39,327
edits
Baseball: Difference between revisions
m
Mass update links
prefix>Import Bot (Import from TV Tropes TVT:UsefulNotes.Baseball 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:UsefulNotes.Baseball, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
m (Mass update links) |
||
Line 19:
== Notable facts about MLB ==
* It is made up of two "leagues" (although these days they no longer exist as independent legal and economic entities, and really function more like conferences within a single league): the National League (sometimes called the "Senior Circuit", since it is the older of the two) and the American League (sometimes called the "Junior Circuit"). The NL has 16 teams, the AL 14. Each league is divided into 3 divisions. Another notable difference is that the American League uses the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designated_Hitter Designated Hitter], but the NL does not. This has led to something of a [[Broken Base]] (no pun intended) as to which league is better or whether the DH is good or [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|bad]] for the game.
* The regular season consists of 162 games for each team (although sometimes it's less if a rain-out isn't made up, and every once in a while it is more if a divisional or wild-card tie has occurred at the end of the season).
* The mid-point of the season is usually the [[Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny|All-Star Game]]<ref>It usually falls about a week after the season's mathematical halfway point, but for discussion purposes, it's regarded as the easiest place to divide the schedule</ref>, in which the top players of the two leagues face each other in a game. The All-Star Game [[Broken Base|controversially]] decides who has the home-field advantage in the World Series. This practice began in 2003, after the previous year's game ended in a tie after both managers, trying to make sure everybody got to play, ran out of pitchers; the rule was implemented to try to get managers and players to treat the All-Star Game as a serious game rather than just a meaningless exhibition. Another tidbit: The day after the MLB All-Star Game is usually the lightest sporting day of the year, and the only day that none of America's four major sports leagues have a game. [[ESPN]] capitalized on this, and now tapes its annual ESPY awards the day after the All-Star game, which, up until 2010, it aired the following Sunday (in 2010, it aired the show live).
Line 106:
=== American League: ===
* The '''Baltimore Orioles''': Although traditionally one of the flagship franchises of Baseball, they have entered a [[Dork Age]] with seemingly no end under the "leadership" of Peter Angelos, probably the most reviled owner in baseball. Since taking over the Orioles in 1993, his tremendous incompetence has turned a once proud franchise into the laughingstock of baseball. Almost everything he does makes you say [[What an Idiot!]]. They've had 14 consecutive losing seasons, topped only by the Pirates' still active streak of 19 seasons. The team's most famous players are super-fielder Brooks Robinson and "Iron Man" Cal Ripken Jr, both Hall-of-Famers who played their entire careers with the Orioles. Prior to 1953, the club was known as the St. Louis Browns. They play at Camden Yards, widely considered one of the most beautiful stadiums in the league.
* The '''Boston Red Sox''' are often considered by their fans to be [[La Résistance]] to the Yankees' [[The Empire|Evil Empire]] (this view is not well received by fans of other teams these days, [[Rule Abiding Rebel|given that they have effectively acted exactly like the Yankees since 2004]]), and had a 86-year span from 1918 to 2004 in which they did not win a single World Series (this is sometimes known as "The Curse of the Bambino", although despite what the [[Cultural Translation|American film version of]] ''[[Fever Pitch]]'' told you, barely any hardcore Sox fans believed that this curse was why they kept losing). That finally ended in 2004 when the Red Sox, coming off a [[Miracle Rally]] that saw them come back from a unprecedented 3 games to nothing hole to beat the Yankees, swept the Cardinals in the World Series (during [[Weird Moon|a lunar eclipse]], nonetheless). The Red Sox are [[Serious Business]] in Boston, and the rivalry between them and the Yankees is the biggest [[Fandom Rivalry]] in North American sports, if not sports period. When viewed from outside the rivalry, however, the Red Sox have since the end of the curse merely become the lesser of two evils (the result of [[He Who Fights Monsters|adopting Yankee-like spending habits]]). The Red Sox play in Fenway Park, the oldest stadium in Major League Baseball. Fenway itself is known for "The Green Monster", a ridiculously high left-field wall erected to compensate for its close relative proximity to home plate. (Short pop flies that would be easily caught in other parks can turn into home runs over the Green Monster, while hard liners that would fly out of other parks bounce off the Green Monster for doubles or sometimes even singles. In rare cases balls have come close to landing on the nearby [[Mass Pike]].) Experienced one of the biggest collapses in baseball history in September 2011 when they went 7-20 blowing not only the lead in the AL East to the Yankees, but losing their wild card spot to the Rays despite being ahead of them by 9 games at the start of the month. [[Never Live It Down|Because of the management after Jackie Robinson's debut, they were the absolute last team to integrate in baseball]], passing on both Robinson and Willie Mays.
