Help a Baseball Noob

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P

pettersson

Member
Hi,

I am a baseball fan living in Europe, on my second season with a MLB.tv subscription. Now I've read my fair share of rules and simple books (like Baseball für Fussballfans, "Baseball for Soccer fans"), so I can watch a game and roughly know whats going on.
Can you give me some hints to more in-depth books on the topic, especially strategy and statistics. I also tried playing OOTP, but man thats hard to get into.
 
Amory

Amory

Member
Moneyball was good. It'll give you good insight into how GMs are trying to build their teams these days
 
C

clav

Member
Join a fantasy baseball league and manage a team.

You will read a lot about players and their individual abilities. You will learn to understand why star athletes have high draft values and what prospects to look. You will try to uncover any sleeper picks (lesser known players) to draft on your team before those players start trending. You will learn about strikeouts and why that's a valuable comparison tool in a pitcher when compared to walk rate. You will learn about who can hit home runs and who can steal bases.

You will make good/bad trades. Every player has a stock value. Some players peak within a season or between many seasons. Age has a youth factor although sometimes adds intrigue (see Bartolo Colon on the NY Mets).

Yahoo fantasy sports has a decent interface and mobile app.

Since you have a MLB subscription, fantasy baseball will make watching even better.
 
B

bjork

Member
I'm not sure of any books, but what kind of strategies do you mean? Like, when is the right time for a squeeze play or a sacrifice fly, that kind of thing?
 
R

richiek

steals Justin Bieber DVDs
Pick up a copy of MLB: The Show 16 and play some games. Seriously. When I was a kid, playing games of Madden and NHL and FIFA taught the rules and ins and outs of those sports.
 
B

Brinbe

Member
What do you want to know? If you want advanced stats and all that good stuff, check out fangraphs. If you want to understand what all those stats mean, this primer on Sabermetrics is good, http://sabr.org/sabermetrics

If it's strategy/tactics, read this http://armchairgm.wikia.com/wiki/Baseball_Strategy:Guide_to_Smart_Baseball

That should be what you're looking for. But if there's other stuff, just ask in this thread and people will help.

Playing something like OOTP would be hard without a firm grasp of stats/tactics and what's useful and not.
 
T

TS-08

Member
richiek said:
Pick up a copy of MLB: The Show 16 and play some games. Seriously. When I was a kid, playing games of Madden and NHL taught me the rules of football and hockey.
Click to expand...

This is almost the exact post I was going to make. No doubt that playing sports games as a kid helped me understand the games themselves. I think playing The Show can at least help with the strategy aspect, and you'll probably find it easier to get into.
 
P

pettersson

Member
GAF never fails to impress me :) Thanks for all the quick replies, I bookmarked all your links for the weekend, and bought Moneyball for my Kindle (was cheap).
I actually have an older version of the show, should be playing more I guess. Currently I am following the Yankees (since I fell in love with New York)
I usually try to watch one full game per week, which is not that easy given the time difference to germany.
Maybe there are any Baseball fans from Bremen around here?
 
R

ReAxion

Member
Beyond the Box Score is a good site for statistics and analysis.

Moneyball I guess would be alright. It's a little bit outdated but not for your purposes.

Really getting behind a team would be best, though. Just make sure it's a National League team. 😏
 
C

CosmicQueso

Member
It's a difficult sport, OP. Even after a lifetime of watching it, you can learn new things.

If I were to recommend some books to learn the strategies of the game I'd go:

  • Watching Baseball Smarter - Zack Hample
  • The Science of Hitting - Ted Williams

The first will give you all the basics, the second will give you an appreciation for the most difficult thing in sports - hitting a round ball traveling 90 miles an hour with a round bat.

Then, I'd make a habit of watching Mets games with the Mets crew of Darling, Hernandez and Cohen. These guys are the best in the business at explaining what's happening on the field.

Finally, for more flavor and history of the game that applies to today, I'd recommend:

  • Ball Four - Jim Bouton
  • Men at Work - George Will
  • Moneyball - Michael Lewis

Although there are dozens and dozens of others.

The only thing I wish you could do as a baseball fan in Europe is walk through the dark stadium tunnel on a warm Sunday afternoon and feel that awesome thrill of watching the emerald field emerge in front of you with a cold beverage in hand. It's the best.
 
Amory

Amory

Member
CosmicQueso said:
The only thing I wish you could do as a baseball fan in Europe is walk through the dark stadium tunnel on a warm Sunday afternoon and feel that awesome thrill of watching the emerald field emerge in front of you with a cold beverage in hand. It's the best.
Click to expand...
Truth.

