Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with MLB

Is a team committed to a pinch hitter substitution, even if the hitter never gets to bat?

csimpkins — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:32:21 -0800

In MLB, if a pinch hitter enters the on-deck circle to warm up, but the side is retired before he actually gets up to bat, does the team still have to go through with the substitution? Or can they 'back out'? Just a silly question that's been bugging me for a couple weeks.

2009 MLB All-Star Game First Pitch Time?

dtpollitt — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:40:09 -0800

What time will the first pitch of the 2009 MLB All-Star game be? Television broadcasts start at 8 pm EST, but there will be player introductions, ceremonies, and President Obama's toss. I'd like to know the actual time the first pitch of the game will be at. Thanks.

MLB + API = ?

joshjs — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:22:11 -0800

I'm looking for an API that'll give me near-real-time access to the day's baseball scores, including individual player lines. Anybody? Anybody? Bueller? I'd prefer a free or modestly-priced solution. And barring an existing API, I'd welcome advice on how to construct one via screen-scraping or some other method.

(I expected this to be easier to find. :-( )

MLB Flap Hat?

:-) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:54:49 -0800

Where can I find MLB 59Fifty hats with earflaps? I'm looking for a White Sox hat in the same style as shown in the second photo on this blog (the Yankees hat). It looks like the links on the blog post are all outdated; none of the websites linked seem to have the products described. All I can find now are ugly "downflap" neoprene style hats-- I am looking for the type with a more traditional fleece flap. Does anybody know where I can find one?

Follow the money...

zerobyproxy — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:32:38 -0800

Are there rules that Major League Baseball uses to determine how teams are scheduled? Does anyone have a link/info *detailing* the breakdown for MLB schedule-creation? I searched high and low and I can't find anything concrete. I want specifics: exactly how many intradivision/intraleague/interleague played, odd game allocations, future commitments and schedule cycles (like the NL Central plays the AL Central this year-- what about next year?) If there are travel guidelines and/or special conditions that affect the actual number of games scheduled vs.
opponent, then I want to see those too. (Like, for instance, a team vacating its home park for a political convention, the Olympics, Bulls/Hawks Circus Trip-- stuff like that.

I've read several different websites that explain all this in general terms, but that's not what I want. I want to know *exactly* what rules/guidelines/algorithms MLB is using to create its schedule (and yeah, I know MLB actually farms out that job to a private contractor).

Why, you ask? Because I think Bud Selig is the antichrist and I think MLB is (and has been) playing fast and loose with the MLB schedule in the interest of short-term, flavor-of-the-day, knee-jerk, cheap, hollow profits.
It's just very difficult to advance this opinion if you can't look at the rules. Which is why I think these rules are intentionally placed in SUPER TOP SECRET status, which is why I can't find them.

But enough rambling. Can anyone help me?

(posted for the brother of zerobyproxy...)

Anything for the top of my head?

nitsuj — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:44:33 -0800

So I really like the fit and style of Twins Enterprise fitted baseball caps, but I want something without team logos on it. Suggestions? No logo would be fine. Or perhaps something more obscure and entertaining than a standard MLB or NHL team logo. Is there a Threadless for ball caps? I've seen Fitizen, but I don't like that style.

Do you have any suggestions?

Help me cheer on my Cubbies from afar!

globetrotter30 — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:03:57 -0800

Will the MLB postseason be available for [legal] online viewing this season? As a lifelong Cubs fan living overseas, my MLB.TV subscription has been a godsend the past few months for watching the action leading up to the playoffs. But it doesn't look like MLB.TV will be offering video of the postseason games this year, only audio. Which is better than nothing, but I'm still on the lookout for where I might be able to actually watch the games live online. If it makes a difference, looks like the first series is on TBS, and (if we manage not to choke!) the following two are on FOX. I can't find any mention of the games being shown on their websites, though. Has anyone found anything I've missed, or heard any rumors? I've done some digging around, but my connection is rather slowish these days so I haven't been able to cover as much cyber-ground as I would've liked!

MLB Gameday Audio Mobile on unsupported phone?

DandyRandy — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:19:59 -0800

Are any of you baseball fans subscribing to MLB's Gameday Audio Mobile and using an unsupported device? If so, how does it work, both quality and ease of setting it up? Piggybacking on an earlier post today, I'm already subscribed to MLB's Gameday Audio, and have a much-too-complicated setup to stream the audio from my home computer to my phone. I'd much rather use their Gameday Audio Mobile service, but their list of supported devices excludes mine (Dash running Windows Mobile 6 Standard on T-Mobile). They say more will be supported in the future, but they've been saying that for a couple of years now.

Is this a service provider issue or really a device issue? Are any of you subscribed to the mobile service with a device/service provider that's not on their official list? Does it work well? Easy to set up? Is this too many questions for a single post?

Best strategy for buying Red Sox tickets mid-April

ldenneau — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:04:33 -0800

Wife, kid and I are going to Boston in mid-April for the Marathon, and we'd like to take in a Red Sox game since kid is a huge fan. We are not regular MLB ticket purchasers though. Should we buy tickets now at 2X list price from a broker, or wait until closer to game day and hope the price drops? Are weekdays less likely to sell out? (teams on the schedule are Rangers and Angels, and it's Marathon weekend).

