I love this game - but let's not ruin it, okay, ESPN?
So apparently I missed something last night when I was watching the Nationals open up their lovely new ballpark.
But don't worry - other people caught it. Supposedly the ESPN commentators said something to the effect that they aren't counting the two games we played against the A's as real Opening Day games because we, well, didn't play them in Oakland or Boston or somewhere in the United States. Uhm, yeah. About that...just because we didn't play them here doesn't mean they're not Opening Day games. This is the third time the season's been opened in Japan, okay - and look, we could've played these games in Antarctica and they'd still have been the first two games of the season. People in a position like theirs can't afford to sound elitist like that. Are they saying that they think America is the only place to start the season somehow? We're not the only country that plays baseball - we brought it to Japan in the late 1860s-early 1870s, and what about places where the game is spreading to? It's catching on in Australia, Korea, Taiwan, and even the Netherlands (and there's a group of Little Leaguers in England). The game's been in Canada for, well, almost as long as it's been in the United States. And don't get me started on how popular baseball is in Central America right now. In Central America and many islands in the Caribbean, such as the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), baseball is pretty much a way of life. Any of those places would be a good locale to kick the season off someday. Let's not get all high and mighty about a game - that's not the right way to convert people to it. If you're going to be elitist and racist about baseball, you'll just turn people away. And that is not the right way to treat people. You're no better than anybody else, so don't pretend to be and don't say you are. (Good catch there, Cyn!)
Okay, that aside, let me step off my soapbox and wish everyone here a happy Opening Day 2.0! Now we'll have constant baseball on our televisions, hooray! And commentary aside, last night's game was the stuff that dreams are made out of - a walk-off home run by Ryan Zimmerman in the bottom of the ninth to get the Nationals the win in their new ballpark? It was a storybook game! The Braves had tied the thing up in the top of the inning 2-2, and Zimmerman answered immediately.
I love the serendipity of this game.
Oh, speaking of how the game's gone global, we made an international signing earlier this week, picking up Terumasa Matsuo of the Shikoku-Kyushu Island League. For now, he'll be participating in Extended Spring Training, but we'll see which club he's assigned to with due time. (His ERA for his independent league team was 1.72 last season! I hope he can transfer that ERA to the Minors...)
And with the departure of Gabe Kapler, the Greenville Drive needed a new coach, and they hired Kevin Boles, former Fort Myers Miracle (Twins) manager. According to the article, Boles was with the Florida organization when they drafted Miggy Cabrera, who was just sixteen at the time.
Finally, it seems that Clayboy grew up somewhat in the vicinity of Jay Bruce, a prospect who could potentially win the NL ROY award if he's called up in time. I just thought that was interesting.
And...yeah, I'm done. I just felt like I had to get that one off my chest. Again, hat tip to Cyn for noticing it first.
EDIT: MiLB.com has a feature on the Lancaster Jethawks today. I know that the stats get skewed out there, but it's a nice little article nonetheless.
But don't worry - other people caught it. Supposedly the ESPN commentators said something to the effect that they aren't counting the two games we played against the A's as real Opening Day games because we, well, didn't play them in Oakland or Boston or somewhere in the United States. Uhm, yeah. About that...just because we didn't play them here doesn't mean they're not Opening Day games. This is the third time the season's been opened in Japan, okay - and look, we could've played these games in Antarctica and they'd still have been the first two games of the season. People in a position like theirs can't afford to sound elitist like that. Are they saying that they think America is the only place to start the season somehow? We're not the only country that plays baseball - we brought it to Japan in the late 1860s-early 1870s, and what about places where the game is spreading to? It's catching on in Australia, Korea, Taiwan, and even the Netherlands (and there's a group of Little Leaguers in England). The game's been in Canada for, well, almost as long as it's been in the United States. And don't get me started on how popular baseball is in Central America right now. In Central America and many islands in the Caribbean, such as the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), baseball is pretty much a way of life. Any of those places would be a good locale to kick the season off someday. Let's not get all high and mighty about a game - that's not the right way to convert people to it. If you're going to be elitist and racist about baseball, you'll just turn people away. And that is not the right way to treat people. You're no better than anybody else, so don't pretend to be and don't say you are. (Good catch there, Cyn!)
Okay, that aside, let me step off my soapbox and wish everyone here a happy Opening Day 2.0! Now we'll have constant baseball on our televisions, hooray! And commentary aside, last night's game was the stuff that dreams are made out of - a walk-off home run by Ryan Zimmerman in the bottom of the ninth to get the Nationals the win in their new ballpark? It was a storybook game! The Braves had tied the thing up in the top of the inning 2-2, and Zimmerman answered immediately.
I love the serendipity of this game.
Oh, speaking of how the game's gone global, we made an international signing earlier this week, picking up Terumasa Matsuo of the Shikoku-Kyushu Island League. For now, he'll be participating in Extended Spring Training, but we'll see which club he's assigned to with due time. (His ERA for his independent league team was 1.72 last season! I hope he can transfer that ERA to the Minors...)
And with the departure of Gabe Kapler, the Greenville Drive needed a new coach, and they hired Kevin Boles, former Fort Myers Miracle (Twins) manager. According to the article, Boles was with the Florida organization when they drafted Miggy Cabrera, who was just sixteen at the time.
Finally, it seems that Clayboy grew up somewhat in the vicinity of Jay Bruce, a prospect who could potentially win the NL ROY award if he's called up in time. I just thought that was interesting.
And...yeah, I'm done. I just felt like I had to get that one off my chest. Again, hat tip to Cyn for noticing it first.
EDIT: MiLB.com has a feature on the Lancaster Jethawks today. I know that the stats get skewed out there, but it's a nice little article nonetheless.