Although here in Boston that's literally the best part of the day because Fenway is so goddamn uncomfortable and outdated
 
Concrete Charlie

Concrete Charlie

Member
If you get a chance, watch Ken Burns' documentary on Baseball. It's fantastic. Not sure how much inside strategies you'll learn but just from a historical point of view it can't be topped.
 
E

Elwood Blues

Member
Watch the braves and take note of the moves Fredi Gonzalez makes buring the course of the game. Good babesball strategy would be to do whatever the opposite is.
 
P

pettersson

Member
Thanks again for all the replies, guys. Really appreciate it. I will read as much as I can over the weekend and will be back on Monday with pictures from our "opening day event". I am having a friend over to watch the Yankees game, I convinced him that baseball is a great game to watch over the course of the last season. Too bad the Yankees didn't make the playoffs.
The Show 16 is downloading ;)
 
B

bjork

Member
I'm not sure how widely available it is, but Johnny Bench used to host a show called The Baseball Bunch that had instructional stuff for little league. It wouldn't necessarily be 1/1 with big league rules, but if there are episodes around, I bet it would be good for fundamentals.

I found one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OifdWHrmyNk
 
G

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
Follow the Mets. The Mets broadcasters are intelligent and knowledgeable. They break down the game very well. I have learned so much from them.
 
A

Affeinvasion

Member
pettersson said:
Thanks again for all the replies, guys. Really appreciate it. I will read as much as I can over the weekend and will be back on Monday with pictures from our "opening day event". I am having a friend over to watch the Yankees game, I convinced him that baseball is a great game to watch over the course of the last season. Too bad the Yankees didn't make the playoffs.
The Show 16 is downloading ;)
Click to expand...
Well technically the Yankees did make the playoffs they just lost in the play in game.

My advice for appreciating baseball is to learn about pitching and the different pitches and what they do. If you can learn to love pitching, then every single play is interesting. If you're waiting for hits, and on base strategy/plays, the game can be boring.

Another fun way to learn the game is to fill out a score card during the game. I'll try to find a link to a website that shows you how when I can get to my computer.
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Some good links posted so far.

I'd spend a lot of time reading up on the whole pitcher/batter matchup as well and the strategies involved there, considering the majority of watching a game is going to be focused on that. What the pitcher is trying to establish against the hitter, how the batter approaches the at-bat given the count, how a pitcher utlizes different pitches, speeds, and location, etc.

Also, post actively in the MLB OT in the Community forum. You'll get plenty of insight from other posters as games are going on.
 
C

CosmicQueso

Member
shadowstew said:
I recommend the Bill James historical abstracts
at least the new one, arguably the 1985 one as well
(new as in 2001 lol).
Click to expand...

Man I wish there was a new one of those.

Concrete Charlie said:
If you get a chance, watch Ken Burns' documentary on Baseball. It's fantastic. Not sure how much inside strategies you'll learn but just from a historical point of view it can't be topped.
Click to expand...

Wow, can't believe it's been 20 years since that came out. On Amazon Prime. About time for another watch.
 
K

kris.

Banned
Mr. Macintosh!! said:
Follow the Cardinals and be a winner.
Click to expand...

don't do this. do anything but this.
follow the Royals

i still need to finish up the Ken Burns doc. i got through hour 2 and haven't touched it since, but it was such an amazingly made and thorough doc from what i had seen.
 
T

theepicoftyler

Member
Just follow a team (don't follow the Cardinals unless you want to be a dumpster human being), listen to the commentators. They understand that they're broadcasting to people at all levels of understanding and explain the rules quite often. Between them explaining the more complicated plays and seeing how the standard every day plays happen, you'll understand it in no time at all. The basics of baseball are pretty easy.
 
RoslindaleOne

RoslindaleOne

Member
You probably won't learn any baseball knowledge in this, but watch the movie Field of Dreams. I'd recommend it to any baseball fan.
 
N

norm9

Member
GK86 said:
Follow the Mets. The Mets broadcasters are intelligent and knowledgeable. They break down the game very well. I have learned so much from them.
Click to expand...

And/or follow the Dodgers. Vin Scully is the greatest announcer ever and in between stories, he explains the nuanced portions of the game.

Other than that, it's a great game to just put on in the background while making dinner or while just relaxing.
 
Amory

Amory

Member
for real though, OP, watch the Dodgers' home games whenever you get a chance this season

it's Vin Scully's last year, and for my money he's the best baseball announcer who's ever lived. He's been the voice of the dodgers for 65 freaking years. Gonna miss him when he's gone

edit: beat!
 
