***Official Houston Astros 2022-23 Offseason Thread***

1,070,358 Views | 12340 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by Beat40
CFTXAG10
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AG
I love it. **** em
KC_Ag14
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Texaggie7nine said:


Hell ya.
Beat40
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McInnis said:

I'm generally in favor of the rule changes, but what if it's a plot to jam more commercials between innings?

I guess anyone who has kept up with some of the decisions the owners have made over the years shouldn't discount that out of hand.

I think part most of the reason baseball has suffered is for a few of these reasons:

1) MLB Owners and Executives viewing MLB as a regional sport. They don't care to market their best players nationally and have their best players on TV more often. They don't even care to allow people who can't get into the stadium because they live in a city of 4+ million people to watch the game without blackout restrictions on their own streaming platform.

2) MLB as a whole sucks at social media. The NBA kills on Twitter. Astros Twitter does a pretty amazing job, but MLB as a whole doesn't know how to use social media properly.

3) This is more of a sport problem, but baseball is just harder to play as a kid. You need at least 14 people to play a solid game plus a bat, glove, and ball. With basketball, all you need is 2. Football, you can get by with 5, maybe 3. Both basketball and football only require a ball.


MLB will say the pace of play and 3 true-outcome offense is the reason baseball has declined in popularity, but I think reasons #1 and #2 are the main culprits. Pace of play and 3 true-outcome don't help, but if #1 and #2 were addressed, it would go along way.
rausr
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KC_Ag14 said:

Texaggie7nine said:


Hell ya.

Ag_07
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AG
You're spot on on 1 and 2 but i don't agree on 3

You can play HR derby in the street with 2 people, a whiffle ball, and plastic bat. Hell Altuve learned to play with a broom handle and a bottle cap.

But very few kids nowadays wanna play HR derby in the street acting like they're Yordan Alvarez or Mike Trout or Jose Ramirez because like you said MLB is awful at marketing their players. So it goes back to 1 and 2.
Beat40
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Texaggie7nine said:


I love this.

Man, one game a spring training should be played like this and let the boys have some fun. Let them do the stuff they did as kids and get the fans there involved somehow.
Lonestar_Ag09
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Ag_07 said:

You're spot on on 1 and 2 but i don't agree on 3

You can play HR derby in the street with 2 people, a whiffle ball, and plastic bat. Hell Altuve learned to play with a broom handle and a bottle cap.

But very few kids nowadays wanna play HR derby in the street acting like they're Yordan Alvarez or Mike Trout or Jose Ramirez because like you said MLB is awful at marketing their players. So it goes back to 1 and 2.
So you're telling me in the 30's, 50's or even 80's baseball did a better job of marketing the game? Seriously?

Kids don't play anything hardly outside, that's why they aren't playing baseball outside. My son knows more players from across the league than I ever did at 9 because I only knew Astros…and Chipper, Glavine, Maddox and Smoltz who ruined my childhood dreams
Ag_07
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AG
Different times

And I think MLB did to an extent market players. Back in the 80s and 90s the HR derby was full of the biggest HR hitters. Back then trading cards were a huge deal. Guys like Griffey Jr and Frank Thomas had their own video games and shoes. They were in commercials like crazy. None of that can be said for players nowadays. The best player of this generation in Trout is essentially a hermit.

Also basketball and football weren't as popular. Basketball is phenomenal at marketing it's league and players. Football is a beast of its own.

Meanwhile baseball can't even find a way for it's fans to watch it's product.
redline248
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Is Trout the only player that has his own line of shoes? Cuz when I'm looking for cleats for my kids, he's the only one I see.
agproducer
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Beat, you are spot on.

The way MLB is packaged TV wise has hurt the game. It's reliance on regional networks and horrendous blackouts to protect those regional networks have prevented it from growing like the NBA and NFL.

I'll also throw this in there, video games have also played a part. NBA and NFL provided their licensing for games with NBA Live, 2K and NBA Jam. Then for NFL there was Madden that was established, but you had Tecmo Bowl, Joe Montana
Football and 2k. They were available on virtually all platforms.

MLB was different. Most of its games, except for MVP Baseball, were cartoonish and not sim like the other sports. After it stopped its licensing with EA, it only went with The Show as the only true sim game. The deal was just with PlayStation. So, for years, XBOX and Nintendo players did not have a sim game. They had to deal with games without licensing due to the exclusivity agreement or arcade style games.

As for The Show, it's now on all platforms. There is still not an alternative sim game. That helps teach kids the nuances of the game.

It's only part of the problem.

