Yes, there is this rumour that they want to try and hit a ball haha … other than that nah. Also I have a hard time believing anyone interesting will want to join them - unless the contract is unrealistically good of course. Give me a couple of seasons then I will have opinions on what I think they should do about it :p

Going to London would be far more doable. Honestly I would go see any game, if they came to London in ‘27.

Tell me, why do you enjoy baseball ? I feel like it’s a very niche sport these days - between NFL, NHL and the NBA. Or even - pardon me while i puke for calling football for - soccer.

HA! Good luck with that one lol

Trade rumors in my experience are mostly ‘some random dude with the barest of connections to the team said this would be neat’ so that’s very reasonable.

It’s definitely not as popular as it used to be. lol here is a mostly satirical video that I 100% believe on the matter: m.youtube.com/watch?v=siiFqzUfraM

My family is one of those baseball families ya know? Dad played in college, my brother almost went pro except he had to get a second Tommy John surgery, and I played lots of softball. I was actually raised a Mets fan and honestly found no interest in professional baseball given how much baseball I was cough cough forcibly cough cough watching. But then I moved to Boston and fell in love with the Sox, Fenway, and the fans. Everyone is a little bananas about it here. I never really got into the other sports bc one sport is enough for me lol but also I already knew the ins and outs of baseball so it was easy to get into it.

pardon me while I puke for calling football — soccer

Hahahahahaha I appreciate you translating for me :p

Do you follow any other sports?

That was a very interesting video, thanks for sharing! While I agree with his analysis of gains of HD and widescreen, I am not so sure I see a direct correlation. I do totally agree on, that the vertical aspect ratio is great for baseball.

Kinda reminds of that old Simpsons episode, where Bart brings a portable radio to church to listen to baseball. Could totally see a kid keeping track of an inning on his/her phone during church :p

So a former Mets fan you say ? Is that where the hate for the Yankees come from ? Or is that a Red Sox thing ? Personally I don’t like them because they seem so smug and feel (and say) they are the best.

I mostly follow pro cycling. Road races like Tour de France, the Giro and the such. Follow up on some of the spring one day classics as well, if they are broadcasted. Cycling is still recovering from the doping era. I guess that could be they case for baseball as well ?

Glad you enjoyed it!

Hahahah totally!!

It’s primarily a Red Sox thing as the two teams have had a heated rivalry for decades going all the way back to Babe Ruth tho the Mets household definitely contributes. You are also totally right that they have bad vibes! They are also weirdly controlling of their players. The players last year were able to get them to amend their long standing rule of ‘players must be clean shaven’ to ‘players may have well-groomed beards’. Yankees are still not allowed to grow their hair past their collar. They are also only allowed to wear one necklace. Idk some people think it’s team cohesion but I just thinks it’s weirdly controlling.

Ooo pro cycling is cool! Does one root for that on a national level or individual? Like are you rooting for Denmark or Cyclist Joe?

Ah yes even I (who knows nothing about pro cycling) knows that the threat of doping been an issue. And yeah baseball is recouping but i feel like fans weirdly don’t care? People are more in a tizzy about sign stealing (totally legal btw as long as you don’t use any tools/cameras) and sticky stuff.

Wow that seems … weird. One would think that wearing the same uniform would create some team cohesion :p btw speaking of Babe Ruth, why are so many MLB players so fat (compared to other athletes) ? I mean you see several players with a gut, that would never happen in most other sports.

And it really depends on the country you live in, how you root. Big nations like France, Italy, Netherlands etc would most certainly have nationally skewed teams, where ownership, management and most if not all riders are of the same nationality - in those cases you could root for nationality.

But far most cases it is individual cyclists - which then again probably would have more fans in their home country. It’s a bit weird :p

so right now the two best riders in the world is a Danish guy and a Slovenian Guy. Obviously I am not going to root against the Danish guy, but right now the Slovenian guy is the best and has the best team to support him. So I know the Danish cannot win the Tour de France, so I will not root for him against my knowledge that he cannot win. Does that make any kind of sense to you haha ?

What the heck is sign stealing and sticky stuff ? And do the fans not care as in they think they should just juice up or that it is probably not happening anymore so why care ?

Right!?

