Baseball Things I Miss

[MFS62]

Live (organ) music at the ballpark
Morgana
More players on the bench than there are in the bullpen
Max Patkin
Regularly scheduled doubleheaders

Please add those you remember.

Later

[Ceetar]

black uniforms.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Lindsey Nelson's sports jackets
Complete games
Harry M. Stevens selling Pabst Blue Ribbon from Budweiser taps

[Guest cooby classic]

Watching games on regular cable, for free

[Benjamin Grimm]

I also miss complete games. And black uniforms, too, but in the way that you'd miss a sinus infection.

I'd add that I miss the days when the "closer" role would be shared by two pitchers, a righty and a lefty, like McGraw and Frisella or Orosco and McDowell.

[Guest d'Kong76]

This Week in Baseball (Mel Allen)

[dgwphotography]

I miss Shea, Kiners Korner, and "Fasten your seatbelts"

[dgwphotography]

d'Kong76 wrote: This Week in Baseball (Mel Allen)

TWiB Notes...

[nymr83]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I also miss complete games. And black uniforms, too, but in the way that you'd miss a sinus infection. I'd add that I miss the days when the "closer" role would be shared by two pitchers, a righty and a lefty, like McGraw and Frisella or Orosco and McDowell.

I hate the Mets' black uniforms. I also hate the closer role.

[MFS62]

Nymr83 wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I also miss complete games. And black uniforms, too, but in the way that you'd miss a sinus infection. I'd add that I miss the days when the "closer" role would be shared by two pitchers, a righty and a lefty, like McGraw and Frisella or Orosco and McDowell. I hate the Mets' black uniforms. I also hate the closer role.

Maybe that stuff should be a separate thread,
Later

[Fman99]

Relievers routinely pitching 2-3 innings at a shot. The hit and run play.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Ralph Kiner reminiscing
Lord Charles

[Edgy MD]

Widespread knowledge of the science of bunting.

The shift being used sparingly, only against laughably one-dimensional pull-hackers.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Ceetar wrote: black uniforms.

Oh, Ceetar.

I miss when pepper games were so seedy that they needed to be banned.

[Ceetar]

Baseball is in perhaps it's greatest state ever and most of what's gone away I don't want back.

How about the team pennants on the walls/flags above the stadium.

[Frayed Knot]

I miss the assumed attitude that the ball is live unless stated otherwise instead of the other way around. Two plays from last year’s post-season point out how this thinking has morphed.

One was Murphy’s SB of 3rd base on the walk. It was a rare heads-up play by Murph to his credit but the real fault was with the Dodger IF (J. Turner in particular) who, after ball four, were just casually strolling, heads down, back to their positions from the shift they were in as if nothing need concern them until the next batter dug into the box.
The other was when Russell Martin’s throw back to his pitcher deflected off the bat and allowed the runner to come in from 3rd with what could have been a series-clinching run (until Texas’s defense royally fucked up the next half inning). The big thing about that play was that even the HP ump’s first reaction was to declare a dead ball and send the runner back, as if even he also was conditioned to think that once one pitch is made everyone is required to freeze in place until the next one is delivered. Only after a lengthy confab did the men in blue realize that what had just happened was perfectly legal because it was nothing more than part of ongoing play.

Those two plays, particularly coming as they did during the post-season rather than during some sleepy July road trip, show how conditioned the sport has become to acting as if it consists of a disconnected series of events rather than as the continuous action game it was mostly designed to be. Baseball needs to take a cue from futbol more so than from football.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Bobby Murphy telling us they'll be right back with the happy recap

[Centerfield]

d'Kong76 wrote: Bobby Murphy telling us they'll be right back with the happy recap

Yup. Miss Murph and Kiner. I miss the McCarver I grew up with, not the douchebag on Fox that showed up later.

I don't know that I can say I miss them, since I have very little memory of them, but I wish they would bring back bullpen cars. I think it's funny what it says about the attitude toward pitchers.

"Can he pitch multiple innings, multiple days? Of course. Why not?"

"Can he run in from the bullpen? Hell no! Get that man a ride!"

I miss afternoon games being the norm on Saturday.

[Centerfield]

Oh, and I miss what baseball cards used to be before everyone blew up that industry.

[Guest d'Kong76]

When an all-star exhibition game didn't decide world series home advantage

[Guest d'Kong76]

The Mayor's Trophy Game (and no inter-league play)

[Guest d'Kong76]

Old Timer's Day

[Benjamin Grimm]

Speaking of afternoon games, I'd like to see World Series games on Saturday and Sunday played during the day.

If I remember correctly, the last time that happened was a 4 p.m. start for a Saturday game in 1987.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Beat writers and columnists not having Twitter

[Guest cooby classic]

Richie Ashburn on the radio

[MFS62]

Happy Felton's Knot Hole Gang.

Later

[Guest themetfairy]

Richie Ashburn on the radio

And Harry Kalas on the TV.

[dgwphotography]

No interleague play. It made the All-Star game special all by itself.

[MFS62]

When you said a team was "strong up the middle" defense was the first thing you considered.

Later

[bmfc1]

Playing your divisional opponents 18 times.
Getting the west coast trips over in 2 weeks (SD-LA-SF).