S

Saganator

Member
It's unfortunate that today's commentators don't hold a candle to old school commentators that I grew up with. When I was a kid, the TV and radio commentators would talk strategy and rules, watch enough games and you'll be a baseball guru.

Unfortunately I can't think any commentators of today who do a lot of strategy and rule talk. If you can find games to watch commentated by Tony Gwynn (RIP) you're bound to learn something about the game.

It makes me happy to see someone over seas enjoying the game and trying to learn more about it. Good luck, hope one day you get to actually play a game!
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Given it's an even year, he might as well follow the Giants. Good broadcast crew and should be a fun lineup to follow.

Saganator said:
It's unfortunate that today's commentators don't hold a candle to old school commentators that I grew up with. When I was a kid, the TV and radio commentators would talk strategy and rules, watch enough games and you'll be a baseball guru.

Unfortunately I can't think any commentators of today who do a lot of strategy and rule talk. If you can find games to watch commentated by Tony Gwynn (RIP) you're bound to learn something about the game.

It makes me happy to see someone over seas enjoying the game and trying to learn more about it. Good luck, hope one day you get to actually play a game!
Click to expand...

The longer established broadcast crews still do this to a degree. I still hear plenty of stuff from Kruk and Kuip for example talking about a pitcher's strategy during a particular at-bat to get a strikeout, or how a double-switch may be coming in the next inning or two and explaining why and who would likely be involved, etc.
 
S

StoveOven

Banned
I'll echo the posts that say the best way to learn is to watch, but do you have any specific questions you want answered?
 
L

lastflowers

Banned
claviertekky said:
Join a fantasy baseball league and manage a team.

You will read a lot about players and their individual abilities. You will learn to understand why star athletes have high draft values and what prospects to look. You will try to uncover any sleeper picks (lesser known players) to draft on your team before those players start trending. You will learn about strikeouts and why that's a valuable comparison tool in a pitcher when compared to walk rate. You will learn about who can hit home runs and who can steal bases.

You will make good/bad trades. Every player has a stock value. Some players peak within a season or between many seasons. Age has a youth factor although sometimes adds intrigue (see Bartolo Colon on the NY Mets).

Yahoo fantasy sports has a decent interface and mobile app.

Since you have a MLB subscription, fantasy baseball will make watching even better.
Click to expand...

.

Really is fantastic for helping someone learn more in-depth about the league.
 
C

CosmicQueso

Member
Poor OP.

Being inundated with sales pitches for second tier teams.

Don't listen to them OP.

There's only one team that has history, character, madness and the spectacular stories a new fan should truly embrace.

144187df986c9c71533fb0e9adf78044.jpg

Bash_Brothers_poster.jpg

132752065292913570600901197_106JimmyFoxxBat.jpg

rickey-henderson.gif

4d8a78a2c8094.preview-620.jpg
 
G

gamz

Member
As long as you get the basics. The more you watch the more you learn. Been watching it all my life and I still learn something new every year. So many crazy rules and such.

The greatest sport in the world!


Watch the Cubs if you want drama and history.
 
R

Reagan's BR

Banned
pettersson said:
GAF never fails to impress me :) Thanks for all the quick replies, I bookmarked all your links for the weekend, and bought Moneyball for my Kindle (was cheap).
I actually have an older version of the show, should be playing more I guess. Currently I am following the Yankees (since I fell in love with New York)
I usually try to watch one full game per week, which is not that easy given the time difference to germany.
Maybe there are any Baseball fans from Bremen around here?
Click to expand...

Moneyball has a good film adaptation with Brad Pitt.

Surfing around the MLB section on the espn website for a few minutes each day may help you get an idea of what is going on throughout the season.

Like everyone said, listening to the commentators is key when watching a ball game. To expand on that a little bit, the fact that the sport is very easy to cast on radio is one of the many reasons why baseball is popular in the US. Before television broadcasts many people would listen to ball games on their radio, a tradition that continues today. One thing you may wish to try is listening to a ball game through the online radio stream. With timezone differences this may be difficult.

One other thing to consider is the fact that when watching some teams you will see good pitching, others may have great hitting, others fielding etc. For example, the Atlanta Braves, dubbed "the team of the 90's", were known for their pitching during the 90's. Focusing on different teams will expose you to different parts of the game.
 
Z

Zeeman

Member
If you want to see great offence, follow the Toronto Blue Jays.

Also, you can commiserate with other non-American baseball fans.
 
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