2017 MLB Thread News & Notes

[L K]

Just picked up a couple of tickets to catch the Red Sox in Tampa in a couple of weeks time. Tropicana Field looks like a pretty... unique venue.

That's one way of putting it.

Say hi to the 3 other people who will attend the game.

[Captain Canuck]

Just picked up a couple of tickets to catch the Red Sox in Tampa in a couple of weeks time. Tropicana Field looks like a pretty... unique venue.

That's one way of putting it.

Say hi to the 3 other people who will attend the game.

Don't eat anything while you are there either. Put "Tropicana Field food safety violations" in a search engine.  ;)

[Arn]

It was definitely a unique experience! The Stingrays touch tank, in particular was a delight. I've been to quite a few ball parks now and it was by far the... most unique. The crowd was actually bigger than I expected too. (23,375 going by the box score). Thankfully I didn't eat anything from the place. There was a MASSIVE thunderstorm outside during the game and some partd of the roof seemed to be less watertight than maybe they'd have liked.

Game was quite good, bit of a pitching duel between Sale and Faria with the Rays notching a couple of homers to break the game open and win 4-1.

[hockeyfan1]

Former Major Leaguer Tim Raines inducted at Cooperstown, happily as an Expo:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/sports/baseball/tim-raines-expos-hall-of-fame.html

[hockeyfan1]

Top 10 minor league prospects: as of July 2017  -- Midseason report

1   Yoan Moncada                  2B        White Sox
2   Vladimir Guerrero Jr.   3B        Blue Jays
3   Gleyber Torres                 SS         Yankees
4   Amed Rosario                  SS         Mets
5   Eloy Jimenez                   OF         White Sox
6   Rafael Devers                  3B         Red Sox
7   Brendan Rodgers             SS         Rockies
8   Victor Robles                   OF         Nationals
9   Nick Senzel                     3B         Reds
10   Ronald Acuna                OF         Braves


http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2017-toronto-blue-jays-midseason-top-10-prospects/#vQxIgPLYo1UXBUVT.97

[hockeyfan1]

This week(end) in the Major Leagues is being dubbed Players Weekend, where major leaguers will be wearing their nicknames on their jerseys, plus some other knickknacks or so.

It'll be a fun weekend for baseball fans who will get to see their faves as well as cheer on their teams (on a more serious note, of course).

Toronto Blue Jays fans shouldn't expect to see Kevin Pillar with the "Superman" name on his back due to copyright issues, therefore Pillar will be known just as "Pill".  A bit bland for some, but that's the way it's going to be according to what is known. 

Here's an article chronicling the player nicknames many are expecting to see out there:

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/250446124/players-weekend-colorful-cast-of-characters/?topicId=27118122

[hockeyfan1]

With their win last night over the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians set A.L. record for 21 consecutive wins.  The 1935 Chicago Cubs own the same record for the N.L.

The overal MLB win streak record is 27 games by the 1915 San Francisco Giants.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/ct-indians-win-streak-1935-cubs-20170913-story.html

[Nik]

The overal MLB win streak record is 27 games by the 1915 San Francisco Giants.

Literally every single "fact" in this sentence is wrong.

[bustaheims]

The overal MLB win streak record is 27 games by the 1915 San Francisco Giants.

Literally every single "fact" in this sentence is wrong.

At least she got the franchise right.

[hockeyfan1]

A little bit of confusion here but it was originally the New York Giants of 1916 that set the MLB record for 26 wins.  But...

Steve Hirdt, executive vice president at the Elias Sports Bureau, explained to Tom Withers of the Associated Press why the Giants' streak is still credited as being 26 straight wins instead of an unbeaten streak.

"It's the longest winning streak, it's the record for most consecutive wins, etc., because a tie game breaks neither a winning streak or losing streak for a team because it always gets replayed unless the season ends first," Hirdt said.

However, according to theAthletic's:
[tweet]908045519553003520[/tweet]


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2733064-indians-beat-tigers-to-set-american-league-record-with-21st-straight-win

[Arn]

It's been a really interesting season for stories like this. You had the Dodgers win streak then their absolute plummet off the cliff when they finally lost.

Now you have Cleveland up to 22 games and I hope they go on to pass that "record" of the NY Giants (they're guaranteed to lose tonight now).

Pleased for Encarnacion too.

I'm gonna go all in and put my money on the Nationals to win the World Series though.

[hockeyfan1]

ALDS all set between the NYYankees & Edwin's Cleveland Indians.

The NYYankees beat the Minnesota Twins Tuesday 8-4 in the A.L WC one-game playoff.

More:
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/yankees-overcome-historically-bad-severino-start-to-beat-twins-in-al-wild-card-game/


Meanwhile,  the NLDS all set between the Arizona Diamondbacks & the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks defeated the Colorado Rockies 11-8 iWednesday in a see-saw of a scoring N.L. WC  one-game playoff.

More:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/bradleys-stunning-triple-helps-d-backs-beat-rockies/

[Arn]

AL East is gonna be tough next year. Yankees look like they might be at the start of something. Red Sox with a new manager and a lot to me. Jays could be looking at playing for 3rd at best and hopefully nabbing that second wild card.

[hockeyfan1]

The 2017 World Series is all set for tonight between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros.

How they got there:
The Dodgers defeated the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 1 in the NLCS....

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dodgers-defeat-defending-champs-cubs-to-head-to-world-series/

...while the Astros defeated the New York Yankees 4 games to 3 in a thrilling ALCS.

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2017/10/21/16515340/alcs-results-score-houston-astros-new-york-yankees-game-7-world-series

[hockeyfan1]

A World Series and a marriage proposal...sweet!

[tweet]925945822864396288[/tweet]

The Houston Astros won their first-ever World Series with a seventh-game defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers in L.A. this past Monday, in what was a very thrilling World Series between two of the best teams in baseball this year.

Congrats, Astros!

How analytics played a part in the Houston franchise's ascension culminating into WS champions:


https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/astros-world-series-win-may-be-remembered-as-the-moment-analytics-conquered-mlb-for-good/2017/11/02/ac62abaa-bfec-11e7-97d9-bdab5a0ab381_story.html