Bringing in the fences at Citi Field hasn’t made much of an impact in the home-run and pitching stats for the New York Mets and opponents, but the season is still young. As you’ll recall, the Mets made some changes to their outfield fences this offseason, bringing them in (particularly in the power alleys) and […]
Archive | Major-League Baseball
Giants: Nothing would tempt us to give up Silicon Valley territory
San Francisco Giants ownership made one thing abundantly clear at this week’s MLB owners meetings: they have no intention of ever giving up their territorial rights to Silicon Valley. The background: Oakland A’s owner Lew Wolff wants to build a new downtown San Jose ballpark but is being blocked by the Giants ownership, who retain […]
Ricketts family political activity threatens to scuttle Cubs reno plans
The political activities of Joe Ricketts, part of the Chicago Cubs ownership and father of Tom Ricketts, could, but probably won’t, kill city efforts to help the Cubs renovate Wrigley Field. Ricketts, who made billions after founding TD Ameritrade, has emerged as a major player in conservative politics, establishing a Super PAC seeking to limit […]
Selig: Rivalry series may survive interleague play
The two annual rivalry series may survive a scheduling reconfiguration in 2013 because of their popularity with fans, according to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. Right now there are two three-game rivalry interleague series — Yankees/Mets, Cubs/White Sox, Twins/Brewers, Rays/Marlins, A’s/Giants, Angels/Dodgers, etc. — that are popular in terms of box-office appeal and ratings, particularly in larger cities where […]
Peoria to spend $48 million on upgrading spring-training complex
Peoria (Az.) will spend $48 million on upgrading the spring-training complex for the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners as part of a lease extension running through 2034. Spring training has become a big business, with demanding — and receiving — first-rate complexes. The Peoria Stadium complex was considered state of the art when it […]
Selig: A’s can leave Oakland — but not for San Jose
Speaking at the quarterly owners’ meetings, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said the A’s were free to move from Oakland under baseball’s relocation process — just not to San Jose. The stalemate between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants ownership groups remains in place, Selig said; in past months he’s said it’s up for the teams […]
Reports: Mets to host 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field
Not exactly a surprise: New York media outlets are reporting Major League Baseball will be announcing that the 2013 All-Star Game will be played at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. It’s been expected for months that the Mets would land the 2013 game. MLB awards the game alternately between the league; the […]
WSJ: Tear down Wrigley Field now!
Though we’re not seeing the logic besides the need to generate flamebait, a writer for the Wall Street Journal is calling for the Chicago Cubs to tear down Wrigley Field so the team can win a World Series. We pass along the article by Rich Cohen not because we agree with its central premise (no, […]
Nationals Park: Catalyst for development
Four years after opening, Nationals Park is finally attracting the kind of development envisioned by ballpark proponents, drawing restaurants, retail and residential to a struggling area of D.C. A review of all the development in the area of the home of the Washington Nationals shows some solid progress at work. Gone is a concrete plant on […]
Chicago politics at play: Tunney vs. the Cubs
They play rough in Chicago politics, as Tom Ricketts is finding out: Wrigley Field reno opponent Ald. Tom Tunney has received over $171,000 in campaign contribution from those opposing ballpark expansions. That’s a lot of money, even by big-city standards. The money is from the likes of Cubby Bear Lounge owner George Loukas (who also has […]
Winners and losers in the 2012 MLB attendance stats
MLB attendance is up 4.2 percent this season over last, but there are some surprising laggards at the box office this season — though it doesn’t seem to matter whether a team wins or loses. The convention wisdom on the MLB level is that it matters at the box office whether a team is winning […]
Groundbreaking scheduled for new Cubs spring facility
The groundbreaking for a new Chicago Cubs spring-training facility in Mesa, Arizona has been scheduled for July 11. The Cubs will share the new facility with the Arizona State baseball team. The new facility is slated to open on Dec. 1, 2013, in plenty of time for the 2014 college season. It will seat 15,000 (12,000 fixed […]
Dodger Stadium development plan outlined
Ignore all the crazy talk about the Los Angeles Dodgers looking at a new downtown ballpark: Not only is the team committed to Dodger Stadium, but the outline of a long-term development plan of Chavez Ravine is in place. When Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the Dodgers, Dodger Stadium, the 15 acres underneath the ballpark, 260 acres […]