batmagadanleadoff

Mets have most social online fans in MLB According to social analytics site Klear, Mets fans are the most social online fans in baseball, based on total reach and mentions across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (Aug. 19. 2015)� In the book version of the baseball epic The Natural, fans of baseball superstar Roy Hobbs lament that his salary is meager and that the Judge (the team�s owner) has refused to give Hobbs a raise. In order to remedy the situation, his fans bring thousands of presents including televisions, a Mercedes Benz and a lifetime pass to Paramount Theater. Hobbs later addresses his fans, thanking them and letting them know that he will strive to be �the greatest there ever was in the game.� Hobbs clearly understood the power of a fan base and the rewards it brings. By the end of the novel, he also understood what hubris can bring from the same fans. Whenever we think about a team�s fan base, the question of loyalty and following arises. Smart teams view the issue of fan engagement in pragmatic and strategic terms. Using social media, they encourage and engage their fans, they make it fun, they build fan relationships, and they sell. Fans of course, eat this up. They start to follow their team more closely and they become more loyal. The effect: higher ticket and fan merchandise sales. Given this unique relationship between, fans, teams and athletes in Major League Baseball, I asked Klear, the social analytics gurus to help me determine which teams have the most social fans. It didn�t take long for Mets fans to emerge as the clear winners. We�ve posted the top 10 from Klear in this infographic below, you can check out where the rest of the teams rank here. Improving social engagement is a cost effective way to expand the fan base, particularly when fans are the core drivers behind ticket and merchandise sales. But for MLB, the data shows there�s a wide disparity between the top team and the team with the least social fan base. If I�m near the bottom, I�m working seven days a week to change that. read the rest at http://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2015/08/19/major-league-baseballs-mets-have-the-most-social-fans/

ConnecticutNorfolk/Virginia BeachBuffaloVancouverSan JuanCharlotteMexico CityMonterreyHonoluluNew OrleansUm...Er...Indianapolis?Dallas?... Baseball has a Dallas team. The Texas Rangers, stadiumed in Arlington, TX, play in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. If baseball ever returns to Montreal, I'd hope that the new team is named the Expos and that they wear the original Expos uni. But best remaining market? That's easy. And it'll never happen. Brooklyn. TRIVIA: Buffalo, #3 on your list, is the only city/metropolitan area that was designated to host baseball in the proposed Continental League of the early '60s that, to date, never got an MLB franchise.

