Spacemans Bong said:I remain unconvinced about the homeliness of British women. Ahem.
Spacemans Bong said:I remain unconvinced about the homeliness of British women. Ahem.
Frank said:Isle of Mannish
No he doesn'tterrisus said:I believe the term you're looking for is Manx
(You also have your inequality signs completely backwards)
The Toronto Blue Jays say hello.trekfan55 said:... many of these countries already have leagues of their own, also there are several hurdles to go through for Visas/work permits/documents, etc. And how do they get paid?
Rice4HOF said:The Toronto Blue Jays say hello.
I'd think MLB players would love Montreal. After all there are a lot of strip clubs. Don't professional athletes generally love strippers?BCsMightyJoeYoung said:The cultural differences between Montreal and the US (or English Canada for that matter) are dwarfed by those between Mexico and the rest of north america.
- Its not easy for the Blue Jays to attract free agents - Toronto being in a foreign country - even if it seems, on the surface to be similar (endless complaints about "WHERE'S MY ESPN????")
- it was harder still for the Expos to attract free agents - it does seem like you are visiting a foreign country when you visit (this from the perspective of an English speaking Canadian - this is a good thing though - I love it there)
- Mexico ? One might think it would be easier to attract Hispanic players and more difficult for the rest. (Racist reasoning ? Not meaning to stereotype anyone)
I know Mexico City is absolutely huge - and one imagines that they have a large enough population base that could afford MLB ticket prices and corporate sponsorship. One assumes they would need a covered stadium - far too much heat and smog otherwise.
MLB players tend to be super intelligent guys which is why I'm surprised they never gave more love to the Montreal strip clubs.snowmanny said:Remember what Mark Langston said about playing in Montreal: "it's like a foreign country up there."
Sampo Gida said:I would actually like to see a new league instead of expansion. Retired players, or soon to be retired players have enough money to invest in such an enterprise, although I would have to imagine concerns about their pensions would loom large. Maybe call it a Veterans Major league and have them play in the winter so as to not compete with MLB. For ex MLB players aged 35 or over, and ex-minor leaguers aged 30 or over. Just for fun their World Series winner can play some ST games against the MLB's World Series winner.
Am I the only one to remember the Senior Professional baseball league or whatever it was called? Ran a couple of seasons in Florida in the early 90s. I still have a baseball card of Jim Rice on the St. Petes Pelicans. I remember Bill Lee pitching to Tony Perez in a championship game. It was like a 1975 déjà vu 20 years later.terrisus said:I have an idea - let's call it the Senior Circuit!...
Hmm, actually on second thought, the National League might take issue with that.
Ah well.
Seriously though, I don't really see that working - Baseball isn't like Golf, by the time most players hit retirement age, they're ready to retire. You'll just have to enjoy your "Old Timers' Days".
IHateDaveKerpen said:Give us a team in Central Texas. Hell, put the stadium in San Marcos or New Braunfels - you'd draw well from both Austin and San Antonio.
(Note: this will never happen)
Spacemans Bong said:The Jays and Mets are going to play two games at Stade Olympique in March. They've already sold over 100,000 tickets.
Whoa.
Rice4HOF said:Am I the only one to remember the Senior Professional baseball league or whatever it was called? Ran a couple of seasons in Florida in the early 90s. I still have a baseball card of Jim Rice on the St. Petes Pelicans. I remember Bill Lee pitching to Tony Perez in a championship game. It was like a 1975 déjà vu 20 years later.
terrisus said:Well, stick a team in Brooklyn again then.
8slim said:
When is the last time a professional sports league "expanded" into a market that already had a franchise?
terrisus said:
I have an idea - let's call it the Senior Circuit!...
Hmm, actually on second thought, the National League might take issue with that.
Ah well.
Seriously though, I don't really see that working - Baseball isn't like Golf, by the time most players hit retirement age, they're ready to retire. You'll just have to enjoy your "Old Timers' Days".
MLS, which recently put another team in NYC. Given their set-up they can do what's best for the league. If baseball didn't have to worry about Mets/Yankees raising hell, Brooklyn would clearly be the next MLB destination.8slim said:When is the last time a professional sports league "expanded" into a market that already had a franchise?
geoduck no quahog said:
Puerto Rico is surprisingly well-positioned for a team,
The Baltimore DMA is adjacent, but seperate, to the Washington, DC DMA. So that doesn't count. And people should be looking at DMAs when they talk about "markets" because that is the classification that TV uses, and we all know that is what drives sports.terrisus said:Granted it was relocation, not expansion, but, the Orioles took a decent amount of issue at the Expos being relocated to Washington DC.
And, California is certainly fairly packed with teams.
The New York metropolitan area certainly has the population to support 3 teams - as it did in the past.
Only having 2 teams there seems to have created a fairly significant imbalance.
8slim said:
And people should be looking at DMAs when they talk about "markets" because that is the classification that TV uses, and we all know that is what drives sports.
The Carolina Hurricanes are in Raleigh. Hartford-New Haven is actually the largest DMA without a big 4 pro team.Champagne Shower For Gabe said:
Using DMAs the 10 biggest markets without an MLB team are: (and the markets within 200 miles)
1) Orlando, FL (TB)
2) Sacramento, CA (OAK & SF)
3) Portland, OR (SEA)
4) Raleigh-Durham, NC (NONE)
5) Charlotte, NC (NONE)
6) Indianapolis, IN (CIN)
7) Nashville, TN (NONE)
8) Hartford, CT (BOS, NYY & NYM country)
9) Columbus, OH (CIN & CLE)
10) Salt Lake City, UT (NONE)
That would point us at a team in one of the NC cities and another in either Nashville or Salt Lake City. (And move the A's to Sacramento)
Interestingly enough the biggest DMAs without a team in one of the big 4 are
1) Raleigh-Durham, NC (CHAR)
2) Hartford, CT (BOS, NY)
3) Greenville (ATL, CHAR)
4) West Palm Beach, FL (MIA)
5) Grand Rapids, MI (CHI, DET)
6) Las Vegas, NV (NONE)
7) Birmingham, AL (ATL, NASH)
8) Harrisburg, PA (BALT, PHI, PITT, WASH)
9) Norfolk, VA (BALT & WASH)
10) Austin, TX (ARL, DAL, HOU, SA)
8slim said:The Carolina Hurricanes are in Raleigh. Hartford-New Haven is actually the largest DMA without a big 4 pro team.
San Juan has bodies and an appetite for the game, but my understanding is that they lack the disposable income and corporate money to really be a major league quality market.geoduck no quahog said:As stated above, Puerto Rico has a DMA of more than 3.1M, which is pretty big.
geoduck no quahog said:As stated above, Puerto Rico has a DMA of more than 3.1M, which is pretty big.
geoduck no quahog said:As stated above, Puerto Rico has a DMA of more than 3.1M, which is pretty big.
In comparison to the different states of the United States, Puerto Rico is poorer than the poorest state of the United States with 41% of its population below the poverty line