Rocktober!

arkhangel — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 18:44:07 -0800

So, it's October; I'm in Denver, and for the first time ever, the World Series could come to the mountains. My question is as follows: 1. When will World Series tickets go on sale? 2. How do I find out how much they'll be? I'd like to take a lady friend and her son to a game. Can anyone help?

Aiming a hit baseball.

comatose — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:14:05 -0800

Are major league baseball players capable of intentionally hitting a pitch to a desired location on the field? Or do they just get up there and try to make contact? I know they are capable of intentionally hitting sacrifice flies, or swinging softer or harder like swinging for the fences vs. trying for a base hit. I am curious about whether or not they can pick a location on the field and hit it there.

Are these Cubs tickets authentic?

pantheON — Sat, 26 May 2007 22:35:50 -0800

How can I make sure my Cubs tickets are the real deal? I recently purchased tickets for a Cubs game from TicketsNow.com. I have no particular reason to doubt their authenticity. TicketsNow is fairly reputable and, having received the tickets, they don't immediately strike me as being counterfeit. However, since I'll be travelling from Toronto to Chicago for the game, I'd like to be extra sure they're real before I leave.

Is there any way to authenticate my tickets? Is there a watermark I can look for? Is there a number I can call?

How does mlb.tv know how to screw you?

c:\awesome — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:14:47 -0800

How does mlb.com determine which market you're in, so it can apply the black out restrictions for mlb.tv? This comment makes me think it's the zip code your credit card goes to, but this question makes it sound like it's ip-based. So how is it done?

I'm a life-long Cards fan, but since I live within their market, I can't watch the majority of their games on mlb.tv. If it's a matter of credit card zip codes, I have a sympathetic uncle in Portland, OR who would gladly let me use his credit card. If it's ip-based, however, I'm not sure if I'm techie enough to create a successful work-around. Any ideas, guesses, and/or suggestions?

Do any pro athletes blog?

greedo — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:11:44 -0800

Are there any professional athletes that maintain a blog during the sports season? I am looking for NFL, NHL, MLB or NBA athlete blogs specifically and not the training diaries of olympic athlete, boxers or golfers. Any tips?

Video location

one_bean — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 14:55:14 -0800

How do I get archived video from ESPN? Alternately, does anybody have a copy of the 8/31/06 Indians at Red Sox game from ESPN? Reward and A follow-up to this question, I still would really like to get my hands on a copy of this game, specifically the ESPN broadcast. Unfortunately, ESPN refers me to MLB, MLB refers me to the Red Sox, who only have the NESN feed, and so they tell me to contact ESPN.

I downloaded the game from mlb.com, but it's the NESN feed and does not include my nieces, who were interviewed by some ESPN "guy in the crowd." At this point I'm offering a modest cash reward ($50, negotiable) for anybody who can supply the video, and also for anybody who can refer me to that person. My sister would be thrilled to have this (me too).

Baseball commissioner warned before fatal heart attack?

staggernation — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 06:44:05 -0800

Did a doctor see Bart Giamatti on television and warn him he was about to have a heart attack? A. Bartlett Giamatti, baseball commissioner, Yale president, Pete Rose antagonist, Paul's dad, died of a heart attack in 1989.

Someone told me the following apocryphal-sounding, or at least embellished-sounding, anecdote: The day before Giamatti's death, he appeared in a television interview. A physician who happened to be watching could tell, "from the way he was holding his cigarette," that he was in the early stages of cardiac arrest. He tried to contact Giamatti, but either couldn't get in touch with him, or the warning wasn't heeded.

Is this true, or partly true? Here's what I've been able to find:

This abstract of a CBS News segment seems to indicate that a Sloan Kettering doctor had written a letter offering to help Giamatti quit smoking. Could this be the origin of the more dramatic story?

This version of the story: A doctor saw him on TV, smoking a cigar, and from his swollen fingers suggested he had heart problems. The doctor warned Giamatti to give up cigars and seek treatment, which he did, but he died of a heart attack shortly thereafter.

That's all I've got. Has anyone heard any version of this?

Baseball Score Ticker

Deep Dish — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 12:51:06 -0800

I would like to find an application that will give me a little sports (actually just MLB) ticket, or score updates so I can see what is happening in afternoon MLB games without having to check the web. I want something small and discrete, that installs without registry changes, and doesn't contain spyware. Any ideas

MLB Spring Training - decisions, decisions

dbmcd — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 17:21:11 -0800

1st time to MLB Spring Training - hints? I'm attending (one game) MLB Spring Training (Mariners, Peoria, AZ) for the first time, and I'm not really sure what to expect. How early should I get there (the game is scheduled for 11 AM)? What should I look for? Are my tickets only good for that game, or are there other games in the same "complex" that I could see? Anything I should avoid? etc. etc - any/all helpful hints greatly appreciated! Thanks!

How do I mirror a MLB web page?

event — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 15:46:29 -0800

I'd like to use wget to make a local copy of a web page at mlb.com (specifically this one) but all my attempts have resulted in an incomplete page. What arguments should I be giving wget to make it work?

World Series Online

notsnot — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 17:37:25 -0800

Listening to the game...I'd like to listen to the World Series online - sure, I could tune in the "home of the Cardinals", KMOX, but um, yeah, I don't have an AM receiver in the house. I just noticed this (that I don't have AM). Anyone know of a *free* site to stream ballgames?