How to get into baseball?

[Champion of Europa]

OK, I've been wanting to get into baseball recently, and I really don't know how to start. So, I ask the humble folks of TPWW what I should do. Should I follow 1/2/3 teams throughout? Or should I do something completely different? Anything I should know?

[Dragon]

Where do you live? Depending where you live, see what teams have their games televised and just watch them.

[DaveWadding]

join a fantasy league.

[Innovator]

if you're a masochist, you can follow the Red Sox or the Cubs

[Champion of Europa]

I think I wanna follow Yankees and Red Sox. It'll balance out.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Red Soxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you got any Red Sox questions you can contact me

[Champion of Europa]

Red Soxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you got any Red Sox questions you can contact me

I'll just ask you right now, who are the good players, who are the shit ones, and how bad are they doing?

[BCWWF]

CoE, you like in England right?

I would say that it would be best to find your local team (or since that might not be the case for you) or the Yankee's if you aren't in the US. Just follow one team through the media etc, and the rest will just come. Thats why its hard if you don't have a team in your zone.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

you root for the Reds

none else

[Champion of Europa]

CoE, you like in England right?

I would say that it would be best to find your local team (or since that might not be the case for you) or the Yankee's if you aren't in the US. Just follow one team through the media etc, and the rest will just come. Thats why its hard if you don't have a team in your zone.

I live in America. I can't believe people still remember that whole thing with Portsmouth. :D

[Kapoutman]

Just don't follow the Expos or you'll find baseball to be a boring sport.

[Loose Cannon]

Good choice with the Yankees. Any ?'s ask away.

[Champion of Europa]

Good choice with the Yankees. Any ?'s ask away.

Who are the good players, who are the bad players, and how are they doing?

[Loose Cannon]

Here is a good site for you to go. http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp You can go to all the teams pages and check each players stats and stuff. Go to the YANKEES page and you can see how each player is doing.

Just a tip for looking at pitching stats. ERA = Earned Run Average. The LOWER the number, the BETTER.

Anyway, the Yankees have the best record in the league and right now Alex Rodriguez, Gary Shefield, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Jason Giambi are their best players. Shefield's the only one with a .300 average though. Usually a .300+ average is considered doing really well.

Kevin Brown was thier best pitcher, but he's injured now. but Mike Mussina and Javior Vazquez are pitching very well. Of course the Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera is the best closer in the game.

The Yankees take on the Red Sox tonight to start a 3 game series

[Champion of Europa]

BTW, woooo. Red Sox vs. Yankees tonight.

[Champion of Europa]

Here is a good site for you to go. http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp You can go to all the teams pages and check each players stats and stuff. Go to the YANKEES page and you can see how each player is doing.

Just a tip for looking at pitching stats. ERA = Earned Run Average. The LOWER the number, the BETTER.

Anyway, the Yankees have the best record in the league and right now Alex Rodriguez, Gary Shefield, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Jason Giambi are their best players. Shefield's the only one with a .300 average though. Usually a .300+ average is considered doing really well.

Kevin Brown was thier best pitcher, but he's injured now. but Mike Mussina and Javior Vazquez are pitching very well. Of course the Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera is the best closer in the game.

The Yankees take on the Red Sox tonight to start a 3 game series

Yeah, I went to the website to see who they were playing and saw that they were playing the Red Sox 3 times. :heart:

Thanks for the info. Do you have MSN?

[OssMan]

Follow the Mets and you can't go wrong.

[BCWWF]

CoE, where do you live then?

[Champion of Europa]

CoE, where do you live then?

Seymour, Indiana. Currently on vacation at Emerald Isle, North Carolina.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

if you live in Indiana then you have to cheer for the Reds

well you could root for the Indians but thats just silly

[Champion of Europa]

if you live in Indiana then you have to cheer for the Reds

well you could root for the Indians but thats just silly

Maybe. I'll think about it.

[BCWWF]

Technically the Reds or the Indians would be the best for you to get started, because you could watch them daily and get news of them daily.

[Champion of Europa]

Technically the Reds or the Indians would be the best for you to get started, because you could watch them daily and get news of them daily.

