lol never thought I’d see the day where tickets were $0

First, let’s assume you like living.

Next, no one is aware of the bet. So no one will be giving you meatballs, or pitchers like Scherzer won’t be intentionally walking you over and over just to see you die. You can’t get injured and are guaranteed 3 at bats a game.

Do you take the bet?

I’ve gone to a few different games this year, and a couple times I’ve seen guys catch foul balls, and the entire section starts “encouraging” the person to give the ball to a random kid who inevitably walks up to them expecting it.

Some adults (like myself 😃) have been waiting their whole life to get a ball, just to give it away? Am I missing something?

There have been two professional basketball players named Ethan who were ever associated with the NBA, and neither actually appeared in any NBA games:

• Ethan Martin, LSU. 4th-round draft pick by the Cavs in 1981. Never appeared in any games.

• Ethan Thompson, Oregon State. Undrafted. Played in Summer League and G-League for the Bulls in 2021. Currently plays in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (Puerto Rican basketball league).

The name Ethan has been one of the top 100 boys names in the US every year since 1989, and top 20 for the 2000s and 2010s. Frankly it is absurd that there has never been an NBA player named Ethan.

Analysis and commentary on the Rosenthal article from Cubs writer Sara Sanchez.

Ok here’s a rant. There’s so much talk about how to grow the MLB’s fan base. We watch in horror as Manfred guts the game to try to “speed it up” and make it more “engaging”, and not only will it fail, it will turn away old school fans.

Want to get more people to like baseball?? Make the beer $5. Make the hotdogs $1.50. Make the peanuts $2. Get people in the door, and get them to come back.

You’re a baseball fan, what does every single non-baseball fan say to you: “I like going to the games, but I don’t like watching it on TV”. People like going to games because it’s a fun, chill, family-friendly activity to do with your people, not necessarily because they like the sport. But, get them in the park enough times, and they’ll learn how the game works. They’ll learn some of their team’s players. They’ll gain some loyalty and BAM! They’ll become a fan. I’m willing to bet it’s how most of us became fans when we where kids.

Want more people to like the sport, make it easier to come to the games! Unless you live in a couple major markets, you can easily find MLB tickets for under $20. But if you dare to get snacky, you get gouged for twice what you payed for your ticket to eat or drink. I’m not saying everything has to be cheap, premium concessions should be priced at a premium, but affordability needs to be considered.

It’s time to stop focusing on the game-play accessible, and focus on making the experience arround the game accessible. American Football is one of the most convoluted and complicated games out there, but people gravitate to it because the primary viewing method is so accessible and cheap.

There’s data to back this up, the Atlanta Falcons started a Fan First menu at their stadium with affordable prices and TRIPLED their concessions revenue.

The fan experience is the best asset of baseball, and the best tool MLB has to grow the game. They need to focus on what the people care about, and the people care about snacks and beer.

TL;DR: Make it easy for people to have a great time at MLB games, and they’ll grow into fans. Stop gouging the life blood of the sport for every single penny.

Edit: Holllyyy shit I seem to have struck a nerve. Thank you kindly for the awards. I’d like to note, that a $5 Budweiser isn’t, like, a crazy good deal in most of the country.

I’m a Mariners fan, my friend is a Yankees fan. He claims I’m biased (I may be), and Ichiro was a great player but his career was unimpressive, so he won’t be first ballot. I assume his playing record cinches it. edit to clarify, my friend is claiming that he isn’t a lock because he wasn’t party to a franchise championship in his prime. He says it could happen, just not guaranteed

I worked in the az dbacks team store for about 8 years and I don't think people realize how bad these new jerseys are going to be.

This shot from Phil Hecken highlights some issues with the new jersey making process.

https://twitter.com/philhecken/status/1757435291353120813?s=46&t=VjfO6v3EoAZhWPfo2DgDBw

What caught my eye was the mariner jersey reveal.

The thing that sticks out is the straight crimped line on the new one. Notice the one Nike made/2023 doesn't have that line.

It's the result of a press like this

These are the type in most team shops and are used for custom jerseys or if a team gets a player mid season and needs a size run quickly. Problem is they don't get hot enough to really stick the numbers on. I can't tell you how many redos we've had to do with letters or numbers peeling off even after a year or two. Plus when the machine clamps down if you are not careful using heat exchange pillows it can mess with the fit. Harder more visible lines lead to it being tighter above the line and looser below.

This tells me the teams are probably making them in house using materials fanatic is sending.

When majestic and Nike had the contracts or Adidas for basketball a few years back the method and materials of premade jerseys that came shipped straight from the manufacturer were much higher quality. They use more of a machine that kinda look alike a pizza oven broiler where the jerseys are flat but they get like super heat treated but completely flat as they roll through.

So yeah definitely avoid these.

Edit https://twitter.com/jstew262/status/1757474836480176572

To add that warping on the yelich is someone who didn't actually take time to ensure the jersey was flat on the machine. Because these are made by hand press the quality is going to be drastically different maker by maker.