According to this chart, Facebook fans favor the American League over the National League by 53% to 47%, which is probably about the same as ESPN and MLB.com, at least in this blogger’s opinion. Keep in mind the chart is for 2012 and may have changed since the October post-season.
Infographic by Adam Cornille, Data Visualization Analyst
I found this great infographic on NJ Biblio’s blog. Looking at the results I had to go to the original source of the material, ”Banyan Branch“, to see where these guys are from, since their second most favorite tweets were listed as belonging to the Seattle Mariners, a surprise to me. And sure enough, the Banyan fellows are based in Seattle. I doubt the chart is skewed toward Seattle because of a bias, but more than likely it’s because of the high-tech industries and rather sophisticated yuppies fast associated with the area. Good job guys!
Last month ESPN held a contest to decide the “Best Ballpark” in the major leagues. Miller Park in Milwaukee won the contest while AT&T Park in San Francisco came in a distant second. You can read about it in the “Related Articles” section below. But when I read this I couldn’t help wonder if the ballpark food entered into this, because everyone knows AT&T Park is hands-down the winner in that category. Here’s a sampling of the food at Miller Park I found this morning at “My Boyfriend Fatty’s Blog“. I would categorize these as ”Worst #1 and Worst #2. See what you think.
Worst Ballpark Food #1. This is called the “Crazy Meatloaf Sandwich” from the Comet Cafe, near the Milwaukee Brewers Miller Park. It may not be the worst, but it sure looks like it!
Worst Ballpark Food #2. This didn’t actually look too bad until I realized what’s in it. It’s called a “Pulled Pork Parfait” and I can only begin to wonder what the cream-colored filling is made of. This little gem is available at a concession stand at the Brewers Miller Park.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen Buster Posey on a lot of interviews and he’s a really nice guy. The impression one might get from watching this commercial is that Buster’s kind of a self-centered jerk, which he isn’t. So I’m wondering;
Who writes these commercials?
Who decides which players get to say what?
Are they out to get the guy?
Are they trying to make him look impatient and self-absorbed?
To tell you the truth I’m not a huge ESPN fan (still a little testy over the 2010 World Series treatment they gave us Giants fans) and this little spot doesn’t help much. I’d like to see something that represents the true Buster Posey; something like what Amy G. does on her “Buster Knows Squat” series.
I guess we’re all a little protective of Buster Posey here in the Bay Area. I hate to say it but I’d almost rather see him doing some of those Joey Mauer commercials, you know, the Head & Shoulders thing. Not that he has dandruff or anything but it would make him appear more like the really nice guy he is.
Nice Guy Buster
I mean Joey gets to smile in all those shampoo commercials, and I’m sure Buster has just as much to be happy about as Joey. Seeing nice guy Buster Posey laughing and smiling on a national TV commercial after all he’s been through. Now that’s a commercial I’d really like to see. How about it ESPN?
Remember that old “thrill of victory, agony of defeat” thing? It was an ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” theme back in the 60′s and it’s been going through my head as I’m writing about Madison Bumgarner’s performance tonight. Last Tuesday, for those of you who’ve been in solitary confinement or otherwise unable to know what’s going on in the baseball world this past week, Madison Bumgarner broke some records. Well not actually broke them, but matched those that
Discussing the Cy Young?
hadn’t been touched since the early 1900′s. It was the most unbelievable first inning I’ve ever watched in baseball….any baseball, including T-ball and Little League. The Bum lasted exactly 1/3 inning in which time he allowed nine hits and eight runs, and recorded only one out in the first third of the first inning. It was an inter-league game between the Giants and Minnesota Twins. I could hardly breathe watching Bumgarner leave the game and head towards the dugout to sit and watch the remaining 8 2/3 innings in shame and embarrassment. After the game he somehow managed to hold his head high, speak intelligently with reporters and answer each question thoughtfully, speaking softly in a monotone, and promised to learn from his mistakes and do penance and say one our father and three hail mary’s. I really felt for this kid and all day I was going through some sort of anxiety wondering how he, and I, would make it through tonight’s game after the first “ball” was called, probably on the first pitch.
So tonight when the 5:05 game between the Giants and the Cleveland Indians started right on time, on ESPN, in front of the entire world to see, Madison Bumgarner threw his first pitch. And then another, and another. And he proceeded throwing precision pitches culminating with 11 strike-outs through the seventh inning! OMG! It’s what we live for in baseball…..our local hero just did the impossible and the crowd’s giving him a standing ovation and I’m giving him hoots and hollers jumping around the living room telly.
Just another usual ordinary game for the Giants, ending with a final score 3-1. Same old stuff. But as far as the SF Giants 21 year old pitcher Madison Bumgarner goes? He’s back! Mad Bum and all his glory and I’m back there to watch him do it all over again. Tuesday – total disgrace; Sunday – en route to the Cy Young! Don’t you just love it? Baseball, I mean. Pretty darn cool.
"I was the worst hitter ever. I never even broke a bat until last year when I was backing out of the garage." Lefty Gomez, Yankees pitcher.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. ~George F. Will.
"Does Pete Rose hustle? Before the All Star game he came into the clubhouse and took off his shoes and they ran another mile without him." Hank Aaron.
More Baseball Quotes!
“You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.” - Jim Bouton
"I was such a dangerous hitter I even got intentional walks during batting practice." - Casey Stengel
"This isn't a job. This is a privilege, that's what this is!" - Mike Krukow, TV Commentator, on being at the ballpark each day.
"I've found that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats." -Bill Veeck, Chicago White Sox owner.
"Derek Jeter's accomplishment puts Pete Rose's hits record in perspective. 3,000 hits is phenomenal. 4,000? Freakish!" - Anthony Castrovince via Twitter
"The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second best thing is losing the World Series." - Tommy Lasorda
"You teach me baseball and I’ll teach you relativity.... You will learn about relativity faster than I learn baseball." - Albert Einstein
"Baseball is a game of race, creed, and color. The race is to first base. The creed is the rules of the game. The color? Well, the home team wears white uniforms, and the visiting team wears gray."
Joe Garagiola
GARLICFRIESANDBASEBALL is written by a long-time fan who simply loves the game. I write my own articles (hence the grammar and occasional misspellings). If I include an article from another source, credit is given to that source and will include links when appropriate. The opinions are my own.