There are fat players in baseball bc mass = power. The heavier a guy, the more oomf he can put into his swing. There is also relatively little running in baseball, especially if you are a big guy swinging for home runs. Further, there are several positions big players can hold (catcher, DH, first base) without being a detriment to their team. The same applies to pitchers. Large pitchers can throw the ball harder (and they don’t have to run at all).

Ooo that is unique but interesting! I like that one just picks people they think are good and cool.

How much does the support staff affect things? Are they the people who train the cyclist or are they the folks that like keep him from keeling over during the race?

Sign stealing is when the pitcher’s planned pitch is conveyed to the batter. The legal way to do this is there is a man on second and thus gets a very clear view of the pitcher’s glove. The runner can notice when the pitcher has subtle differences in how he holds the ball or the glove or his body depending on the type of pitch he plans to throw (slider, curveball, fastball, etc…).

Some people don’t like it but I think it’s totally fair game if no outside tools are used. The pitcher and his presence on the mound are part of the game, you know? What are your thoughts?

A few years ago the Astros got caught for illegally stealing signs. At home, they were using a camera to look at the pitcher, analyze the footage behind the scenes, and convey to the batter the next pitch by banging on a trash can behind home base to indicate a fastball. They went on to win the World Series (before getting caught) so now people are a little sensitive about it and so even teams that are legally stealing are getting flack (mostly from the pitcher/team being stolen from).

Sticky stuff is exactly what it sounds like, sticky goo. It was used by pitchers to get a better grip on the ball and thus throw extra nasty stuff. They banned it a few years ago but sometimes fools still get caught. You’ll often see the ump touch the pitchers hand/glove after an inning, that is what his is checking for.

As for the doping, I think it’s mostly not happening anymore so the fans aren’t too worried about it. There is very rigorous testing and I can’t remember the last time anyone was caught positive. But that’s just my impression and definitely could be wrong.

Ah okay that makes sense. It just looks super weird when you see them next to top pumped dudes. But I guess you get to first base if you manage to put the ball into the outer field and if 1B gets it before it leaves the inner fields you are not making it anyway.

Well I guess many casuals will just root for Danes fx. But like baseball cycling is mindboggling nerdy with numbers and power output and gear choices and so on and so on. So the really hardcore fans are more into the sport than national allegiance.

And I would say the support crew/team affects basically everything. Three years ago the Slovene guy was still the best in the world - in my opinion , but the Dane had a better team. So they could basically tire out the other guys team, isolate him and attack when he was weak. The last two years though the Slovene has had an amazing team and they have been doing the exact thing back at the Dane. It is really fun to watch… it just takes three weeks to realize haha.

When it comes to food, gear, health etc I would say it is important, but not as important as the other guys in the bikes. Like many can make a good balanced diet regime, but not many can ride a 10% incline for 10 kilometers with 20 km/h.

So I guess reading the sign I am all for. That is just part of the game, but I agree that cameras and logbooks and whatever is too much. Kinda takes the thrill out of the pitch/batter drama imo. And sticky stuff makes sense now! I am amazed that all pitchers don’t get arthritis in their hands with those fucked up finger grabs they use.

Tell me something about the Red Sox. When was their last World Series win? Are they an old team/new team? Something like that. Or are they agressive attackers or are they a defensive team. Let it on me!

Exactly!

Ooo that’s very interesting! I had never thought of cycling as a team sport before lol.

The Red Sox are a young team. The majority of our players are rookies or have only been in the bigs for ~1/1.5 years. LF, CF, RF, 2nd, and 1st are all noobies. This means we are fast and athletic (no fat players on the Red Sox rn) going for more ‘small ball’ (stringing together multiple, smaller hits) than home runs. But holy heck do we commit errors. In 2025 we committed the most errors out of every team. We committed 116 with the next team (the Rockies lol) committing 110. Number wise, that’s about what we did in 2024, except — and this may be wishful thinking — I feel like the errors were less egregious this year if that makes any sense? We threw the ball away but it wasn’t like we chucked it to outer space just airmailed it a bit. Idk that could be total cap but I’m sticking with it.

But if nothing else, we never choked as hard as the Phillies www.instagram.com/reel/DPnGu2Mjvh-/?hl=en (this was to loose the World Series)

Bonus fact! The Red Sox, many eons ago, were the Boston Beaneaters! Which is a hilarious name that we never should have changed lol

Tell me something about the Rockies. They are in a different league than the Red Sox and we almost never play each other so I know very little about them. What’s the coolest fact you’ve learned about them so far?

