Do the Orioles have a type? 😆

[jabba72]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

Was just a joke

I thought you were a Horvath fan or something. 

[wildbillhiccup]

4 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

What is this supposed to mean?

My point is your "cultural" argument is teetering on the lunacy that got Jimmy the Greek fired in the 80s. Small kids are never going to gravitate to a sport that isn't marketed to them and presented as a viable option for them to play. There's also an economic aspect as MLB is probably only second to hockey in terms of the personal expense it takes to play the game. It's has very little or nothing to do with culture. 

[wildbillhiccup]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Was just a joke

You're a better man than I am. I would have taken the low hanging fruit and posted a GIF of Token from South Park.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, wildbillhiccup said:

You're a better man than I am. I would have taken the low hanging fruit and posted a GIF of Token from South Park.

I guess I am a better man since I actively considered doing just that. 

[Can_of_corn]

7 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

I thought you were a Horvath fan or something. 

Nope, he just happened to be the next player selected by the Orioles after Enrique Bradfield in the 2023 draft.

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

My point is your "cultural" argument is teetering on the lunacy that got Jimmy the Greek fired in the 80s. Small kids are never going to gravitate to a sport that isn't marketed to them and presented as a viable option for them to play. There's also an economic aspect as MLB is probably only second to hockey in terms of the personal expense it takes to play the game. It's has very little or nothing to do with culture. 

With the rise of Travel Ball baseball has become even more expensive compared to other sports.

I've known a couple Fathers that were spending a ton.

[Moose Milligan]

[wildbillhiccup]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

With the rise of Travel Ball baseball has become even more expensive compared to other sports.

I've known a couple Fathers that were spending a ton.

It is (and has), but that hasn't stopped MLB from developing international talent in impoverished countries. It's just a shame they don't invest the same time and money into the impoverished parts of our own country. It's a completely untapped pipeline of talent. 

[DirtyBird]

8 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

With the rise of Travel Ball baseball has become even more expensive compared to other sports.

I've known a couple Fathers that were spending a ton.

If only MLB did a better job marketing to black kids, travel baseball wouldn’t be so expensive.

[DirtyBird]

5 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

It is (and has), but that hasn't stopped MLB from developing international talent in impoverished countries. It's just a shame they don't invest the same time and money into the impoverished parts of our own country. It's a completely untapped pipeline of talent. 

Or maybe, opportunities are there, but most black kids would rather play basketball and football.

[spleen1015]

32 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

With the rise of Travel Ball baseball has become even more expensive compared to other sports.

I've known a couple Fathers that were spending a ton.

I spent $10k - $15k per year for 5 years on travel softball. Not to mention wear and tear on a vehicle traveling 400-500 miles most weekends. If you want to play against good teams and be seen, it's what you gotta do.

As for the original topic, hell yeah they have a type. Good, young players.

[Frobby]

8 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

 

I think someone like Frobby isn’t on twitter, so a fan like him wouldn’t know this conversation is even out there but unfortunately it is. 

What’s Twitter?

[Malike]

If only the MLB had something like the RBI program, you know, something that has over 300 programs in over 200 cities with more than 200,000 participants. Then maybe MLB could even provide college scholarships to the kids in the RBI program.

Heck, why stop there, make a Jr. RBI program for younger kids. I wonder why they haven't invested in something like that.

[emmett16]

3 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

With the rise of Travel Ball baseball has become even more expensive compared to other sports.

I've known a couple Fathers that were spending a ton.

If you’re good you don’t pay.  Thats why organizations have so many teams, to pay for the players on their best team(especially players that don’t have the means).  Travel ball is all about FOMO, taking advantage of parents eager to spend whatever it takes to give their mediocre kid a chance.  Doesn’t take a dime to get your work in and play for the local high school team.  If you’re good, they’ll find you.  Dominicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Venezuelans spend $0 on travel ball and are very well represented in MLB. 

[emmett16]

35 minutes ago, Malike said:

If only the MLB had something like the RBI program, you know, something that has over 300 programs in over 200 cities with more than 200,000 participants. Then maybe MLB could even provide college scholarships to the kids in the RBI program.

Heck, why stop there, make a Jr. RBI program for younger kids. I wonder why they haven't invested in something like that.

Issue is they missed  the boat decades ago when MLB was on top, put out a sub-par boring product, and self canibalised while the other leagues marketed their biggest stars, changed the rules to make their games more exciting, and continued to be progressive. 

Edited March 10 by emmett16