Sherman: First Basemen

[weams]

http://nypost.com/2017/02/18/behind-the-disappearance-of-the-burly-slugging-1st-baseman/

Quote

The Yankees officially signed Chris Carter for $3.5 million with spring training already underway. That is what the Nationals gave Stephen Drew to be their backup infielder. The Yanks did it mainly as an afterthought, intending to use the roughly $4 million Hal Steinbrenner extended the budget on a reliever before deciding that at these prices, Carter — who tied Nolan Arenado for the 2016 NL homer title with 41 — was too enticing to ignore for his power and as insurance should Greg Bird not make it fully back from shoulder surgery.

Mike Napoli, after leading the AL champion Indians in homers and RBIs, also had to wait until the last week before agreeing to an $8.5 million deal with the Rangers. That was $1.5 million less than Texas gave Andrew Cashner, who was 5-11 with a 5.25 ERA last year. Unlike Carter, Napoli at least joins a new club as the starting first baseman.

 

[Can_of_corn]

And yet the Orioles have, in the past two years, signed two of them to multi-year contracts.

[Il BuonO]

HRs keep the fans buying tickets.

[Can_of_corn]

7 minutes ago, Il BuonO said:

HRs keep the fans buying tickets.

Orioles HRs:

2016- 253

2015- 217

Orioles attendance:

2016- 2,172,344

2015- 2,320,590

 

I think I have just conclusively proven that fans hate when the Orioles hit HRs and that they should try and limit them going forward.

 

[gmelson26]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

Orioles HRs:

2016- 253

2015- 217

Orioles attendance:

2016- 2,172,344

2015- 2,320,590

 

I think I have just conclusively proven that fans hate when the Orioles hit HRs and that they should try and limit them going forward.

 

I don't have a horse in this race, but it could be that there is a correlation to HRs hit in a year and attendance the NEXT year.  Sort of a perception lag with the fans?

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, gmelson26 said:

I don't have a horse in this race, but it could be that there is a correlation to HRs hit in a year and attendance the NEXT year.  Sort of a perception lag with the fans?

You couldn't tell from the "conclusively proven" part that I was joking?

My guess is that winning has a much greater impact on attendance than home runs.

[LA2]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

You couldn't tell from the "conclusively proven" part that I was joking?

My guess is that winning has a much greater impact on attendance than home runs.

More wins, less fans?

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, LA2 said:

More wins, less fans?

I would also expect attendance figures to lag a year behind.  Since most of the figure is made up of season ticket sales.

It will be interesting to see if last season's downward blip is the sign of a long-term deterioration in ticket sales.

[LA2]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I would also expect attendance figures to lag a year behind.  Since most of the figure is made up of season ticket sales.

It will be interesting to see if last season's downward blip is the sign of a long-term deterioration in ticket sales.

A testable hypothesis!

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

I would also expect attendance figures to lag a year behind.  Since most of the figure is made up of season ticket sales.

It will be interesting to see if last season's downward blip is the sign of a long-term deterioration in ticket sales.

I expect ticket sales to be up this year, because the team did a better job of getting its packages on sale earlier and didn't raise prices this year.     Nothing to do with the on-field product, though making the playoffs last year certainly should help advance sales a bit.   

[Il BuonO]

3 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

You couldn't tell from the "conclusively proven" part that I was joking?

My guess is that winning has a much greater impact on attendance than home runs.

Lol, that was MY first instinct. Two years of data....maybe you needed to include a "Not sure if serious" gif.

 

[Il BuonO]

2 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

I would also expect attendance figures to lag a year behind.  Since most of the figure is made up of season ticket sales.

It will be interesting to see if last season's downward blip is the sign of a long-term deterioration in ticket sales.

Wasn't there also an increase across the board in ticket prices?

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Il BuonO said:

Wasn't there also an increase?

Not sure what you mean.  Do you mean overall?

Looks to me like there was a very slight decline (-184/Game)

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/current_attendance.shtml

I was speaking more of the trend in certain markets for the TV viewership to be increasing as physical attendance decreases.  It could be signaling a long term trend.

[BohKnowsBmore]

7 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

You couldn't tell from the "conclusively proven" part that I was joking?

My guess is that winning has a much greater impact on attendance than home runs.

My guess is that pre-sales from the 2014 postseason (i.e. deposits for ALDS, ALCS and WS tix) had a large impact on total attendance for 2015 that disappeared for 2016.

[MDtransplant757]

11 minutes ago, BohKnowsBmore said:

My guess is that pre-sales from the 2014 postseason (i.e. deposits for ALDS, ALCS and WS tix) had a large impact on total attendance for 2015 that disappeared for 2016.

Yeah, I'd agree with that.