I'm happier with the choice of the Yankees and The Red Sox.

Speaking of Red Sox, I hear this Manny guy is the man. Tell me more aboot him (I read an article on him in Sports Illustrated while waiting to get my hair cut).

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Manny has been one of the best hitters baseball in the last 15 years. Pretty much he hits .320, 35 homers, 120 rbi's every season. One year he had 165 rbi's in 145 games. Thats insane

[Loose Cannon]

Yeah, even though I hate the Sox, Manny is the man. And I think he has been the best all around hitter in the majors for the last couple of years. He hits for average, power and has speed. And he's also a great outfielder. I really wanted him to break Hack Wilson's 190 single season RBI mark one year when he got close, but it never happned.


Edit: LOL SUPREME, WE JUST SAID BASICALLY THE SAME THING. :D:

AND COE, Cheering for both the Yanks and the SOX is really unheard of considering we hate each other.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

yeah cheering for the Yankees and Red Sox is a sin

[Champion of Europa]

I've done just about every sin, so I might as well try this one.

[The Outlaw]

If you dont wanna be a bandwagon bitch, go against the Yankees/Sox and go for the Braves/Cardinals/Reds :mad:



Of course the Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera is the best closer in the game.



This is a very skewed statement by the way.

[Loose Cannon]

Terrible. Okay, Gagne, Rivera, Smoltz, Foulke are the best closers

[Champion of Europa]

I had the Sox and Yankees picked out before I set out to really get into baseball, so I'm gonna stick with that, bandwagon or not. Then as I get further acquainted with the game, I'll know what teams I like.

Anyway, Game 1 isn't airing on ESPN tonight, I know Game 2 airs on ESPN tomorrow, and don't know if Game 3 is airing either. I'll catch the highlights on SportsCenter.

[DaveWadding]

yeah, if you wanna like teams that "got beef" go with Cards/Cubs. :mad:

[BCWWF]

Terrible. Okay, Gagne, Rivera, Smoltz, Foulke are the best closers


Nathan.





(JK, DaveWadding)

I think if you include Smoltz and Foulke you have to include add Nen, Wagner, Percival, Benitez. Really Mariano and Gagne are in a league of their own.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

How can you not include atleast Smoltz with Mariano and Gagne?

Also I don't think Foulke is very far off

[Loose Cannon]

I Did include those exact same guys. Look at my other post.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

I think if you include Smoltz and Foulke you have to include add Nen, Wagner, Percival, Benitez. Really Mariano and Gagne are in a league of their own.I was talking about that, not your post LC

[Loose Cannon]

Terrible. Okay, Gagne, Rivera, Smoltz, Foulke are the best closers

[Loose Cannon]

oh, whoops. :y:

[The Outlaw]

Yeah, personally I think it's Mariano, Gagne, and Smoltz.

Foulke just BARELY behind those three. But this is just my take on it.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

oh my god. TREVOR HOFFMAN you stupid fucks

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Hoffman is a pussy

[YOUR Hero]

Watch the team that your local area covers, that way you see them lots and will have something to talk about with people around you.

[diothoir]

I just watched my first baseball game/match last night. Mets Yankees, 2nd match of the day.

Was alright until the Yankees killed the comeback in the 7th (I think).

Yeah, I haven't a notion about anything in this. So help for me too would be good. :$

[Face Heely]

Cheering for both the Yanks and the SOX is really unheard of considering we hate each other.

:wave:

My Dad's side of the family is from (and lives in) New Hampshire; my Mom's side is from New Jersey. (I was born/live in Jersey, for the record.) I know it's weird, but...I kinda do cheer for both teams. :o I root for each when they're playing any other team, but in a head-to-head...well, I'm a sucker for the underdog.

Besides, the utter masochism of being a Sox fan isn't so bad... :shifty:

Edit: Also, CoE - Red Sox/Yankees is a great fued to start following. It has a great history, and is still hot...and possibly getting hotter as we approach the hundred-year mark. (When the Sox's curse will allegedly be lifted.) It's not necessarily bandwagon-jumping; just making an good choice. Those other fans, they're just jealous. :yes:

[Champion of Europa]

Yankees - 11
Red Sox - 3

SQUASH MATCH.