Omg that is a hilarious name xD whoever decided to change that needs to be rehired so he can be fired !

I think I actually prefer “small ball” play. It has more action - or at least perceived action. I don’t know. That might be entirely based on me playing baseball games :p

And a regarding a cool fact, it is more of a very implied joke. I don’t know if you remember the South Park episode, where the boys play little league baseball and actively tries to loose, so they can spend the summer not playing? They end up playing a Denver team, that plays at Coors Field, that plays in purple and have made it into a strategy to loose. I guess you see where this is going ? It is never stated as such, but it is very much implied that they are based on the Rockies. Which cracked me up when I rewatched the episode.

If you want a more teamy fact, we ended the 2023 season with a on the road winning percentage of .296. Which is a MLB record!

And I’m sorry, I don’t have a Facebook/insta account. So can’t watch it :(

I totally prefer small ball too. Home run focused teams are exciting when they are on but it’s impossible to maintain a high enough rate of home runs . And there is nothing more exciting than the clutch hit imo! What would be your favorite play / sequence of plays? Last year one of the Sox hit a bomb of a triple and then immediately stole home! It was probably the most exiting play all year!

youtu.be/BAoVqA6cqPI

hahahahahahah that’s not blatant at all lol!

oh no lol… i guess good job being the most… something, team.

ugh so rude of facebook to not let you see posts in browser anymore. Here is a different video: youtube.com/shorts/TK-f7jQHdR8

Oh I have no idea what plays are called. But it’s hard not to get excited about that play wow, that Duran guy is cheeky af :p like what are some plays ? I am going to be super naive and ask if it isn’t just to get people on bases and then run them home :p ?

But I agree! Like a super late game clutch hit is super cool. I wish I get to experience it one day :p other than that just a nice clean smack down center field I also enjoy. There is something very clean and enjoyable about it.

Aaaand the YT short is not available outside of the US it seems :p and my vpn on my phone doesn’t do region confuscation properly :/

Haha totally fair and there are many plays, many of which are very similar. I am happy to make you a big list if you’d like, just say the word. But you’ll also definitely pick it up as you watch more. Yes it is get people on base and then get them home, it’s just nuance therein. Like the batter can just hit the ball for however many bases. But there is also a sac fly which is still an out but also advances a baserunner (it’s a fly out super super deep allowing a man on base to tag up which means they wait until the ball has been caught and then run to the next base and it’s a race between the outfielder’s arm and the runner). And you can of course steal a base (any base, including first under very specific circumstances lol).

🤞 for one day!

A clean smack is always great! I love when you can hear off the bat that it is going out. A home run hit has such a distinct sound!

Oh my goodness rude pt 2! lol I’ll just describe it to you. So it’s extras in the last game of the World Series with the home team Dodgers batting, 2 outs with a man on third. The dodgers only need one man to cross home to finished the game but the Phillies only need 1 out to stay in it. The batter hits the ball back to the pitcher and instead of throwing to first where there is a force out and will end the inning before the guy on third can get home, he throws it away over the catchers head thus allowing the batter to get to first AND the runner to get home. Of course the man on first doesn’t matter bc the game is over and the Dodgers win the World Series the second their man crosses home. One of the greatest chokes of all time!

I couldn’t find any World Series games matching your description, but I found this post season one, that shows what you described. And wow what a blunder. Glad I’m not that guy :p

youtube.com/shorts/C70C4beANyk

And that is very cool of you! But I don’t think a long list of plays would do me any good. I would on the other hand like to just look at clips or different plays and talk about them. If you were up for that ?

And now it makes sense why they sometimes run when it was an out.! I always wondered why sometimes they weren’t out themselves, but that makes total sense now.

Ah damn you’re right! I misremember the stakes my b. Ikr it’s probably gonna haunt him forever

Sure!! Do you have one in mind?

Well I only know one play. So how about the sac fly.

youtu.be/drl5U6suAvs

Like do you plan to make the play in advance ? Or is it a call the player on base makes on the spot ?