Mike Piazza Marlins baseball cards and getting outbid on ebay over and over and over. (zvon: you should read this article. There's a money making opportunity here for you.) [fimg=233]http://a1.nyt.com/assets/article/20150818-161746/images/foundation/logos/nyt-logo-185x26.svg[/fimg] Piazza, the Marlin, And a Shared Fixation By KEN BELSON DEC. 31, 2012 One is a corporate lawyer from Southern California with few hobbies and only the mildest interest in sports. The other is a college student from Miami who is less than half his age and has amassed a stash of memorabilia that matches his love of baseball. Yet from opposite ends of the country they share one peculiar passion: collecting trading cards of Mike Piazza in a Florida Marlins uniform. Never mind that Piazza played just five games for the Marlins in May 1998, a mere pit stop on his way from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Mets. Never mind that he did nothing of note during that stint, except hit his only triple of the season. The closest either man has been to Piazza is waving to him from the stands. Yet for Jerry Dworkin, 59, and Chris Fernandez, 25, there is no greater thrill than finding one of the more than 120 Piazza Marlins cards issued from 1998 to 2005. �I can�t deny it is obscure,� said Dworkin, who lives in Irvine, Calif., and admitted to spending five figures to accumulate more than 100 cards. �I�m not a baseball expert. I�m just a run-of-the-mill guy who got caught up in the oddity of the situation, someone as great as Mike Piazza being on a team for just five games.� Jerry Dworkin said he has spent a "five-figure number" to accumulate more than 100 cards. Fernandez, who keeps 59 Piazza Marlins cards in a cigar box, was more concise: �We kind of marvel at it.� Fans may marvel at their cards if Piazza�s election to the Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility, is announced on Jan. 9. Typically, a player�s rookie cards get the biggest boost from Hall entry. Piazza played most of his career in Los Angeles and New York, so the cards from those years are likely to appreciate more than his Marlins cards do, collecting experts said. Yet sports collecting is fueled by an unending flow of players who wear an endless number of uniforms and gear. And when a baseball player makes it to the Hall of Fame, some of his biggest fans will spend great sums to commemorate the moment. Trading cards are the most obvious investments because they have been around for so long and are relatively inexpensive. Years ago, scarcity and a player�s popularity drove demand. The T206 Honus Wagner issued in 1909 is the most famous card in part because few exist. Card collecting has grown immensely since then, and manufacturers have become adept at celebrating even the most obscure achievements, including Piazza�s five-game stretch for the team now known as the Miami Marlins. They recognized the peculiarity of an All-Star like Piazza being traded twice in a brief span and the potential market for his Marlins cards, and flooded the market with dozens of cards, diluting their impact. �They want to create draws for a product and will issue cards in a unique circumstance, but then beat it to death,� Tom Bartsch, the editor of Sports Collectors Digest, said of the card makers. �It�s a tactic they use to get people to buy as much product as possible. But it�s also turned a lot of people off of collecting.� The flood has limited the value of the cards, most of which sell for just a few dollars on eBay and other sites. But the value of the cards is less important to Dworkin and Fernandez than the chase to complete the Piazza Marlins collection. Dworkin saw Piazza play a few times for the Dodgers and was disappointed when he was traded. While Dworkin did not collect cards, he quickly grasped that the Piazza Marlins cards could be valuable, though he insisted that turning a profit was not his motive. �The collection as a whole has a greater value than any part,� he said. Dworkin spends a few minutes every morning browsing Web sites for baseball card traders, and he bids actively on eBay if he finds something he does not own. He has bought cards from traders as far away as Taiwan and spent months trying to buy one-of-a-kind cards, often unsuccessfully. Once, he paid a promoter about $350 to get Piazza, who rarely attends collectors shows, to sign one of his cards. Over the years, Dworkin has found others who share his obsession, but none more so than Fernandez, who began his fixation with Piazza in April 1993. That�s when the newly minted Marlins made their debut as a franchise against the Dodgers. He recalled seeing Piazza�s name on the scoreboard that day and thinking that it sounded like pizza. A 2004 signed Mike Piazza baseball card from Jerry Dworkin's collection. Fernandez kept an eye on Piazza from afar and was ecstatic when the Marlins traded Bobby Bonilla, Gary Sheffield and three other players to the Dodgers for Piazza and Todd Zeile. But his joy was cut short when Piazza was shipped to New York in a lopsided deal. �When he was traded to the Marlins, I was happy as heck, so I went out looking for cards,� Fernandez said. �I found out he was traded when I got home on my birthday. I cried like an 11-year-old.� He kept collecting Piazza cards and jerseys as well as ticket stubs from four out of the five games Piazza played for the Marlins, only two of which were at home. He has scoured card shows and shops and, of course, bid for cards online. But Fernandez was outbid with an uncanny regularity. It was only after he met Dworkin through a collectors Web site that he discovered who was besting him. �I thought I�d get them cheap, but no matter what I�d bid, he�d win,� Fernandez said. �I found out Jerry was out there and he was the reason I couldn�t get them. Knowing him now, I knew I was never going to win.� The two rivals shared tips about what cards were available, feeding their fixation. �It became a race: I�d go hunt one down and he�d grab it and vice versa,� said Fernandez, who claims to have spent about $1,000 on Piazza Marlins cards. �Most of the better cards I�ve lost out to Jerry, but my wallet thanked me.� Despite their constant contact over the Internet, they have never met or spoken on the phone. Still, �the friendship kept me going,� Dworkin said. �I gained an appreciation of the collector community,� he said. �He was someone I could talk to about it.� Dworkin said he would love to meet Fernandez in Cooperstown if Piazza makes it into the Hall of Fame. Given how popular Piazza was, Dworkin and Fernandez are likely to have a lot of company. Piazza has indicated that he would like to be inducted as a Met, and there is no chance of his wearing a teal and black Marlins cap. Piazza�s agent did not return calls seeking comment from his client about his time on the Marlins. But Piazza appears to see the humor in the tiny cult of fans who savor his time in Florida. At the end of the 2011 season, he accepted an invitation from the Marlins to help close out the team�s tenure at Sun Life Stadium. Standing with Marlins mainstays like Sheffield and Jeff Conine, Piazza smiled and waved to the fans, including Fernandez, who wore a Piazza replica jersey to the stadium that day. �You could see on the JumboTron that he appreciated the joke,� Fernandez said. Chris Fernandez, wearing a Piazza jersey at a 2011 game with his fianc�e, Veronica Trujillo, owns 59 Piazza Marlins cards. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/sports/baseball/card-collectors-hold-on-to-mike-piazzas-stint-with-marlins.html?_r=0

