Merseyside has long been the hotbed of the game of British Baseball, though believe the league petered out there a few years ago owing to lack of players.
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There are dozens of links to stations around the US broadcasting baseball commentary from plenty of towns that remain a mystery to me.
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So maybe I should adopt the Reds, is that how it works?
Daytona Beach, for example, was a Cubs affiliate for more than 20 years before the Reds came in in 2015.
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MLB does sell a Gameday Audio package allowing you to listen to live baseball, which is a steal at $14.95.
The Giants have had a Midnight Replay for years, now shifted to 1am, which you can happily listen to on an app without being blacked out.
Also, cracking story Third! You can tell the old duffer keeps up if he spotted a Rays t-shirt.... and you should have stuck around for the caps!
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Originally posted by longeared View PostMerseyside has long been the hotbed of the game of British Baseball, though believe the league petered out there a few years ago owing to lack of players.
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Proper British Baseball* is still played in Cardiff. But it's very niche.
The big park in Grangetown has baseball players on the iron gates as it was a traditional playing field.
*both sides get two innings you keep batting until everyone is out.
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Originally posted by ursus arctos View PostThe Reds became much more palatable once they got rid off their Nazi sympathising owner (yes, really), but this plan is rather fraught, as minor league affiliations change much more frequently now than they did back in the day.
Daytona Beach, for example, was a Cubs affiliate for more than 20 years before the Reds came in in 2015.
UA is right that affiliates change, so I wouldn't get too attached. However, you can use the internet to follow the rest of the Reds organization to see how former and future Tortugas are doing.
I'm a Reds fan, but I also now have a soft-spot for two of their rivals - the Pirates and the Cardinals, because my two local minor league teams, Altoona Curve (AA) and State College Spikes (A - short season) are affiliates of the Pirates and Cardinals, respectively. And the Spikes used to be an affiliate of the Pirates and some of those guys are still in the system. So I like to see how those guys - especially former Spikes - are getting on.
I didn't realize that overseas fans could get the intune minor league app to listen to all those minor league radio broadcasts. I figured that would be restricted to the US for some stupid arcane licensing reason. It is handy. Although it's delayed by about five to ten seconds so it doesn't work to listen to that while watching the game live.
I like our local guy, Steve Jones. He also does Penn State football, basketball, baseball, and occasionally other sports and does BigTen Network TV broadcasts for non-football/basketball sometimes, and teaches in the Comm school at PSU. So he's a lifer here - most minor league broadcasters are just passing through on the way to a better job in a bigger city or into a different career. But he makes every game important and exciting, which is more than I can say for some major league broadcasters.
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Originally posted by Third rate les bleus View PostI live in a one dog village just outside Liverpool, and last weekend I was buying a box of eggs in the only shop in the village when an elderly chap walked up to me, pointed at my Rays T-shirt and said "Have you ever played baseball?" I had to admit that I hadn't, and he drew himself up to his full 5 foot 7 and said proudly, "I have. When all the Americans were stationed here after the war, we had a league and I played in it. It's a fantastic game to play, I loved it. I've got a load of old caps from that era, all the big teams."
Unfortunately I was in a rush and couldn't stay to chat, but I have glanced at the history of British baseball and the post-war era did indeed see a lot of sides from the Merseyside and Warrington area win the league, so I guess this old fella could've been playing for one of them. Bet his collection of caps will be worth a few bob too!
As we've discussed before, it seems like cricket and baseball fought a zero-sum battle for territory in the 20th century. But Australia has a good baseball scene and cricket is growing a bit in the US so perhaps that dichotomy is breaking down. If one has the patience for one, they should be able to enjoy the other. Baseball fans are often turned off by the very description of test cricket "IT TAKES A WEEK AND OFTEN ENDS IN A DRAW??!?!?!?" but certainly the limited overs game isn't too hard to pick up. But I've never enjoyed it live. There are some guys around here who play with what looks like a modified tennis ball, but that's the closest I've come to watching it in person.
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I think both games take up a lot of hours, and a lot of days, and generally are best played on the limited number of warm summer days. Which makes it hard to be a serious fan of both sports. Particularly as both sports are far better attended in person than watched on TV. The Southern US could reasonably have a winter cricket league in California and Arizona and Texas and Florida. But the other US population centers would struggle, as would England.
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Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View PostI think both games take up a lot of hours, and a lot of days, and generally are best played on the limited number of warm summer days. Which makes it hard to be a serious fan of both sports. Particularly as both sports are far better attended in person than watched on TV. The Southern US could reasonably have a winter cricket league in California and Arizona and Texas and Florida. But the other US population centers would struggle, as would England.
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Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View PostThat's cool. I follow the Rays because that's my brother and nephew's team. They live near the Trop in St. Petersburg. I've never been to the Trop though.
As we've discussed before, it seems like cricket and baseball fought a zero-sum battle for territory in the 20th century. But Australia has a good baseball scene and cricket is growing a bit in the US so perhaps that dichotomy is breaking down. If one has the patience for one, they should be able to enjoy the other. Baseball fans are often turned off by the very description of test cricket "IT TAKES A WEEK AND OFTEN ENDS IN A DRAW??!?!?!?" but certainly the limited overs game isn't too hard to pick up. But I've never enjoyed it live. There are some guys around here who play with what looks like a modified tennis ball, but that's the closest I've come to watching it in person.
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I think those British Grumpy Old Men have never been to a baseball game, and are wilfully ignorant of it, deliberately choosing to tune out any explanation. They're going to be happier to just say that it's no different to the rounders that we played in primary school. I'd be amazed if it's any deeper than grumpy intransigence and hatred of anything unfamiliar and a useful way to bash Americans who are all brash and loud, not like subtle, refined, clever English cricket.
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Originally posted by Levin View PostI suspect that a good degree of that will be those GoM fearing that cricket/basball is zero sum and that if people start liking baseball it will kill cricket.
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Originally posted by Flynnie View PostThey probably have a point with that, but that's because cricket is even worse at promoting itself than baseball is. Which says something.
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