This was very likely planned imo. The state of the game is 0-0, 1 out, man on third, full count. A full count is a ‘pitchers count’ (as opposed to a hitters count) which means it’s slightly harder for the batter to be productive as they have less wiggle room in the count. Therefore, the jays have to be cautious here not to try for too much.

Which is why the sac fly is perfect. The batter just needs to elevate the ball and make strong contact, much easier than getting on base. If you look closely at the batters swing you can see it has a slight upward trajectory to try and get that lift. In contrast, compare the swing to this ground ball : youtu.be/sMKFLZxg1B0

Of course if they are able to get a hit that’s better, but trading one out for a run is almost always worth it.

Is the elevation of the bat and trajectory something you notice on the live swing or on the replay ? Because it took me a couple of times just to see the bat in the swing.

Also I understood absolutely nothing of this haha:

A full count is a ‘pitchers count’ (as opposed to a hitters count) which means it’s slightly harder for the batter to be productive as they have less wiggle room in the count.

Here is what I think it means:

It is a full count because all the pitchers has cycled through and they are on the last pitcher/first pitcher again?

Why this results in the batter having less wiggle room I cannot figure out.

In the live swing you can get a broad impression of the swing but mostly it’s from replays, especially in slow-mo, cause yeah these guys can swing it crazy fast!

Haha so the count matters A LOT in an at bat. 0 balls, 2 strikes (0-2) is a pitchers count because the pitcher only needs to throw one more strike to get the batter out. Thus the batter can’t really swing for the fences bc that has a high chance of missing AND they have to be both aggressive, bc they don’t want to get struck out looking, but also selective bc they don’t want to get struck out swinging. The pitcher has many mind games available in a pitchers count. A 2 ball, 0 strikes count (2-0) on the other hand is a hitters count bc they can, for example, swing for the fences and even if they miss the count is still in their favor (2-1).

Thus, a full count (3-2) is a pitchers count bc they have all the mind games available, tho it’s slightly better for the batter than a 0-2 bc if the pitcher misses they get a walk.

However, in this situation the batter doesn’t really want to walk because that would not advance the runner and it would open up the possibility of a double play ending the inning as it creates a force out at second and at first for the next batter.

Does that make more sense?

That makes total sense ! And now your previous comment also makes sense ! I really appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this to me :)

But wouldn’t it be just as difficult to hit a high ball as just a clean ball ? I mean if you are so good as to being able to choose your hit, you might as well choose to hit it clean into the and get a run out of it as well ?

Also I heard the Red Sox haven’t signed anyone yet in this round as the only team. What’s up with that ?

Yay I’m glad! Of course :)

It opens up options more than anything else. A hitter can be trying for a high ball, and if it’s a hit, yay, but if it’s just a fly out, also yay bc that gets the man on third home. But yes 100% if you are able to get a hit that is better than a sac fly.

Hmmm the Red Sox trade decisions baffle me honestly. We are (hopefully) trying very hard to resign Bregman who will not be cheap, so maybe we are saving for him?? And our biggest weakness last year (besides the errors) was starting pitching. I know we picked up some pitchers already (Sonny Gray being the most notable) so perhaps John Henry has decided he is done spending (wouldn’t put it past him).

lol what a catch. Sucks to be a dodger in that case :p I’m sure they could almost taste it :p

And sure I get it, it is better to have two possible positive outputs. I’m sure I underestimate how easy (read hard) it is to actually hit the ball, for not to speak of making any specific kind of hit.

Yeah don’t know what to make of it either. Just heard it on a podcast and thought it was weird. But I hope you’re right.

We just signed Michael Lorenzen. Read he was a former Red. You know him ?

Ikr! Good lol. I’m not a fan of the dodgers honestly bc it feels like they are trying to buy wins. Which is what everyone is doing but idk they have pulled so many tricks that it just feels kinda scummy.

Yeah I read somewhere that hitting a baseball is one of the hardest acts in professional sports. Seems hard to measure that but I’d lowkey believe it.

Oo I don’t know him. I googled him tho and he seems like a good pick up! Do the Rockies have a pitching problem as well?

Personally I don’t have anything for or against the Dodgers. But I do get the sentiment of not liking big money. Like when some Russian oligarch buys a soccer team or an oil sheik buys a pro cycling team and just poors billions into it. It feels scummy af.