[BCWWF]

I totally meant to put Hoffman in that list I made.

Smoltz, maybe I don't know enough about him, but I've always considered him a guy who has great numbers on a good team (Eddie Guardado) rather than just the knock out pitcher (Gagne). I am probably wrong though, and I am not claiming to be right.

I really think that Gagne and Rivera (possibly Smoltz) are in a league of their own, and Keith Foulke is good, but he is not an Eric Gagne, not at all. Foulke is really good, I won't deny that, but he isn't yet comparable to Rivera or Gagne.

[Boondock Saint]

BOSOX. Follow them. Do it. Now.

[The Miz]

KAZUHIRO SASAKI

[Champion of Europa]

No one ever told me who the good players for the Red Sox were :( I don't like looking at stats yet. :'(

Anyway, I saw the Yankees vs. Red Sox Game from May 28, 2000, and Pedro Martinez is the man.

[Nowhere Man]

Since just about my entire family grew up in St. Louis, I've been a die-hard Cardinals fan my whole life (oddly enough, I was born the same year Ozzie Smith and the Cardinals won their last World Series) It's finally starting to pay off now, because the Cards have been kicking ass this season.

If you're looking for a nice rivalry in the National League, you can't go wrong with Cards vs Cubs.

[The Miz]

Best Sox players:
Manny Ramirez - one of the leagues top power hitters, shit on defense
Pedro Martinez - maybe the best pitcher in the last 5 years
David Ortiz - MVP candidate last year great power hitter
Curt Schilling - only other consistent starter on staff
Keith Foule - one of the top 5 closers in the game
Johnny Damon - great leadoff hitter, lose the beard
Nomar Garciaparra - injured most of the year but one of the top middle infielders in the game when healthy

[The Miz]

Kevin Millar, Trot Nixon, and Jason Varitek are also good players but not in the same caliber as the ones I mentioned IMO

[Yashamaga]

You were right when you said Pedro is the man.

good observation :y:

[The Outlaw]

Also how are Jeter and Nomar leading All Star votes?

I hate how it's a popularity contest. :nono:

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Kevin Millar, Trot Nixon, and Jason Varitek are also good players but not in the same caliber as the ones I mentioned IMONixon and Varitek are good players

I dunno about Millar...I wouldnt say he is the same caliber as Nixon or Varitek

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Also how are Jeter and Nomar leading All Star votes?

I hate how it's a popularity contest. :nono:Who would you vote for Outlaw

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Yankees = Evil

I'd say go for the Mets</font>

[The Outlaw]

I would vote for Young, Guillen, or Tejada before those two.

Im not bashing the players or anything, it's just kind of pointless.

[BCWWF]

Young in clearly the guy deserving of the start this year, but Nomar will probably be voted on and Torre will choose Jeter.

Tejada is also tearing it up, he should have stayed with the A's for less money :sad:

[Yashamaga]

hey CoE

whoever you were cheering for for the last 4 games, don't cheer for them anymore.

you're wicked bad luck. :rant:

[Champion of Europa]

hey CoE

whoever you were cheering for for the last 4 games, don't cheer for them anymore.

you're wicked bad luck. :rant:

I cheered for the Yankees the first game of the series, so I'm not bad luck. :mad:

[John la Rock]

Cheer for the Blue Jays :love:

if only this was 1992-1993 :(

[Yashamaga]

I cheered for the Yankees the first game of the series, so I'm not bad luck. :mad:

We lost that game! :mad:

we used to be good before you came along :'(

[Champion of Europa]

We lost that game! :mad:

we used to be good before you came along :'(

Red Sox won tonight, though, and I liked them during this game as well.

[The Outlaw]

Red Sox won tonight, though, and I liked them during this game as well.

hey would you kindly SHUT UP :mad:

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Finally

[Yashamaga]

WOW

Derek Lowe belongs in the bullpen...


on the Diamondbacks