Which team should I support?

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iDon

iDon

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Been following baseball on and off last couple of years.

Love my numbers and the history of the game.

OneHD has increased my viewing ability but with quality net im ready to start streaming as many games as possible.

But I want to pick a side and not sure which direction to go.

I'd love to hear from you guys on why you support the team you support and any suggestions of who I should jump on?

I dont want to just be a Yankee fan or a Boston fan with there great success (even though I'd be able to watch plenty of games on OneHd through the year)
 
I'm a Giants fan, and I love being one, especially now, but the club always gives you "value for money" in the season, as they take you on a rollercoaster ride emotionally throughout the season.

Take last year, midway through the season, it seemed we would finish 2nd or 3rd in the division, and miss out on yet another playoff series, yet with our amazing late season form, and performances from so many "no names", we managed to ride the wave all the way to a World Series crown.

My suggestion to you is to watch as many games as you can in the first few weeks, and get a "gauge" for a team that suits the style that you like in sporting teams.

If you like supporting the "big teams" throughout the world (the Man U's, The Barcelona's, the Lakers etc etc), then obviously the Yankees or Dodgers are the team for you.

One suggestion might be to go with a team from the city whose team you support in the NFL, NHL or NBA, as the main reason I was pushed towards the Giants was because I was a Niners fan in the 80's, and the Giants seemed a logical step.

So, watch as many games as you can early in the season, then maybe make a short list of the 3-4 teams that really interest you, and then make a final decision that suits you, not others.:thumbsu::thumbsu:
 
Agree with mattys- watch the first month or so of the season, checking out the teams and the players- and pick a team based on the style of play you like. Or go by the city of your fav NFL, nBA or NHL team....

I grew up in Philly, so my supporting Philadelphia is not unusual by any means.
 

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OldMav said:
I dont want to just be a Yankee fan or a Boston fan with there great success (even though I'd be able to watch plenty of games on OneHd through the year)
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Re Boston- Success? 2 world series in the last 10 but only 7 in total.
All time it's Yankees (27), Cardinals (10) and Oakland As (9).


I lived in NY for a year while in Uni and I still ended up supporting the RedSox.

As mentioned by some, watch a couple of games first, it may well be silly though that unlike soccer or even AFL, baseball doesn't have a "style of play" nor as much lasting team spirit. So you can't say you like Red Sox because they develop their own talent (like Man Utd or Ajax) or say you like to see baseball teams who do wing play or something along those lines.

The ground the team plays at sometimes attracts people, the history or even the logo they use.
 
I like that you're not opting to jump on the Red Sox or Yankee bandwagons. Steer clear of the overrated Phillies and you're looking good.

Baseball is a sport that requires a large amount of emotional investment into a team, they play 162 games a year before the post-season even starts!

As a Giants fan it's hard to put into words the joy you get from watching your team go from a rebuilding stage to winning the World Series, using the guys you watched make their first pitches for the team, rather than simply throwing money at other players from other clubs.

As much as I hate them, the Rockies might be a fun team to follow. They're a team that's loaded with young talent at the moment with Tulo, Cargo and Ubaldo. They play at altitude so you get quite a lot of action happening during their games, although they attempt to counter this using a humidor, if you look at split stats for their players (especially Cargo) you'll realise it doesn't ultimately do much...

If you can tolerate depression, I'd recommend Seattle. They've got 2 of the nicest guys in the league in Ichiro and Felix, won't win a lot of games because they cannot score to save their lives. If you want to support a team with an Australian, the Braves have Peter Moylan who is a key player in their bullpen. If you're a patient fan, the Nationals will probably be worth the wait if Strasburg comes back as good as he was before Tommy John surgery (his stuff was ridiculous for a rookie. Check out his debut: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8802881 , although he won't be back until next season) and if Bryce Harper lives up to the hype, they'll be fun to watch. If you're all about teams which score a lot of runs, follow the Reds because they play in a stadium that you could probably hit a homer in.

There's two different leagues in the MLB. The National and the American. The National league plays baseball the correct way, which means as the pitcher is apart of the team he is required to bat in the lineup. The American league plays the way designed to please impatient fans and allows a designated hitter to bat for the pitcher. Some people keep this in mind when selecting a team because they find NL baseball 'boring'.

Ultimately the best way to become a fan of a team is to watch other teams play and find one that is appealing to you. I'd definitely recommend getting MLBtv, it's probably the best money you can spend if you have a large amount of internet cap space.
 
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Cheers guys for the replies. Am going to take plenty on board.

Already set one of my homepages to MLB so I am going to have a good crack and following the league like never done before. Going to go and surf a few team baords tonight and will get back to you.

Liking the Rockies early, young talent and plenty of action. Boom.
 
BigTimeTimmyJim said:
Baseball is a sport that requires a large amount of emotional investment into a team, they play 162 games a year before the post-season even starts!
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That's something I still can't grasp.

Almost every other country, we only see sports on Fri->Mon and sometimes mid week games on Wed (Euro Champions League) and Thurs (Europa League).