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/2015-pitching-leaders.shtml

Looking at this cold, with ice for blood and objectively, I think that Lagares should go down. But the Mets might consider the human or emotional factor, and if so, might send down Conforto instead, to protect Lagares's ego a little bit and because Conforto's a rookie with a lesser expectation of remaining with the big team on a sort or permanent and uninterrupted basis.

Edgy MD wrote: Even if the gap in the peripherals shrink, Greinke has an appealing won-loss record. That gap will have to shrink as well, and there's only so much control a man has over that. On the other hand, deGrom won the Rookie of the Year race with a terrifically strong finish last year. And Greinke already has a CYA with a not so traditionally CY-ish W-L record. On the subject of deGrom, he's by far, my favorite Met. And ever since deGrom's gotten his feet wet last year, he's been about as good as anybody in the game. He might've been baseball's best pitcher over the last month and a half, two months of last season, as good, if not better than even Mr. Kershaw.

Frayed Knot wrote: Probably still Greinke in the lead, but the gap may be shrinking. PITCHERTEAMSTARTS--IP--- W/L ---ERA---WHIP--K/9--BB/9-GERRITT COLEPIRATES2415514 - 72.611.148.92.0JACOB deGROMMETS2315412 - 61.980.899.21.7MAX SCHERZERNATIONALS2416511 - 92.730.9010.61.3ZACH GREINKE DODGERS2416513 - 21.580.878.12.2 CLAYTON KERSHAW DODGERS2416910 - 62.340.9211.31.7MADISON BUMGARNERGIANTS2416314 - 62.981.049.61.5SHELBY MILLERBRAVES241525 - 92.431.217.63.1CARLOS MARTINEZCARDINALS2214212 - 52.591.289.13.2JAKE ARRIETACUBS2416214 - 62.390.999.12.3 The gap between Greinke and everybody else is shrinking. I'd say that the gap will continue to shrink, but I'm just guessing. Greinke's season, to date, is spectacular --- but hardly unprecedented. And Greinke has a track record. Is your list ordered the way it is for any specific reason, or is the order just sort of random? Today, I'd vote Greinke, deGrom, then Kershaw.

Zvon wrote: That might be the most horrific Halloween mask I've ever seen. Perhaps I can interest you in the tongueless model. [fimg=444]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5709/20641560545_0a07c7b24d_o.jpg[/fimg]

[fimg=444:2xx7emj9]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5792/20634577495_de1c693588_o.jpg[/fimg:2xx7emj9] [fimg=444:2xx7emj9]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/717/20621383022_3df0c1c83e_o.jpg[/fimg:2xx7emj9]

When I woke up this morning, one of the first things I did was to check the final score for last night's late west coast Nationals game. I can't remember the last time I did anything like that.

SteveJRogers wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: And if it is fake, then the novice cant buy it. No, but if they are too bull headed in terms of where to actually look in order to research what Topps produced in 1975, they'd be wasting time hunting down a "rare variant" that doesn't exist. Ya' see ... that's why I asked you about 12 hours ago if anything needs to be done about this. Because if anyone's kneecaps need to be broken over funky DIY baseball cards, I'm right there with you. You just give me the word and I'll meet you with a coupl'a baseball bats and tire irons, and we'll go out and bust up some knees. And heads, too.

And if it is fake, then the novice cant buy it.

Well then lemme ask you another question: wby do you think that funky Dock is fake? Tbe serial # doesn't match the # on the PSA Dock you posted.

SteveJRogers wrote: [crossout]LOL![/crossout]...I mean HAHAHAHA (Google death of LOL for that)! Just tossing in my two cents about how silly that "graded" DIY Dock Ellis '75 Topps looks, and how it might fool a novice collector into thinking its a real one. Hence Jumping The Shark. But couldn't a realistic looking DIY card fool a novice, just the same? And d'ya know anyone that wants to buy that Dock?