* The '''Chicago White Sox''': President [[Barack Obama]]'s favorite team (to the point where he wore their logo-jacket to an All-Star Game in [[St Louis]], resulting in a awkward situation), they also had a [[Butt Monkey]] era, which began, it is said, in 1919 when 8 of the team's players ("The Black Sox" or "the 8 Men Out"), including Shoeless Joe Jackson, either took, intended to take or knew the others were taking money to throw the World Series. All 8 of them were kicked out. Forever. And then the White Sox didn't win anything until 2005, when [[Magnificent Bastard]] Ozzie Guillen (who had starred for them as a shortstop during [[The Nineties]]) guided them to a World Series championship. It still didn't make them more popular than the Cubs, though.
Line 115:
* The '''Minnesota Twins''': Originally the Washington Senators and one of the original eight American League teams, the Twins (who had lost a World Series in 1965) won the World Series in 1987 and 1991 before entering a bad stretch that saw them nearly be disbanded (along with the Montreal Expos). The only thing that kept them from being contracted was the lease they had with the city of Minneapolis. Then, go figure, they started winning, and have become a perennial threat in the AL Central during the 2000s (although success in the playoffs has been harder to come by). A common compliment said about the Twins is their seemingly bottomless farm system, which has allowed them to remain reasonably competitive even as star players leave town for big city riches. They are also often called "scrappy", with a habit of climbing back into things when least expected that led White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to call them "The Piranhas," as their team at the time did not have one single "slugger" but a lot of "little" players chipping away at the edges.
{{quote| "All those piranhas -- blooper here, blooper here, beat out a ground ball, hit a home run, they're up by four. They get up by four with that bullpen? See you at the national anthem tomorrow. When I sit down and look at the lineup, give me the New York Yankees. Give me those guys because they've got holes. You can pitch around them, you can pitch to them. These little guys? Castillo and all of them? People worry about the catcher, what's his name, Mauer? Fine, yeah, a good hitter, but worry about the little [guys], they're on base all the time." }}
* The '''New York Yankees''': If you can name only one Baseball team, it probably is this one. Being the most successful team in the World Series era (27 titles) and the fact that it is based in the [[Big Applesauce]] have combined to make the Yankees the most popular team in America.... and the least popular team in America. You must, by internet law, either [[Hatedom|hate them with a passion that rivals the love you have of your own team]] or be an [[Fan Dumb|obnoxious]], [[Unpleasable Fanbase|unpleasable]] pinstripe-wearing fan. An entire industry exists of anti-Yankee media, and although primarily centered in [[Useful Notes/Boston|Boston]], it thrives throughout North America, including New York itself. The same thing goes for pro-Yankee media. Depending on your point of view, the Yankees are either [[The Empire|The Evil Empire]] or [[The Chosen One|The Chosen Team]], but it's clear that the Yankees are the [[Big Bad]] to many fans and media heads. Team owners [[Big Screwed
* The '''Oakland Athletics''' are one of the league's oldest teams (being descended from earlier franchises in Philadelphia and Kansas City) and also one of the current sufferers of "small-market syndrome". However, their stretch of unexpectedly strong teams with tiny payrolls in the early 2000s led to writer Michael Lewis writing the book ''Moneyball'' on Oakland general manager Billy Beane. Beane's "Moneyball" approach to the game emphasized new statistics, computerized analysis, and unconventional means of analyzing players. And for a while, it worked, proving that baseball really is the [[Game of Nerds]]. Many other teams, most notably the Red Sox, then began adopting Moneyball-style strategies, relegating Oakland to the back end of the league. The franchise as a whole has won nine World Series, third most in baseball behind the Yankees and the Cardinals (although only one of those titles has come in the last 35 years).
* The '''Seattle Mariners''' are now known for a high number of Japanese players and fans and a good budget who never close the deal. They are one of only two teams (along with the Washington Nationals) who have never played in the World Series. The team's only real run of success came from 1995 to 2001 when they made the playoffs four times, and in three of those four occasions, advanced to the League Championship Series (though they never got any farther). In 2001, they had the best regular season record in baseball history, but still failed to reach the World Series. The club has had a few stars in its history, most notably Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, and Ichiro Suzuki, all of whom are likely future Hall of Famers and likely candidates to have ''any'' number besides 42 become permanently retired for the first time <ref>Seattle has a special condition where they ''only'' retire a number if they played about 5 or so years with the Mariners and said player ends up going to the Hall of Fame. Although, we do admit it'll be interesting to see how they'll handle both Randy & Ichiro's numbers at the same time since they '''both''' have/had the same number there.</ref>. Alex Rodriguez also began his career with the Mariners before moving on to greater fame with the Rangers and Yankees. An interesting note is that this team's currently owned by [[Nintendo]]. It explains how Ken Griffey Jr. got a couple of video games on some of [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo's]] [[Nintendo 64|consoles]].
