5 Things You Need To Know About An Unprecedented MLB Season
“Strike” up a conversation as the boys of summer head into the playoffs.
Major League Baseball was the first of the four major professional sports to return to play. Here are the important things you need to know about the return to the field for the boys of summer.
Step up to the plate,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Remind me what happened last year
The Washington Nationals won their first World Series and everyone in sports still hates the Houston Astros for stealing signs. And no, we’re not talking about billboards.
1. The biggest talk of this season is obviously COVID but unlike many other professional sports, MLB (Major League Baseball) isn’t requiring their players to live in a “bubble.” They will be playing 60 games instead of 162 games and only playing regional games. Then there’s the Toronto Blue Jays who aren’t allowed to play at home per the Canadian Government, because the government didn’t want players coming back and forth into the country from the COVID hotspot that is the U.S. HOWDY NEIGHBOR
2. There may be no bubble but that doesn’t mean there aren’t A LOT of safety rules to follow. Some include no spitting (um have you ever watched a game? They all spit), no brawls, no showers and no licking fingers (this is something most pitchers do). Because of social distancing rules, games will start with some players sitting in the stands instead of the dugout. CHEER SQUAD
3. Since there will be no fans at the games, the league has found an interesting way to fill the silence. Fans can boo or cheer on their team via the MLB app and ballpark staff will adjust the sound accordingly in the stadium for the live game. Unlike attending a game in person, fans can boo their rival team from the bathroom. FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME
4. Filling the stands with compliant, well behaved fans has never been so easy. A handful of teams are selling personalized cardboard cutouts that will be placed in the stands during home games. Some have taken it to another level by benefitting a charity with each sale and others will send you the ball if it hits your cutout. WHAT WILL THEY THINK OF NEXT?
5. The first game of the season will be on Thursday, July 23 when the Washington Nationals take on the New York Yankees. Tune in early to see Dr. Anthony Fauci throw out the first pitch for his beloved Nats and stay for the highly anticipated pitcher’s duel between the two teams. STRIKE OUT COVID
If you want more about the new rules of the game for this season or our frequently asked questions, check out our baseball 101.
Making It Happen
This is no early April Fool’s prank; here’s what’s happening in sports so you can create conversation all weekend long.
This is no early April Fool’s prank; here’s what’s happening in sports so you can create conversation all weekend long.
Like a boss,
The Last Night’s Game Team
MLB (Major League Baseball)
If your Thursday was a home run. By all accounts, Opening Day in baseball was a success. It started with a home run on the first pitch of the season and ended with a visit from Jennifer Lopez in the broadcast booth, where her former baseball player boyfriend, Alex Rodriguez, was broadcasting the Los Angeles Dodgers – San Francisco Giants game.
College Basketball
If your mama taught you to respect your elders. The final four is Saturday night and it features Villanova (#1) vs. Kansas (#1) and Loyola Chicago (#11) vs. Michigan (#3). The teams may have met their match but so has Sister Jean. The 98-year-old nun and chaplain for Loyola has been challenged by Michigan’s “Fab Five” legend and former NBA (National Basketball Association) player Jalen Rose’s grandma. The 100-year-old Grandma Rose loves her some Michigan basketball and told Sister that “it’s been fun but Loyola’s time is up.” A little shade thrown from her elders.
Overtime
The Los Angeles Rams (NFL – National Football League) have made a lot of noise in the offseason with on-field acquisitions but this one made history. The Rams hosted cheerleading tryouts this week and their new squad will feature the first two male cheerleaders ever in the NFL. You’ll see Quinton and Napoleon, both professional dancers, on the sideline this the fall. (Other teams have stuntmen, but not actual male cheerleaders/dancers).
Sideline stat
The NCAA (governing body of college sports) allocates $3,000 - $4,000 for players’ families to attend the final four and the national championship game. The money is for travel costs, hotel rooms and meals. The funds allow Kansas player Udoka Azubuike’s mom to see her son play for the first time. Her visa was approved for travel from Nigeria. Also on Kansas, Svi Mykhailiuk, whose parents travelled from the Ukraine to see him play on Saturday. MORE
Coaches’ corner
Zeke Upshaw of the Detroit Pistons G League developmental league collapsed on the court on Saturday and later died. Last night, the Detroit Pistons honored Upshaw posthumously with an honorary call-up. Being called up means he’ll officially be memorialized in the record books as a player for the Detroit Pistons.
What to watch
March Madness continues tonight with the final four in the women’s bracket. Unlike the men’s bracket, all final four teams started off the tournament ranked #1 in their division – UConn, Notre Dame, Louisville and Mississippi State.
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Batter Up! 5 Things You Need To Know For Baseball's Opening Day
Even though it may not be shorts and tank top weather in your neck of the woods, the boys of summer are back. We have everything you need to know to talk about the long ball.
Even though it may not be shorts and tank top weather in your neck of the woods, the boys of summer are back. We have everything you need to know to talk about the long ball.
Swinging for the fences,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Five Things You Need To Know For Opening Day
1. Opening Day is tomorrow, Thursday March 29 and that’s the earliest start to the regular season in MLB (Major League Baseball) history (with the exception of international games played in the past few years in Japan and Australia). Why? This schedule will provide more rest days in the season. It’s also the first time since 1968 that every team is playing on the same day to start the season. The more the merrier!
2. Baseball players are called the boys of summer, but why? Baseball is the only major professional sport that spans the summer and starts and finishes the season in the same calendar year. It’s also the longest regular season in professional sports with 162 games.
3. Bringing some much needed excitement to the downtrodden island of Puerto Rico, the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins will play a two-game series in San Juan, Puerto Rico in April. The Los Angeles Dodgers have stepped up to help the island in a different way, pledging $2 million to help with the rebuilding efforts.
4. Need a reason for a gastronomical road trip? These stadiums have put the traditional beer and a hot dog to shame - Toronto Blue Jays for their Distillery Poutine, Atlanta Braves' Spec-Tater (potato AND a hot dog in one) and the Colorado Rockies for a Rocky Mountain Po’boy featuring, you guessed it, Rocky Mountain oysters. (If you don’t know what that is, a Google search - not on your work computer, will do the trick).
5. In the world where we want our news in 180 characters, the pace of game has been a huge issue for the league. They’re trying to speed up the game, which averaged a lengthy 3 hours and 7 minutes in 2017. (That also happens to the be the average time of an NFL - National Football League - game). Some teams are bringing back the bullpen cart to speed things along, although a golf cart driven by a mascot to escort a pitcher to the mound sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
Bonus - Want more of what's happening on the field and what players to watch for this season? HERE YOU GO
Three things that you won't be able to resist sharing
No, we're not telling you to share your breakfast, but the wisdom of the top three things happening in the sports world including, when kids speak the truth..on Twitter, how much LeBron James really spends on maintaining his peak performance and what does Game of Thrones have to do with MLB? READ