SteveJRogers wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: [fimg=333]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5829/19949492564_8ea814a11b_o.jpg[/fimg] And this is where DIY digital online cards have officially Jumped The Shark! I'm all for the fun of cards that never were, and other DIY stuff, but it does seem a bit out of control when the maker decides to have some fun by replacing a graded card, and do it up in a funky way. Ummm, that's great, Steve. So, uhhh, what do you think should be done about this?

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Benjamin Grimm wrote: Wow, ten of the Mets' remaining 47 games are against the Phillies. Six against the Marlins. Baseball's worst two teams play in the NL East. Without looking anything up, I figured that this would give the Mets an advantage in the Wild Card race, but not necessarily in their battle for first place with the Nationals. As it turns out, the Nats have 19 remaining games against the Marlins and the Phillies.

On June 27, 2010, the New York Mets defeated Michael Cuddyer and the Minnesota Twins, 6-0, to raise their record to 43-32, reaching 11 games over .500 for the fourth and final time that season. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, the Mets would not hit such a high-water mark at all. But on August 13, 2015, by defeating the Colorado Rockies, 12-3, the New York Mets (with Michael Cuddyer on their bench), raised their record to 63-52, or 11 games over .500 for the first time in more than five seasons. Bonus milestone (or milepebble): The last time the Mets won a 12-3 game was August 3, 2004, at Milwaukee in the first game they played after the passing of Bob Murphy. Winning pitcher, Al Leiter; losing pitcher, Chris Capuano. Three RBIs apiece from Mike Cameron and Joe McEwing. I can't tell you how many times that while reading a thread here, I'd think of a post to write, only to scroll down and discover that you beat me to it. So here .... The last time the Mets were 11 games over .500 was on June 27, 2010. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23171&start=50

Benjamin Grimm wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: One look at the 2010 chart above and you could see how the train came off the tracks as soon as the Mets peaked. I remember that I saw it coming. (And I think it's documented somewhere on this forum.) I had this strong sense that they were playing over their heads, and unfortunately I was right. Those charts are fantastic. You can skim it and see immediately that in 2010, the Mets just clustered a lot of wins in a short period of time. Specifically, they won 11 out of 12 in early June, and that run, compressed into two weeks, accounts for the chart spike.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It was a weird experience. It was a Marlins home game, with Billy Marlin on site ... but it was totally a Mets crowd. I went to Marlins Park last week for the entire three-game Mets/Marlins series. It was a weird experience for me, too. First of all, I doubt that even half the seats were occupied. That team just doesn't draw, even though their stadium's brand new and the Marlins have two of baseball's most exciting young stars. The third of three decks was apparently closed off entirely. This reminded me of the lean Joe Torre - two button pullover jersey era when the Upper Deck at Shea was closed off. And then the crowds ... they were Met crowds -- I mean more than half of the attendees were Mets fans, in Mets garb and rooting for the Mets. And I'm not exaggerating this post by even a pixel.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I can barely remember there being a baseball season in 2010 much less the Mets being 11 games over .500 in it. Wow. Same here. I woulda never guessed that the Mets were 11 over as recently as 2010. I woulda bet sometime during the 2006-08 years. One look at the 2010 chart above and you could see how the train came off the tracks as soon as the Mets peaked. I'll tell you, I've owned some stocks that performed like that 2010 Mets chart.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I can barely remember there being a baseball season in 2010 much less the Mets being 11 games over .500 in it. Wow. Same here. I woulda never guessed that the Mets were 11 over as recently as 2010. I woulda bet sometime during the 2006-08 years. One look at the 2010 chart above and you could see how the train came off the tracks as soon as the Mets peaked.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I can barely remember there being a baseball season in 2010 much less the Mets being 11 games over .500 in it. Wow. Same here. I woulda never guessed that the Mets were 11 over as recently as 2010. I woulda bet sometime during the 2006-08 years.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I was at the two games that came after that date, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As that graph shows, about a week later the wheels came off and the season unraveled. I remember that series and I remember you being there. Marlins, right? Swept the Mets. That was Dickey's first year as a Met, and by June, he had, surprisingly, developed into an excellent pitcher. June 2010 was also Strasburg mania at full hype and Strasburg at his scariest best.

The last time the Mets were 11 games over .500 was on June 27, 2010.