So how do does a devoted fan attend all the games? Surely you must work to have money to attend games and get a hot dog with a coke.

The other thing that bugs me is the cost of supporter apparel!
 
I've got 3 authentic Giants jerseys (Bonds, Lincecum, Sandoval) that cost $150 each, and 2 hats. I probably spent $200 on World Series attire.

You don't need to fork out a lot of money like I do to support a team. Since baseball hats with the stickers (I really don't give a crap that you have a size 7 1/2 head...) are a fashion accessory, you generally find people without attire are the actual fans. I just like spending money on my team because they're my favourite sporting team on the planet.

Attending games can actually be really cheap. Depending on what teams are playing you can get tickets from $20. Beer prices depend on the stadium. What people usually do is buy season tickets and for the games they don't attend, put those tickets up for sale. That's how I ended up with great seats when I saw Zito get lit up by the Dodgers at Dodgers stadium when I was in LA in 09.
 
I suspect I'll buy myself a replica Red Sox jersey soon. Can't see sense in buying an authentic one.

Already have 3 Red Sox Baseball caps and was a member of Red Sox Nation for the time I was in Uni.

When I was in the UK (London), I was a Man Utd member and attended the odd game here and there. Constantly balloted for London away games. The tickets though were 30GBP+. That's on top of membership.
I also travelled to Amsterdam to watch my beloved Ajax. That cost quite abit so I only did it when my punting was going well.
Celtic was cheaper to watch. 28GBP for the ticket and bus fare was a measly 2.50GBP for overnight coach to and from Glasgow to London.

I've only ever attended 3 RedSox games in Boston and 2 in New York (1 each against Yankees and Mets). yeah tickets are cheaper relatively. But my point was how does the average fan attend every game?
 
The "average" fan usually doesn't. They'll generally rock up to the games that the top pitchers in their rotation pitch in and skip the other guys. For some teams this means people sometimes turn up for one or two guys constantly, for other teams such as the Giants they get high attendance fairly regularly due to the strength of their rotation. Being a fan doesn't mean you need to go to all 81 home games. Baseball is all about the match-ups.
 
ofey said:
I've only ever attended 3 RedSox games in Boston and 2 in New York (1 each against Yankees and Mets). yeah tickets are cheaper relatively. But my point was how does the average fan attend every game?
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They simply do not.

I have a few friends who live in San Fransisco, and they are Giants season ticket holders, and they on average would attend 40-50 games per year (about half of the home games).

The rest of the year they sell their reserved seat (in the same section, not the same seat every week) either over a ticket exchange or to people they know for about "face value" of a similar priced seat, sometimes cheaper.

That's how I got tickets anyway, through an exchange and also using their season tickets (a few years back now).

But yes, I'd say there would only be a few who actually attend all 81 home games.
 
OldMav said:
Cheers guys for the replies. Am going to take plenty on board.

Already set one of my homepages to MLB so I am going to have a good crack and following the league like never done before. Going to go and surf a few team baords tonight and will get back to you.

Liking the Rockies early, young talent and plenty of action. Boom.
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Rockies do have a good young line-up also have one of the best SS's i have seen play in a long time in Tulowitzki. Minnesota and Atlanta are a couple of other teams worth looking at, good pitching rotations and some pop with the stick.
 

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always thought the Cubs or Mets would be two good sides to follow for new fans. Lack of success, but well known and in big cities.

As for other comment on AL / NL difference, I've always felt the NL is better strategy-wise. Because the pitcher bats, it's always interesting to see when teams will sub in pinch hitter or do a double switch (i.e if pitcher is due up soon and you want to sub him, then they also sub another batter who is further down the batting list).

DH is an abomination, goes against baseball history.
 
The Great Barry Besanko said:
Because the pitcher bats, it's always interesting to see when teams will sub in pinch hitter or do a double switch (i.e if pitcher is due up soon and you want to sub him, then they also sub another batter who is further down the batting list).
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Or batting the pitcher in the 8 spot La Rusa style!

Agree re: DH. It's a joke of a position. NL is where it's at, but AL games are also fun to watch for the scoring and (mainly) hitter-friendly parks.

I'll never understand how teams can play off for a World Series when they're essentially playing a different game. There's nothing else like it in world sport, but I guess that's another peculiarity that makes baseball such a gripping game to follow.

Oh... and good luck in picking a team!

I can only echo what the others have said. Watch as many teams as possible play. You'll soon work out who appeals to you and who does not. If you have the means, definitely sign up for MLBTV. Any game, any time you want. Put simply, it's the best digital/broadcasting application in world sport. Reasonably priced at (from memory) $120ish for the year? The value is extraordinary considering the amount of content you get.

I'm a Dodgers fan. Purely because my old man went to the US on business when I was 8 and brought me back a Dodgers cap. I've stuck with them since. Got a feeling this is going to be a frustrating year. We can't score runs and our owners are locked in a bitter divorce battle. Always a recipe for success......

