The Yanks Are Coming...

This week my lifelong sports obsession, the New York Yankees, will fly to London to play two American baseball games against their arch rivals-- the dastardly Boston Red Sox. These two teams playing has often been called the most bitter rivalry in sports -- the two teams dislike each other (there have been a number of legendary on field brawls between the two teams) and the two fan bases absolutely detest each other. For my friends on the other side of the pond try to imagine rolling together the animosity of Arsenal-Manchester United, Celtic-Rangers, and Oxford-Cambridge and you get some idea of the level of this thing. It is not unusual for one team's pitcher (bowler) to throw a 97 miles per hour fastball under the chin of an opposing hitter, touching off some unpleasantness (Google: Yankees-Red Sox brawls).
I understand one of the former Olympic stadiums has been converted for baseball (the commentary over here is that the dimensions are on the smallish side, so many runs may be scored in the two games). I will be having breakfast this weekend with the telecasts from London -- Go Yankees !!!

ps -- The British understanding of American baseball has come in for some poking fun over here already:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKY5fmDGVLs

Here's a more sober report on British interest in American baseball:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...509-story.html

Love it Bill.
Explaining the game in terms of Cricket was extremely amusing.:clap:
No LBW rule though! nor Leg byes.
Rob.

The Chicago Tribune website is not accessible in Europe, I am sorry to report. We do have baseball teams over here but the standard of play is nowhere near as high as in the U.S.A..

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Originally Posted by Naharaht

The Chicago Tribune website is not accessible in Europe, I am sorry to report. We do have baseball teams over here but the standard of play is nowhere near as high as in the U.S.A..

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That's a pity you can't see the article as the article does talk about baseball being played in the U.K. and several people who have organized the British baseball association quoted in the article.
B.

I saw "The Yanks Are Coming..." and I thought, "Yeah, we are! What's the topic, again?"

I think it's Cricket Jason.:question:
Rob.

I like crickets. :wink:

I thought what I said was rather singular Jason. :wink:
Rob.

Apparently 130,000 tickets for the two games in London sold out in only 30 minutes -- 70% sold to UK customers....only 10 % to US customers....the rest to customers on the European continent. Here's more information on the games:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...lb/1582695001/

https://www.northjersey.com/story/sp...ve/1581331001/

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Originally Posted by Bligh

I thought what I said was rather singular Jason. :wink:
Rob.

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In all seriousness, I would rather watch cricket than baseball, though my inclination would be to watch the Indian Premier League rather than British cricket.

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Originally Posted by jasonb

In all seriousness, I would rather watch cricket than baseball, though my inclination would be to watch the Indian Premier League rather than British cricket.

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But Jason, baseball (like Lady Katisha) is an acquired taste ....:wink:

Not sure about that Bill. I once got caught out off my divine right elbow. :wink:
Rob.

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Originally Posted by jasonb

In all seriousness, I would rather watch cricket than baseball, though my inclination would be to watch the Indian Premier League rather than British cricket.

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I guess that would involve the Honourable East India company underwriters team vs the Bombay Marine or the Sepoys then? :wink:

Rob.

The New York Yankees have won more than twice as many championships than the next team. 27 for the Yankees, 11 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Everyone other than Yankee fans in the US have 2 favorite teams, their home team and anyone playing against the Yankees! Oh, by the way, I'm from Massachusetts so not a Yankee follower but a Red Sox fan. Bill and I don't discuss baseball when we meet. :wink: Go Sox! :clap:

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Originally Posted by TwoSheets

The New York Yankees have won more than twice as many championships than the next team. 27 for the Yankees, 11 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Everyone other than Yankee fans in the US have 2 favorite teams, their home team and anyone playing against the Yankees! Oh, by the way, I'm from Massachusetts so not a Yankee follower but a Red Sox fan. Bill and I don't discuss baseball when we meet. :wink: Go Sox! :clap:

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It is remarkable that such a seemingly level headed and intelligent person such as Peter can have these aberrant fits of misguided behavior -- Go Yankees !!!

Here is The Guardian's reporting on the games in London this weekend...

ttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/201...yankees-london

Here's some coverage from the New York papers:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/s...n-stadium.html

https://nypost.com/2019/06/29/yankee...group-of-fans/

And in really important news, Freddie Mercury wins the mascot race outdistancing Henry VIII, Churchill, and the Loch Ness monster:

https://www.mlb.com/cut4/freddie-mer...es-mascot-race

And oh yes....the Yankees crush the Red Sox 17-13 (it just feels so good...)

God is in his heaven...all is right with the world...Yankees 12 Red Sox 8...get out your brooms, the Sox have been swept ! :happy:

Guess that settles it then until the next time.
Rob.

They just couldn't get the best... Go Giants!

Amazing Jonas. You are a San Francisco Giants fan?
Rob.

Yes I am!

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Originally Posted by TexaS

Yes I am!

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I like minor league baseball as well...:takecover:

World series champions 2010, 2012 and 2014. How many times have the Yankees won the last ten years?

Let's see...27 championships...more than any other sports team....I think they're secure in their success...think the Giants will trade Mad Bum to the Yankees ?

And how many are ancient history and how many are in the last ten years?

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Originally Posted by TexaS

And how many are ancient history and how many are in the last ten years?

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As Sun Tzu said in "The Art of War": "When the rainwater rises and descends down to where you want to cross, wait until it settles." We baseball royalty take a longer view of things...:happy:

All I hear is: twice since the early sixtees... :happy:

** SIGH ** Here is the actual information....New York Yankees have 40 American League Championships and World Series Championships in: 2009, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1978, 1977, 1962, 1961, 1958, 1956, 1953, 1952, 1951, 1950, 1949, 1947, 1943, 1941, 1939, 1938, 1937, 1936, 1932, 1928, 1927, 1923....

Well, it appears that I missed some about twenty years ago, and I was only counting World Series Champions. It's still a decade ago since last for Yankees now.
I wouldn't compare further back than 1958 since that's when the Giants became San Francisco Giants. Still, there's not much to see until lately anyway. I became a Giants fan back in the 80ies and there's not been much to celebrate until lately.

2009 New York Yankees
2010 San Francisco Giants
2011 St. Louis Cardinals
2012 San Francisco Giants
2013 Boston Red Sox
2014 San Francisco Giants
2015 Kansas City Royals
2016 Chicago Cubs
2017 Houston Astros
2018 Boston Red Sox

I think the Giants have won a total of 8....five of them when they were the New York Giants -- when I was a kid I went to the old Polo Grounds a number of times (I got to see Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, etc. play).
All kidding aside, the Giants are a storied franchise and I was lucky enough to see them play in person a number of times. Here's hoping the Yankees break their dry spell this year. Our papers are full of stories that the Yankees are trying to trade for the Giants' Madison Bumgarner (aka "Mad Bum")...we'll see...

Yes, Giants have 8 World Series Championships and Red Sox just passed us with 9. Yankees have 27. I would like to get even with Red Sox again, but I don't think that'd happen this year. I do hope we'll keep Bumgarner.

I have seen the Giants in SF in person once.