Anybody here at all interested in the World Series?

[Lord Jim]

I pretty much lost all interest after the Nats were eliminated, but I'm going to be rooting for the Astros...

First, because Houston deserves a morale boost after Harvey, and second because well, the Dodgers...

[Big RR]

I've been a Dodger fan since I was a kid and am pulling for them to win, but I would not be upset with Houston winning as I agree the city could use the morale boost.

[Guinevere]

Third, because rubato is a Dodgers fan, and there's that whole enemy of my enemy dynamic . . .

Yes, I almost always watch some of the World Series. Not terribly interested in this one, except for the fact that the Houston bench coach, Alex Cora, will be assuming the mantle of leadership of the Red Sox after the series is complete. He's a good guy and so I'll be rooting for him and Houston. I always root for the AL team anyway -- unless its the Yanks.

[RayThom]

The World Series? Wow, I'm all atingle... NOT! I wonder what team will take a knee tonight?

Sports are overrated.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Table tennis?

[ex-khobar Andy]

I always wonder why they call it the World Series.

[Scooter]

World Series? Wait a Minute...

Joseph A. Reaves, the author of Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia, is a baseball writer for The Arizona Republic. He offers a bit of historical perspective:

"You really have to look back at the way most people in the United States saw the world in 1903 — the year the 'World Series' championship was created," he told me. "The Gilded Age was giving way to an era when the United States would dominate the globe militarily, economically and politically. No one could beat the United States militarily. And surely no one could beat the U.S. at its own game."

Josh Laventhal, the author of World Series, said early organizers used the term as a marketing tactic. "By emphasizing the global significance of the game, they would be able to draw more people to the ballparks."

Several baseball blogs claim that the New York World newspaper was a sponsor of the game. They're in error, according to Eric Enders, head of Triple E Productions, a baseball research and consulting service.

"The truth is that at the time when it was first called World Series the two teams were really the best teams in the world," he said. "So they could semi-legitimately call that the World Series." But he conceded that today, with numerous other countries playing professional baseball, it might no longer be a legitimate claim.

[rubato]

I always wonder why they call it the World Series.

We let Canada have an MLB team! We even gave them two but the ungrateful Canucks gave one back.


This year the mighty Dodgers have strode across the baseball world like the Gods of Olympus sweeping all away before them like annoying flies! Like Gulliver against Lilliput. Go Dodgers! Ok I watched some of the AL playoffs and the 'Stros have some great players, Verlander looks as good he ever has and Altruve is a hoot both fielding and at the plate. They played great baseball and beat the God-cursed Yankees!

But the great seer has given his verdict and it "No 'Stro Dam us".


Go Baseball!

yrs,
rubato

[Big RR]

I always wonder why they call it the World Series.

Delusions of grandeur--just like having a Miss Universe beauty contest.

[Jarlaxle]

Go Astros!

They're not the Yankees.

[Lord Jim]

I always wonder why they call it the World Series.

To piss off Strop...

[BoSoxGal]

I’m ok with either team winning but I’m rooting for Houston.

[Joe Guy]

I used to be an avid baseball fan and knew all the stats and all the players. Over the last decade I've lost touch and only paid attention when the Giants were doing great at the end of the season. I didn't even know that Houston was no longer in the National League.

Go Houston!! Is Nolan Ryan still pitching for them?

[Gob]

A real world cup, you know, international and all that. Yep, I'm interested. Your pretend, parochial "world series" games, not so much....

[rubato]

We've been over this before. but for the slow boys I'll repeat. US Major League Baseball draws more people to games than any other sport in the world followed by Nippon League baseball and then NBA Basketball. Nobody else is even close.


After MLB and the Nippon Professional Baseball and the NBA are the TdF and everything else is an afterthought.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_s ... ce_figures



yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

We've been over this before. but for the slow boys I'll repeat. US Major League Baseball draws more people to games than any other sport in the world followed by Nippon League baseball and then NBA Basketball. Nobody else is even close.


After MLB and the Nippon Professional Baseball and the NBA are the TdF and everything else is an afterthought.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_s ... ce_figures



yrs,
rubato

Blah, blah, blah, blah... Come back when your Aspergers has been sufficiently ameliorated to allow you to develop a sense of humour shitboy.

PS. Look up the meaning of "international competition".

[MajGenl.Meade]

The gauge of a sport's popularity is not the number of people who attend live events but by how many people watch the games (and play them). By the last criteria, golf should probably be above baseball on this list.

Besides:
2016 MLB average attendance 30,132 (2017 attendance TOTAL is down half a million from 2016)
2016 Premier League average attendance 35,822

Most Popular Sports in the World

Football (Soccer)1)
Soccer (more popularly known as Football in many regions) is a team sport that is popular in almost every country in the world. The huge fan following is perhaps due to the fact that at an amateur level, it requires very little equipment and effort to learn the basics. It starts with as simple as driving the ball into the opponent's goal post and preventing the opponent from doing so. Kids from all walks of life start playing soccer at an early age and go on to become ardent followers of the game. Soccer is also the highest paying team sport at professional level. The prize money for the winning team at the 2010 soccer world cup was US $30 million. The synonym of enthusiasm and zeal, soccer or soccer posses the number 1 ranking in the world's most popular sports.

Basketball2)
Basketball is an action packed game combining the display of skills, strategy and athleticism in one of the shortest duration as compared to contemporary sports. The game originated in Canada and has a huge fan following in North America. However, it has gained worldwide popularity rather quickly - the Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) ranking list has 82 countries with non-zero points after the 2012 London Olympics. Top Basketball players in the world are rewarded handsomely.

Cricket3)
The third most popular sport in the world is also a team sport. Cricket's number three spot in terms of number of fans is thanks largely due to its popularity in the Indian sub-continent. It is popular in Asia, Australia, Middle-East, England and few selected countries, but is slowly expanding its reach to other countries. Cricket was popular among a few selected countries to begin with. However, the introduction of the 20-20 format has resulted in many more countries participating in the sport at an international level.

Tennis4)
Tennis is one of the top 5 most popular sport in the world, but is the most popular individual sport.

Baseball5)
Baseball, the national pastime of the United States, is one of the top 10 most popular sports in the world.

http://mostpopularsports.net/

[Gob]

The gauge of a sport's popularity is not the number of people who attend live events but by how many people watch the games (and play them). By the last criteria, golf should probably be above baseball on this list.

rubato doesn't understand that attending international matches requires overseas travel, and therefore away sides may be underrepresented in supporters. How could he, he doesn't understand "international" or "sports", and has never left his home state.

[Lord Jim]

Even though I really don't have much of a dog in this fight, I have to admit this has really been a pretty good series...

A couple of pitchers duels, an epic slug fest in Game 5...

Of the six games, five of them have been decided two runs or less...

I haven't watched every minute of every game but I'll definitely tune in to watch the Game 7 finale in its entirety...

[dales]

I haven't watched every minute of every game but I'll definitely tune in to watch the Game 7 finale in its entirety...

Hope the Dodgers choke, go HOUSTON!