An already intimate ballpark would be even more cramped if the Chicago Cubs receive approval to move in the brick backstop at Wrigley Field and add an extra row of seats behind home plate. Not quite sure it’s a big deal either way. Right now it’s a reported 60.5 feet from home plate to the […]
Archive | Major-League Baseball
Athletics propose five-year lease extension for Coliseum
With no resolution on a new San Jose ballpark plan, the Oakland Athletics are working on a five-year lease extension to stay at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Interestingly, MLB officials are negotiating the deal on behalf of the Athletics. We’re assuming things are pretty bad in terms of the Coliseum management and the A’s if MLB […]
Will Nationals cash in on playoff appearance?
With the team’s first appearance in the playoffs, experts say the Washington Nationals may be able to cash in with a naming-rights deal for Nationals Park. The Nationals can sell naming rights to the ballpark, but so far a deal has proven to be elusive. In some ways a deal has been a victim of […]
Abundance of riches: Another new ballpark pitched for Rays
Another developer has stepped up with a proposal to build a new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays, and we’re pretty sure we’ll see yet another game plan in coming weeks. Developer Joel Cantor says he can build a 33,000-seat ballpark on the Channelside Bay Plaza site in downtown Tampa, on the waterfront, in a configuration […]
Mariners to move in the fences for 2013
The Seattle Mariners are changing the dimensions at Safeco Field for the 2013 season, moving in portions of the outfield wall in the power alleys. These changes will be the first to the field dimensions since the ballpark opened in 1999. “Our goal was to create an environment that is fair for both hitters and pitchers,” […]
New MLB TV contracts finalized: $1.5B annually
We have a final tally on the new TV contracts signed between Major League Baseball and broadcast partners ESPN, Fox Sports and TBS: an average of $1.5 billion annually, or $12.4 billion over eight years. The deal between ESPN and MLB was made public earlier — $700 million annually, totaling $5.6 billion over eight years— […]
Astros to unveil new uniforms Nov. 2
Bring back the orange and blue! The Houston Astros will reveal the club’s new uniforms, logos, color scheme and mascot for the 2013 season on Friday, Nov. 2 at Minute Maid Park. On hand for the party, the Astros will bring in current players Jose Altuve, Lucas Harrell, Jordan Lyles and Justin Maxwell, and future players Carlos Correa, Jarred Cosart, Jon Singleton and George Springer for […]
Ballpark nanny: Wash your hands!
Talk about obsessive: a dentist, his wife and a crew of germaphobes visited 26 MLB ballparks to tally how well fans washed their hands in the restrooms — and hung out there to research the hard numbers. In general, washing your hands is a good idea when there’s the chance to pass around something nasty, […]
Rangers set team attendance record
Nice attendance record for the Texas Rangers: With a crowd of 48,089 in Sunday night’s game, the team finished the 2012 home season with a final attendance of 3,460,280 in 81 dates at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers’ previous club records were a total attendance of 2,946,969 in 2011 and an average of 40,374 […]
LeClair unveils intriguing ballpark plan for Rays
Darryl LeClair laid out an intriguing new-ballpark strategy for the Tampa Bay Rays at the St. Pete Carillon Park, with office buildings and apartments forming the ballpark’s exterior. It’s a bold attempt to lay out a new ballpark on an extremely small footprint — 12 acres or so — with a very limited amount of […]
Mesa: Cubs, ASU must put aside differences on ballpark lease
Mesa officials don’t want the ASU Sun Devils to abandon the idea of sharing a new spring-training facility with the Chicago Cubs, so they are initiating talks between the two sides. You can read the full story at our sister site, Spring Training Online. The basic issue: Arizona State thought it had a deal to […]
Metro to extend Nationals Park service during playoffs
Thanks to sponsorship from Living Social, Metro train service to Nationals Park will be extended when the Washington Nationals host playoff games. Because of commercials and other breaks, playoff games tend to go long. During the regular service the last train at the Navy Yard station leaves at 11:20 p.m. — a time that’s usually late […]
Greenberg to get second chance with Marlins
Adam Greenberg, whose baseball career was derailed when he was beaned in his only MLB plate appearance, will get a second chance as the Miami Marlins sign him to a one-day contract, with the intent of playing him Tuesday. Greenberg’s MLB career consisted of a single pitch: he was struck in the head in June […]