Also, their marketing of players, sucks. There's Ohtani, Trout, Julio Rodriguez, Harper to make a few. Market the hell out of these guys and their personalities. Rely on your league partners to help offer them up for commercials. Get them out there.

Instead of trying to fix the game, which want broken, focus on the parts of your sport that are.



BadAggie
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AG
Stupid batter clock is going to F up the postseason
MaxPower
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Personally I like the regional nature of the sport. The NBA is unwatchable for me largely because the teams and cities are irrelevant. It's not the Lakers vs the Suns. It's Lebron and his buddies vs Durant and his.

MLB also is a different animal from the NFL. 17 games vs 162 is huge to how the sport is digested. NFL sets up nicely for casual fans who can watch whatever team they like that week / season and maybe watching their favorite team live once a year when they come to their closest stadium. MLB is more like family. I can't say what percentage but I imagine there's a high volume of fans who know their local 9 and some stars they see on sports center. They have no interest in investing more in other teams or players. They simply have too much invested in their local club with 162 games of content to watch plus the ability to go live to 5, 10, or 50 games on any day of the week convenient to them.
Lonestar_Ag09
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AG
Bryce Harper has shoes also
Farmer1906
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AG
Speaking of shoes, they have a 574 cleat now. I hope Altuve rocks these.


bearkatag15
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AG


This will be interesting to follow over the next few years
07ag
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AG
https://ts.la/eric59704
Ag_07
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Fascinating

Crazy to think that's true but it kinda lines up with what Crane offered 2 years ago.

Then to hear the end about him not sliding and admitting he has felt the plate vibrate.
PrestigeWorldwideAg12
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Quick Google search gave me this…

New Balance:
Lindor

Under Armour:
Harper

Nike:
Trout
Jaydoug
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AG
I hear Manfred is consulting for English cricket. Looking to get those 5 day long games into an afternoon.
BadAggie
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07ag said:


W
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AG
yes indeed, because like we've seen with Cabrera, Pujols, and soon to be others...

nobody, nobody is going to retire when they have $30 MM seasons still on their contract.

they will report to spring training in a wheelchair to keep cashing checks
Beat40
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As a high schooler, college student, and single adult, I loved watching basketball on Thursday nights on TNT. It's still majorly popular. It's because they have a good production all the way around and feature the best players in the league.

You're telling me MLB can't find a way to have at least two national games on every Sunday featuring great players in the summer when no other major sport is on? They can't figure out how to have a great broadcast and showcase the personalities?

Instead they don't market now and keep people within a 100 mile radius (or more) from watching the local team where the money goes directly to them.

That's what's wrong. They aren't even trying and pass the blame on "short attention spans." There may be short attention spans, but I can't say I believe MLB owners and Executives care about their product more than the NFL and NBA. And that's a problem. Until they fix that, they will continue to hemorrhage viewers.
aggiederelict
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I don't buy this take at all. Ankles respond well to surgery and usually don't end careers of athletes.
Lonestar_Ag09
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AG
PrestigeWorldwideAg12 said:

Quick Google search gave me this…

New Balance:
Lindor

Under Armour:
Harper

Nike:
Trout


Lindor's cleats! Barf
Teddy Perkins
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AG
Haven't seen this mentioned. Astros have until the end of March to take back their distribution rights from ATTSN. https://sports.yahoo.com/parent-company-of-att-sportsnet-says-its-discontinuing-regional-sports-networks-141239930.html
bearkatag15
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AG


I like this dude but this is a bad take. Trading Emmanuel Valdez for Christian Vazquez was 100% worth it
AstroAggie15
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AG
God gives me flash backs to the days of comcast sports net and never having them on TV
EastCoastAgNc
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the tweet directly after it makes it clear he was making a joke.
Bad Poster
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EastCoastAgNc said:

They just became the premium trade destination for Jake Meyers


Myers for springer!
All I do is Nguyen
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You love to see it, even in spring training
EastCoastAgNc
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AG
AustinCountyAg
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PrestigeWorldwideAg12 said:

Quick Google search gave me this…

New Balance:
Lindor

Under Armour:
Harper

Nike:
Trout
yep. My boy wore the Harpers last year, and has Trout's this year.....for tee ball. Pretty fly for a white guy
bigjag19
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AG
Academy brand works great too
Bag
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EastCoastAgNc said:

the tweet directly after it makes it clear he was making a joke.
Van Doren is one of the foremost experts of all things Astros minor leagues, he is a star in the making, and apparently pretty funny
Lonestar_Ag09
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I bought a pair of Trout cleats for my son. Even sized up a half and they fit like crap so I returned them and just got regular under armor
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