consumers as a whole want home runs, feel-good stories and record chases.<BR/><BR/>The old euphemism that no publicity is bad publicity applies perfectly here. Steroids saved baseball. However you want to define that, whatever. But steroids saved baseball.<BR/><BR/>And if you say any differently, fuck you. Seriously, fuck you. Because you know in your heart of hearts that steroids saved baseball.Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11889169796759342598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27400569.post-1161913348020323352006-10-26T20:42:00.000-05:002006-10-26T20:42:00.000-05:00When I brought up his stats, I didn't break it dow...When I brought up his stats, I didn't break it down per at bat. I just wanted to see was if he went from hitting 20 home runs one year to 70 the next, and didn't really see that. I'll admit, I didn't pore over his statbook, and like I said, I think he used steroids, so I'm not defending the man, or claiming that it was all clean. All I'm saying with regards to his production was that nothing was ever PROVEN (at least to my knowledge), and as such, you couldn't condemn him on the appearance of guilt. (I might have played a little fast with the stats, but like I said, whether he juiced or not wasn't my central point.)<BR/><BR/>The main point was to counteract the claim that he "Saved baseball," which I find utterly ridiculous, but many people in the general public and sports media accept as fact.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08515265223197297386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27400569.post-1161911981616161332006-10-26T20:19:00.000-05:002006-10-26T20:19:00.000-05:00Did you actually just use the plural of stadium, "...Did you actually just use the plural of stadium, "stadia"? Who does that?? You pretentious, pseudointellectual shit. (And I'm not even gonna touch "nebulous question of causation.")<BR/><BR/>That aside, you are retarded.<BR/><BR/>"First, McGwire always had high HR totals, and in any season where he was healthy, he almost always managed to hit 30-40 HRs a season. So a “juiced period” where his stats picked up, doesn’t appear evident."<BR/><BR/>What?? Can you read stats? Obviously you can, as the rest of this post indicates, but I'm not so sure you can interpret them very judiciously. (And you're gonna be a lawyer...Jesus.)<BR/><BR/>Here's a hint: 1995. Here's another hint: 1996. Do you not see the obvious jump in ABs/HR from his '88-'92 rate? Do you also not see that he did this despite coming off two seasons lost to injury? Do you also not see that he boosted his HR rate while hitting for significantly better BAs from '96-'00? You have got to be kidding me.<BR/><BR/>Also, do you have eyes? If so, would you mind digging through your baseball card shoebox and finding a Mark McGwire baseball card from, say, the late 80s or early 90s? Tell me that's the same guy you saw in a Cardinals uniform. <BR/><BR/>As far as your central issue, I agree that baseball interest and attendance were on the rebound regardless of the Sammy-McGwire crap. I also agree that it shouldn't keep him out of the HOF because performance enhancing drugs have been, and from now on always will be, a lasting part of any sport.<BR/><BR/>But come on; no evidence of an unusual jump in production? You crazy, brotha.Vinniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11836050864225262267noreply@blogger.com