1,000 less home runs this year in MLB.

[bottlecap]

just heard it on ESPN, mlb this year is on pace to have 1,000 less homers than 2006. that's a striking stat. I guess there was the Deadball era and now the 'Roid Era, thanks to Bud Selig and his ilk. I bet 1000 less homers (now more "manufactured" runs: steals, first to third etc) well mean less fans, because steroid or not, the fans want to see home runs.

[carpandean]

Maybe they could just make the goalie pads smaller ... ;)

 

 

 

 

 

(zed, this should be an OT thread.)

[tom webster]

Here's an interesting link showing the evolution of the home run

 

 

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hihr6.shtml

[The_Swannie_House]

because steroid or not, the fans want to see home runs.

 

Says who? Link? I really love when people say that.....show me a statistic where this is proven!

[SDS]

50% more HRs from 1994 to 1996. It must have been a good year for B12. :lol:

[Bmwolf21]

50% more HRs from 1994 to 1996. It must have been a good year for B12. :lol:

Come on - if all those guys were using steroids they'd each have a third ear growing out the middle of their foreheads - at least according to Roger...

:unsure:

[calti]

Here's an interesting link showing the evolution of the home run

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hihr6.shtml

lol--Ruth hit 12% of all the home runs in baseball one year. That would have required 500 homers in the roid era. Maybe Ruth WAS the greatest.

[Team Strike Force]

Says who? Link? I really love when people say that.....show me a statistic where this is proven!

 

I would think that casual fans want to watch a game with decent run production from both teams, regardless of how the runs score.

Close games where both teams score a combined total of around 9 - 13 runs are entertaining. Games with more runs than that tend to run too long. Games where less than 7 runs are scored draw complaints of not enough offense.

 

I don't think it matters how the runs come across the plate. It seems to me that the only time fans wanted to see home runs was during the 1998 McGwire/Sosa season and the 2001 Bonds season.

 

I'd rather see a hitter approach hitting .400 than another run at the HR record. Unless it's Ryan Howard.

[tom webster]

Says who? Link? I really love when people say that.....show me a statistic where this is proven!

 

Its anecdotal, but just look at ratings and popularity stats before the McGwire/Sosa slugfest, and what happened afterwards. There is a reason that major league baseball looked the other way.

[Realist]

Personally I prefer manufactured runs - moving people around the bases, stolen bases, sacrifices, and that type of offense.

[Bmwolf21]

Personally I prefer manufactured runs - moving people around the bases, stolen bases, sacrifices, and that type of offense.

Ah, the NL-vs-AL, small-ball vs big inning debate...I like it. Personally I like a mix of the two, and I hate the idea of most pitchers hitting for themselves, meaning managers often take pitchers out early for a pinch hitter. As much as I love the HR, I really love speed on the basepaths and players who make things happen.

 

I was never that kind of player, but if I could have changed my style/skills I would have been like a Ricky Henderson/Grady Sizemore-type player - someone who could pop the occasional HR but can get on the bases, is always a threat to steal, makes the pitcher and catcher worry about him, and finds a way to score without waiting for the hitter to do something.

[Team Strike Force]

Ah, the NL-vs-AL, small-ball vs big inning debate...I like it. Personally I like a mix of the two, and I hate the idea of most pitchers hitting for themselves, meaning managers often take pitchers out early for a pinch hitter. As much as I love the HR, I really love speed on the basepaths and players who make things happen.

 

I was never that kind of player, but if I could have changed my style/skills I would have been like a Ricky Henderson/Grady Sizemore-type player - someone who could pop the occasional HR but can get on the bases, is always a threat to steal, makes the pitcher and catcher worry about him, and finds a way to score without waiting for the hitter to do something.

 

 

After a quick glance at average attendance from last year to this year, it looks like the same number of people are going out to the ballpark for games, despite the home run pace.

 

I like it that the pitchers hit for themselves. It makes them more accountable for throwing inside, and I like the extra element of strategy it adds to the game.

 

In my rec softball league, I'm Jose Reyes and Albert Pujols rolled into one, and I play centerfield like Willie Mays. I wish I could play little league again. I'd be so much BETTER this time.

[bottlecap]

I hear it was a 500 home run decline from 2006 to 2007 and it will be another 500 home run decline from 2007-2008. A gradual worsening, kind of like the gas prices.

[tom webster]

After a quick glance at average attendance from last year to this year, it looks like the same number of people are going out to the ballpark for games, despite the home run pace.

 

I like it that the pitchers hit for themselves. It makes them more accountable for throwing inside, and I like the extra element of strategy it adds to the game.

 

In my rec softball league, I'm Jose Reyes and Albert Pujols rolled into one, and I play centerfield like Willie Mays. I wish I could play little league again. I'd be so much BETTER this time.

 

The key will be next year and the year after, if people enjoy what they are seeing they will be back.

 

You have to remember that baseball took a major hit in popularity after the last strike and it took a long time for people to come back. A big part of that revival was the McGuire v. Sosa home run hitting contest. This helped create the belief that people wanted to see home runs. Only time will tell if that is a correct assumption.

[Bmwolf21]

After a quick glance at average attendance from last year to this year, it looks like the same number of people are going out to the ballpark for games, despite the home run pace.

Actually it looks like MLB could be on pace for a record attendance year, even despite the rising gas and food prices, according to this article:

 

Gas prices are up. Food prices are up. So, oddly enough, is attendance at Major League Baseball games.

 

MLB officials say attendance is 2.6 percent ahead of record-breaking figures from last season, when the 30 teams raked in more than $6 billion. The NBA and the NFL also say they see no signs that the economy will cut into attendance or profits. But Bob Dupuy, MLB?s chief operating officer, echoed the sentiment of the three leagues when he said, ?We will be closely monitoring ticket sales throughout the season.?