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MLB
Jun 2, 2020 14:29:58 GMT
kds likes this
Post by Kapitan on Jun 2, 2020 14:29:58 GMT
Major League Baseball's players and owners have been negotiating on terms for a truncated 2020 season, one which would likely be played in empty stadiums. Some seasons the Twins do that already...
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MLB
Jun 2, 2020 14:31:13 GMT
Post by kds on Jun 2, 2020 14:31:13 GMT
Major League Baseball's players and owners have been negotiating on terms for a truncated 2020 season, one which would likely be played in empty stadiums. Some seasons the Twins do that already... The Orioles actually did it for real in 2015 while the Freddy Gray riots were going on. Who knew the Orioles were such pioneers?
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MLB
Jun 19, 2020 13:44:49 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Jun 19, 2020 13:44:49 GMT
The Twins removed a statue of Calvin Griffith, a former team owner and the man who brought the team to Minnesota, because of what the Star Tribune and team call racist statements he made in a speech in 1978. The statue was one of several placed around Target Field when that stadium was built 10 years ago.
I'm neither for nor against the removal of statues or memorials in some kind of blanket way. Generally I'm fine letting communities decide what they want to do with them (though I admit I am confounded by some of the explicitly Confederate ones). I am disappointed that the Star Tribune didn't provide the context to let people make up their minds about the Twins' decision. We're big kids, we can handle it; and if the words were truly so horrible as to justify the removal of the statue, it only bolsters support for the decision.
(Someone in the comments added a quote that might be it, but I don't tend to trust internet comments...)
It is also interesting to see how much the times have changed that in 10 years a person can go from warranting a presumably expensive statue to requiring removal of such a statue without the person in question having done anything in the interim. (Griffith died in 1999.)
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MLB
Jun 19, 2020 13:55:50 GMT
Post by kds on Jun 19, 2020 13:55:50 GMT
The Twins removed a statue of Calvin Griffith, a former team owner and the man who brought the team to Minnesota, because of what the Star Tribune and team call racist statements he made in a speech in 1978. The statue was one of several placed around Target Field when that stadium was built 10 years ago.
I'm neither for nor against the removal of statues or memorials in some kind of blanket way. Generally I'm fine letting communities decide what they want to do with them (though I admit I am confounded by some of the explicitly Confederate ones). I am disappointed that the Star Tribune didn't provide the context to let people make up their minds about the Twins' decision. We're big kids, we can handle it; and if the words were truly so horrible as to justify the removal of the statue, it only bolsters support for the decision.
(Someone in the comments added a quote that might be it, but I don't tend to trust internet comments...)
It is also interesting to see how much the times have changed that in 10 years a person can go from warranting a presumably expensive statue to requiring removal of such a statue without the person in question having done anything in the interim. (Griffith died in 1999.)
I guarantee that there are statues of plenty of baseball greats, many of them from the pre WWII days, that one could make an argument for taking down.
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MLB
Jun 19, 2020 20:30:15 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Jun 19, 2020 20:30:15 GMT
Quick note, the Star Tribune has updated its story and quoted the allegedly racist speech in question.
And uh, yeah. It's pretty racist. Quite vile.
Still interesting that they chose to put up a statue in 2010, though, considering the speech was in 1978 and he died in 1999.
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MLB
Jun 19, 2020 21:12:43 GMT
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 19, 2020 21:12:43 GMT
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MLB
Jun 19, 2020 21:20:58 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Jun 19, 2020 21:20:58 GMT
I'll move subsequent comments to the politics thread. I don't want to ruin the baseball one with this stuff.
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MLB
Jun 20, 2020 1:50:08 GMT
via mobile
Post by kds on Jun 20, 2020 1:50:08 GMT
Is it true that there's also a Kent Hrbek statue? I mean, he was a good ballplayer, and contributed to two championships, but statue worthy?
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MLB
Jun 20, 2020 12:18:49 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Jun 20, 2020 12:18:49 GMT
That is true. The players with statues are Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Kent Hrbek, and Kirby Puckett.
With Hrbek, you're right that he was a good player on a few good teams, seemingly out of his league next to those other three with statues. But there is one other important consideration: he's from here, born in Minneapolis and attending high school in Bloomington (the inner-ring suburb where the Twins and Vikings used to play at Met Stadium, now roughly the site of Mall of America). So being a good player with a few great years suddenly is enough to make you a legend.
"Kirby and Herbie" were so beloved by the state, both far more than the next Twins standout hometowner (Joe Mauer) in my recollection.
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MLB
Jun 20, 2020 12:43:21 GMT
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 20, 2020 12:43:21 GMT
Yes, let's talk some baseball, honoring greats, and sticking with Twins' greats. I can't believe that Tony Oliva is not in the Hall Of Fame. He played 15 seasons, had a career batting average of .304, led the AL in hits 5 times, won 3 - that's 3! - batting titles, and won 1 Gold Glove (which shows he was a excellent fielder).
Yes, Tony had a lot of injuries, but he was a great, great player, one of the best of his era. Back when I was a youngster playing baseball, there were Tony Oliva endorsed/signed bats and gloves all over the place!
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MLB
Jun 24, 2020 14:15:40 GMT
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 24, 2020 14:15:40 GMT
Soooooo, baseball's back! Did you hear about that special rule for extra innings? Here is the rule:
In the regular season (not the postseason), extra innings will be modified so that each half-inning following the ninth inning will begin with a runner on second base until a team wins. The runner placed on second base will be the player who made the last out of the previous inning. Pinch-runners are allowed.
There are also two other new rules. The DH will be used in both the National and American leagues. And, when entering a game, a pitcher must face at least three batters.
I am shocked that these rules (though not so much the DH) have been passed.
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MLB
Jun 24, 2020 14:29:26 GMT
Post by kds on Jun 24, 2020 14:29:26 GMT
Baseball has been talking about the extra inning rule for a few years now. I just hope that they don't try to implement it permanently once we move past this truncated COVID influenced season.
And the rule about a pitcher facing a minimum of three batters was to start in 2020 even before the shut down. I don't like this rule. I feel it's a pointless rule to try to shave five minutes off the time of a game. If you want to make baseball more exciting, I'd like to see less focus on launch angle, exit velocity, and other bullshit stats that are leading to an increasing one dimensional game.
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MLB
Jun 24, 2020 16:07:12 GMT
Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jun 24, 2020 16:07:12 GMT
The three batter rule was already going to be in place before everything was put on hold.
The universal DH should greatly benefit the Reds. I think we had one too many bats for how many positions there are, but this should work out perfectly. Last year I predicted that they would finish above .500 and while they missed that mark by a number of games, I'm going to go ahead and predict they make the playoffs. Maybe even advance to the NLCS?
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MLB
Jun 24, 2020 16:24:13 GMT
Post by kds on Jun 24, 2020 16:24:13 GMT
If you asked me ten years ago, I'd have been in favor of taking the DH out of the AL, but I think the idea of pitchers hitting is very antiquated, especially since most starters don't go past six innings.
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MLB
Jun 24, 2020 16:28:02 GMT
Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jun 24, 2020 16:28:02 GMT
I liked the extra strategy involved, but with nobody bunting or stealing bases anymore, I guess it doesn't matter.
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