Seems hard to measure yeah, and buy what matrix do you measure it ? Racing up a mountain is also pretty hard :p

I also misread. He used to be a Reds, which incidentally is not the same as Red Sox at all :p but yes, yes we do have a very big pitching problem. Our best starting pitcher has an ERA of like 5 :/

Ah yes the classic lol the Red Sox shorten to the Sox generally to avoid this confusion and the White Sox just don’t get a nickname lol bc they certainly can’t be the Whites!

Oof a 5 is not ideal! Well 🤞 this guy helps bring that up!

A bunch of messages ago you mentioned playing baseball, was that when you were a kid? Does Denmark have little league baseball?

Dang, just learned Bregman went to the Cubs :/

Haha, I feel like the Whites would create a lot of troubles for them. Imagine being a proud fan :|

Well if he can bring them up just a little bit, so they maybe don’t end up the worst. Get a little momento going, bag a few good picks going forward. Who knows what might happen, because as you said Coors Field have some advantages that could be exploited, if you play to them. – Oh! Here is a cool facts that I forgot about, because of the low humidity in Denver, because of the elevation, the balls have to be kept in humidified rooms, so they behave like balls in the rest of the league.

Our biggest problem though is that the owner basically sees the organisation as a glorified merch shop, because fans still go to the matches. So the owner doesn’t really get a big economic penalty for not giving a shit.

Yeah no, haha, I meant on my phone :P have been playing MLB Rivals a bit and unlicensed baseball games as a kid. And no minor league, there is a total of four baseball clubs and one softball club in Denmark. So yeah, haha, not much to work with.

And sorry about Bregman, will we see you in the bottom fighting for the second to last spot now :P ?

Indeed! Some momentum could change the whole game! You just need a rally but on like a franchise level lol

Oooo I had no idea, that’s so interesting!! There is so much infrastructure around the consistency of the balls it’s crazy. Like they have to rub them down with special mud bc the balls right out of the factory are too slippery and too white. But the mud is a big secret! It comes out of some river bed in New Jersey but it’s like MLB secret #1 where that is. And they haven’t been able to replicate it in a lab so here we are, still using the magic NJ mud.

Oof an uninterested owner is the worst cause there really isn’t anything anyone can do :/ again with the problem of rich people

Hahaha that makes more sense. Honestly that’s kinda more than I was expecting! You could start a pickup league in the street like the days of yore lol. Are you in Copenhagen? (Are there other cities in Denmark lol?) Surely city streets are wide enough, right ;p

You might lol this definitely leaves us with a bit of an infielder problem in that we don’t quite have enough guys and if one were to get injured………. But ‘sources’ say we are pivoting to try and get Bichette (free agent from the Jays). Im not hopeful there tho bc he’s probably looking for a huge contract and the Sox just don’t seem to be giving those out.

lol, that is some MLB witchcraft right there! Must be all that fake tan leaking out into the rivers, that settle in the mud and make it just perfect :P but why though ? Why make a ball that is not ready for use ?

And yes, eat the rich, is all I can say. But as far as I can gather, there is also quite a lot of “Sell the team” signs at their games. But who knows, now that they have hit rock bottom there is possibility of building up something new. Or the owner maybe wants to take care of his investment - fat chance though. Read that he bought the team for 100 mil and right now it is valued around 1.2/1.3 bil. So he will never lose money on his investment.

But yeah no, haha, I am not starting any leagues :P wouldn’t mind swinging a bat at some balls though. Could be fun. And no, I am not in Copenhagen - used to live there though. And listen to this, we actually have several cities! Four of them even have more than 100k citizens! Most would probably just qualify as low density neighborhoods in the US though :P Are you from the US btw? I just assumed since you were.

Tis the real question, ain’t it. Like why don’t the baseball factories just buy the magic mug and put it on themselves? Or maybe make the leather slightly less white? Currently each team is responsible for mudding up a bunch of balls for every game.

Surely this guy will have a wake up call soon? There is no reason a team needs to be that bad. And like don’t rich people want to make more money? I feel like if the team were better that would be easier

Gasp! 4 whole cities! I jest lol. My fiancé’s sister just moved to Denmark actually and I really look forward to visiting.

American born and raised. In Jersey actually tho I grew up in the farm part, not the fake tan part lol.