Line 137:
* The '''Milwaukee Brewers''' are descended from Seattle's original team, the Pilots, who were a complete disaster that only lasted one season. Then they were bought by a Milwaukee car salesman, Bud Selig, who somehow worked his way up to commissioner of MLB. The Brewers are best known for playing at Miller Park, considered by many to be the best modern ballpark, and for their odd traditions such as the 6th inning "sausage races" and the mascot, Bernie Brewer, who formerly slid into various containers of liquid but now just slides down a waterpark-sponsored slide as [[Think of the Children|a cute mascot marketed towards children can't dive into an oversized mug of beer these days]]. Brewers fans are also considered to have invented tailgating back when the team played at County Stadium. Bob Uecker, better known outside of Wisconsin for his appearances in Lite Beer commercials, the sitcom ''[[Mr. Belvedere]]'', and the ''[[Major League]]'' movies (not to mention being choked by [[Andre the Giant]] at [[Wrestlemania]] IV), has been the team's radio announcer since 1971. The Brewers had their glory days in the early '80s, nearly winning the 1982 World Series. They are the first of the currently existing MLB teams to have switched leagues, as they were American until 1998. Despite their fairly small market (smallest in MLB by Nielsen TV market size), the Brewers are generally considered an above-average team. In many ways, they're considered a [[Spiritual Successor]] to the Milwaukee Braves, having retired Hank Aaron's jersey and erected a statue of him outside of Miller Park despite having only spent two uneventful seasons with the Brewers. The Brewers are also the fourth team to have the name; the first two were short-lived (as in one season) teams in the also short-lived American Association and Union Association, and the third is now the Baltimore Orioles.
* The '''New York Mets''': [[The Unfavourite]] of the two New York baseball teams, the Mets have, for most their history, been the polar opposite of their more popular and older brother. They tend to go through cycles of brilliant play for five or six years followed by stretches where they're one of the worst teams in the league. They've won two World Series titles, both of which are the source of major Baseball mythology (the first one literally considered a miracle, the second one only happening because they were playing the Red Sox during their [[The Woobie|Curse of the Bambino]] stage (see: Bill Buckner). The Mets' first season (1962) featured only 40 wins in 160 games, and is considered the worst team in modern history. They have one of the higher budgets in the majors, but in recent years have an uncanny tendency to collapse in the season's final weeks, having done so (both times losing a division championship to the Phillies) in 2007 and 2008. Don't worry, they have their fans. Everybody loves an underdog, right? The Mets are also infamous for attracting somewhat rowdy, undisciplined players; as a case in point, many of the players on the 1986 World Series team had cocaine problems at some point during their career.
* The '''Philadelphia Phillies''': [[Long Runner|Played their first season in 1883]] after [[Meaningful Rename|replacing]] the [[
* The '''Pittsburgh Pirates''' are best known today as the league's best example of "small-market syndrome"; they just can't pony up the cash to put a decent team together, though many fans argue that there's as much front-office ineptitude at work here as lack of money. If ever a Pirate becomes a legitimate All-Star, it's a sure bet he'll be traded to a richer team mid-season. Their last winning season was 1992; their streak of 18 consecutive losing seasons is the longest such streak in American professional sports history. And don't expect it to be ending any time soon. It appeared to be ending in 2011, but, 6 games over .500 after the All-Star Break, they went on an amazing 9-27 (as of this writing) run proving they're still the Pirates. The Pirates have such a small budget, they still turn a pretty decent profit despite how terrible they are; consequently, management feels no obligation to change its penny-pinching ways. In 1991 and 1992, they lost the NL Championship Series twice, both to the Braves, both in 7 games, and both times on controversial umpiring decisions at home plate. Before that they were a somewhat respected franchise with 5 World Series championships. The team of Roberto Clemente, a very highly regarded right fielder who hit his 3000th hit, then after the season died in a plane crash delivering supplies to earthquake victims. Also the original team of the preternaturally talented and equally hated Barry Bonds, whose departure in 1992 began the collapse of the franchise.
* The '''St. Louis Cardinals''': Current defending champs. The most successful team in the National League during the World Series era (11 championships) and by far the most popular "Small Market" franchise, the Cardinals are noted for their highly-devoted and [[Viewers Are Geniuses|highly-knowledgable]] fanbase (it is not uncommon for them to applaud the opposing team or one of their players should they do something impressive), [[Memetic Badass|Albert Pujols]] and their rivalry with the City of Chicago in general and the Chicago Cubs in particular (it is said that the ''only'' way you can get booed in Busch Stadium is if you are wearing a Chicago jersey - just ask [[Barack Obama]]). Their fanbase is not only incredibly devoted, but incredibly ''nice'' - see the booing example above. Three Hall of Fame broadcasters were once employed by the Cardinals: Harry Caray (who spent 25 years in St. Louis before moving to Chicago), catcher-turned-announcer Joe Garagiola, and Jack Buck. (Jack's son Joe is the current main broadcaster of both MLB and the NFL for Fox.)
| |||