Finally - playing fantasy baseball will help your baseball following in a HUGE way. You'll also start to develop an affinity with various players and teams. Maybe we should start a Big Footy league?
 
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fantasy baseball would be good. but I honestly wouldn't have a clue who to pick up or get. but am reading up about some teams now and might watch a few preseason highlights later.

myp2p or justintv should do me fine for streaming of games
 
If you're unsure of what plays are usually drafted with available picks, this might help:

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/mlb...65bZ8u?slug=ys-expertpoll-11preseason1-top100

It also gives you an insight into the best position players on each team.

Fantasy baseball is usually the most fun fantasy sport because players can have insanely surprising seasons, so most of these rankings are pretty useless. For example, look up Jose Bautista's stats in 2010 compare them to the rest of his career. Don't expect him to repeat those numbers this season, he's probably going to be one of the biggest fantasy league traps.
 
Avoid- BoSox, Phils, NY Yankees, Cubs, and Giants, unless you want to be looked at as a bandwagoner. Sure, they have their dedicated fanbase, but if you asked 70% of people wearing a new Red Sox hat to name 3 players on the team before 2000, they can't name them. These bandwagon fans get clowned by true fans. The Giants are fun to watch sometimes though, but I know several true Giants fans that hate the new bandwagon fans.

Go with- If you're looking for a history of success, go with (I'm partial because I'm from St. Louis) Cardinals or Braves. If you're looking for a team with young talent that will pay off in a couple years but are terrible now, go with the Nationals or Royals. The Rockies are fun to watch, as are the Twins.

Other than the Yankees, the Cardinals and Braves have the largest appeal nationwide due to large radio signals/networks and they were the only teams regionally not in the East/New England for awhile. The Cardinals were the only team west of the Mississippi River until the Giants and Dodgers went to California (late 1950's), so the Cards owned the west and mid-south for generations. You'll still find huge Cardinals fanbases there. The Braves are hugely popular in the south due to having a great TV network in the 80's and 90's, plus, there wasn't another team in the southeast for a long, long time.

I've never been a huge fan of American League ball because of the DH. The National League takes strategy and match-ups to win. American League has more offense, but takes zero strategy to win other than 'hit the ball as hard as you can'. Figure out which league you like more, and go from there. And think about the time zone. Pick a team you can actually watch.
 
I am in the same boat as OldMav. Whats the general consensus on the Rangers?

I am leaning towards Rangers, Rockies and a couple of others.
 
The Rangers were the best hitting team in the majors last year. Got to the World Series, but lost to the Giants who were the best pitching team.

They've got some great young talent in Kinsler, Andrus and Feliz. They have the reigning AL MVP in Josh Hamilton, who is a former crack addict turned born again Christian. He along with Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre make up a pretty powerful unit.

If their pitching can be as good as it was last year, they'll easily run away with their division.
 
Yeah i have been following the MLB for a couple of years just hard to find a team that i can get settled on, I have narrowed it down to the Rangers or the Rockies.
 
Hi guys, I am new here. To be honest only reason that I joined here is because of Ice Hockey WC being held in Melbourne and this is the only place that I could possibly got some info about watching the games over the net. Never the less, not to spam the topic I live in Toronto and by default rooting for the Blue Jays. Also, been in Baltimore for family visit last summer and went to the Orioles game against the Red Sox. I was impressed with the atmosphere and the stadium. This was also my first time at the baseball game. Once I returned to TO gathered the kids and went to Jays game vs. Marlins and watched Ichiro accomplish 10th in the row 200 hits season. So now I am both Jays and Orioles fan. I know it is a conflict of interest since both teams are in same division, but... Also, got this season passes for Jays and been enjoying first five games so far. My son plays baseball that is how I got into it.
 
vuchko071 said:
Hi guys, I am new here. To be honest only reason that I joined here is because of Ice Hockey WC being held in Melbourne and this is the only place that I could possibly got some info about watching the games over the net. Never the less, not to spam the topic I live in Toronto and by default rooting for the Blue Jays. Also, been in Baltimore for family visit last summer and went to the Orioles game against the Red Sox. I was impressed with the atmosphere and the stadium. This was also my first time at the baseball game. Once I returned to TO gathered the kids and went to Jays game vs. Marlins and watched Ichiro accomplish 10th in the row 200 hits season. So now I am both Jays and Orioles fan. I know it is a conflict of interest since both teams are in same division, but... Also, got this season passes for Jays and been enjoying first five games so far. My son plays baseball that is how I got into it.
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Nothing wrong with supporting two teams in the same division- you haven't grown up following them, so the loyalties are not deeply rooted yet. Haven't been to Tee-Oh, but had a very enjoyable couple of days at Camden yards a year oir two after it opened- wonderfulo stadium to watch a game and VERY fan friendly. A lot easier to get tickets there now. One close to you for a trip is Cleveland- Progressive also has a great feel to it, and tickets are pretty easy to get- also Pittsburgh- if you work both teams being home at the same time.
 
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