It’s hilarious. And a fun little factoid as well. I wonder what they will do when they run out :o

I think if attendance numbers start to fall off a lot, then there might be a chance, but as it stands now there is still a somewhat large crowd attending games. Cut it in half and we might see change.

Oh cool, where did she move to ? And you should totally come visit! I will write you a long list of things to do and see if you are interested!

Ah yes, the good part of New Jersey - where the Jersey Devil roams and creepy things hide in the woods. I wish I could visit for like a year. I have so many places I would love to visit in the US.

:o that’ll be the baseball apocalypse lol

Which probably isn’t very likely since there isn’t another team in the area Colorado can root for. The diamond backs or the Astros/Rangers are options I guess but the Midwest is a little baseball team-less. They also run the risk of having the same fate as the A’s, just getting up and moved.

Copenhagen lol. She just marred her Danish now-husband and wow surprise surprise they decided Denmark might be more stable than the US rn Omg yes I’d love some must sees!

Indeed!! There are some really pretty and amazing places here. I hope you get to see some! If you do ever end up on this side of the ocean, I’ll happily send you some recommendations too :)

Yeah, but Denver! Denver. Nothing is more midwestern than Denver! It is like pure Americana. It would totally be added to your list haha! I just hope he sells to someone who actually gives a fuck - or an organisation. I don’t really know how ownerships normally work in MLB.

Copenhagen is a wonderful city. If you ever manage to visit I think you would enjoy :) and yeah it is getting a little sticky in the US right now. I really hope you manage to manage it without the whole crap collapsing.

But yeah. So baseball haha. Escapism is cool huh? Is there any pre season games on ? I feel like a need to see s new game soon. Not something that is a rerun.

Haha it’s very true!

🤞🤞🤞

Spring training starts most of the way through Feb, so soonish! Spring training games are fun too bc they don’t count for anything and most of the guys need a bunch of time to warm up after the winter break so it’s high key a mess. Teams will also bring up prospects to give them some playtime in a major league stadium so you never know what you’re going to see. I’ve always wanted to go to one but unfortunately they are all played in the south or southwest bc it’s too cold in the northern states. For example, the Sox play in Florida :/

Yeah you hardly could get any further south than Florida I guess :p but yeah that is soon! Hope to see what this new guy Lorenzen has to offer.

How is it determined who plays who then ? Is it just whoever wants to or is there also a rotation like in the proper season ?

Yeah that’ll be v exciting! Having a new guy to be hopeful about is so key.

Mostly it’s whoever the manager thinks needs the time. Of course, pitch count is still considered and catchers need breaks, but other than that it’s about getting as many guys as much time as they want/need. For example the Sox have some big prospects, one of whom is Christian Campbell. We saw a bit of him last year but he wasn’t really able to keep up with big league pitching so I expect we’ll see a bunch of him in spring training to give him as many opportunities as possible before the season starts.

Oh I meant like between the different teams. Like do they each team play all other teams or do they stay in there regional leagues or how does it get organised pre season ?

Oooooooooo huh that’s a good question idk. I would guess it’s decided to minimize travel but still give each team different opponents. I can imagine the undertaking it is to schedule and coordinate all these games.

I just googled the schedule and it looks like there are some funky games too lol. The Sox play a college team and the Rockies play the “United States”.

Which lead me to the knowledge that baseball is coming back to the Olympics in 2028! Also known as: Japan v United States and also the other guys.

lol, Rockies vs the United States seems unfair :P and so does the Sox playing a college team haha. But yay! It is gonna be fun watching it in the 28 olympics! I would love to see a Danish team competing! Getting absolutely recked sure, but still :P

Btw is there ever any cross league games in the MLB ?

Haha indeed! I wonder if we’ll get some funky strategies from the countries that don’t play that much

Yup! They changed the scheduling a bit in 2023 to make sure every team plays every other team. I think it alternates on the year who is the host team. So the Sox will play the Rockies at Coors in late June this season :D

Ooooh you’re going down then.! Maybe… Hopefully… Ehm…

I forgot. Did you live in Boston ? Or were you one of the greater North Eastern area Sox fans ?

Heheh it’ll be a great series either way :p I’m excited to see the Sox play in Coors! We have a power hitter or two that could hit one heck of a homer

I live in Cambridge which is technically not Boston but it’s a 10 minute walk to Boston proper so not that separate lol