On game ops (for real this time), dugout vibes, RISP, pitching and defence, José Bautista, whatever Jays stuff I've been tweeting about this week, and more!
Am I crazy or did Craig Kimbrel have a large black spot in the middle of his cap that he rubbed before each pitch?Maybe I'm seeing things but I don't think so.
I was at José’s last home game. No official farewell planned because the front office was making the right noises etc etc but everybody knew it was the end of an era. So the fans were doing it on their own, cheering him at every opportunity.
Then the team hung back and let him run out onto the field alone at the top of the ninth. Everybody could see how emotional it was for him. Long standing ovation and spontaneous start of the olé chant. All the feels. And then some fuckwit started blaring in the canned version of the olé chant.
Got so mad remembering I had to walk away. I should probably let it go.
Anyway, to finish the thought, bad decision making by stadium operations isn’t new. Also the volume problem because I think a lot of it depends on where you’re sitting.
The infield 200s, if you’re sitting further back than the 6th row, is a nightmare. Speakers are placed at the outer edge of the overhang (above the 6th row) and angled to the back of the section, which is basically a concrete cave. The outfield 200s are actually ok because the back of the section is not a concrete wall.
You know where things sound pretty good (if you can ignore the constant command to clap your hands)? The 100s. Speakers are far enough away that it all makes for an exciting background hum. Can’t even tell if it’s fake crowd noise if you’re not paying attention. With the planned renovations for the money bag seats, and the exclusive lounges that come with them, those seats will be more important than ever. So yeah, they might try to do some stuff to make it bearable for the masses, but I think they’ll be mixing their levels based on feedback from behind the plate.
I really, really hope the team takes the criticism of the in-game sound to heart and reserves the sound clips for moments when it makes a difference, rather than just playing ear-splitting irritation fuel after every single pitch. It definitely feels like they've ratcheted up both the volume and the frequency of playback, and it just straight up sucks. I would say it's knocked a solid thirty percent plus off of how much I enjoy going to games, and I'm not even old (even though I feel like it!). P.S. I am not a crank!
Robin's comment about the pitch clock leading to less time spent with the players on the broadcast is really interesting and I think quite insightful. It's hard to feel a connection with players who you just see for the four minutes they spend at the plate and the two minutes they spend making plays in a game and the odd postgame interview. (or however much, you know what I mean). Could definitely be an unintended consequence, and it will be interesting to see what can be done about it.
I've enjoyed the shorter, snappier games, but I am finding that the games don't breathe as much as they used to. The in-game playback (when at the ballpark) definitely contributes to that (it takes up what little breathing room there still is), and I think possibly the pitch clock contributes to how irritating the playback is. If they play one playback per pitch, and that takes up the whole time between pitches or near enough, that's a big difference from one playback per pitch and it taking up half the time between pitches.
Thanks for another interesting article and the space to yell at clouds heh.
We cannot waste team pitching performances like this - they don't happen every year. I just worry that the Seattle remaining schedule and playing the A's all year is going to be our downfall, which would be cruel.
I actually put out a question/thought in the last mailbag (which you didn't get to which is understandable as there were about 10 comments about RISP) where I suggested that perhaps our RISP performance simply has to be a random thing. Glad to see that may just be what it is. Baseball is so random. You could field this same team next year and have the offence dominate and the pitching regress. It's just so unpredictable. Moreso than any other sport I would argue.
It was good to see Jose get so emotional. He really wanted to have his sunglasses on the whole time I think! One of the better ceremonies I've seen.
Am I crazy or did Craig Kimbrel have a large black spot in the middle of his cap that he rubbed before each pitch?Maybe I'm seeing things but I don't think so.
Thank you, Andrew, for this cromulent medium-sized post.
I was at José’s last home game. No official farewell planned because the front office was making the right noises etc etc but everybody knew it was the end of an era. So the fans were doing it on their own, cheering him at every opportunity.
Then the team hung back and let him run out onto the field alone at the top of the ninth. Everybody could see how emotional it was for him. Long standing ovation and spontaneous start of the olé chant. All the feels. And then some fuckwit started blaring in the canned version of the olé chant.
Got so mad remembering I had to walk away. I should probably let it go.
Anyway, to finish the thought, bad decision making by stadium operations isn’t new. Also the volume problem because I think a lot of it depends on where you’re sitting.
The infield 200s, if you’re sitting further back than the 6th row, is a nightmare. Speakers are placed at the outer edge of the overhang (above the 6th row) and angled to the back of the section, which is basically a concrete cave. The outfield 200s are actually ok because the back of the section is not a concrete wall.
You know where things sound pretty good (if you can ignore the constant command to clap your hands)? The 100s. Speakers are far enough away that it all makes for an exciting background hum. Can’t even tell if it’s fake crowd noise if you’re not paying attention. With the planned renovations for the money bag seats, and the exclusive lounges that come with them, those seats will be more important than ever. So yeah, they might try to do some stuff to make it bearable for the masses, but I think they’ll be mixing their levels based on feedback from behind the plate.
Cheers Andrew... I thoroughly enjoy these brief but insightful posts. More please.
Great post! Thanks for the content, Stoeten. That Simpson Birds and the Bees reference is why I’m here.
I really, really hope the team takes the criticism of the in-game sound to heart and reserves the sound clips for moments when it makes a difference, rather than just playing ear-splitting irritation fuel after every single pitch. It definitely feels like they've ratcheted up both the volume and the frequency of playback, and it just straight up sucks. I would say it's knocked a solid thirty percent plus off of how much I enjoy going to games, and I'm not even old (even though I feel like it!). P.S. I am not a crank!
Robin's comment about the pitch clock leading to less time spent with the players on the broadcast is really interesting and I think quite insightful. It's hard to feel a connection with players who you just see for the four minutes they spend at the plate and the two minutes they spend making plays in a game and the odd postgame interview. (or however much, you know what I mean). Could definitely be an unintended consequence, and it will be interesting to see what can be done about it.
I've enjoyed the shorter, snappier games, but I am finding that the games don't breathe as much as they used to. The in-game playback (when at the ballpark) definitely contributes to that (it takes up what little breathing room there still is), and I think possibly the pitch clock contributes to how irritating the playback is. If they play one playback per pitch, and that takes up the whole time between pitches or near enough, that's a big difference from one playback per pitch and it taking up half the time between pitches.
Thanks for another interesting article and the space to yell at clouds heh.
Great post on a wide range of topics!
We cannot waste team pitching performances like this - they don't happen every year. I just worry that the Seattle remaining schedule and playing the A's all year is going to be our downfall, which would be cruel.
I actually put out a question/thought in the last mailbag (which you didn't get to which is understandable as there were about 10 comments about RISP) where I suggested that perhaps our RISP performance simply has to be a random thing. Glad to see that may just be what it is. Baseball is so random. You could field this same team next year and have the offence dominate and the pitching regress. It's just so unpredictable. Moreso than any other sport I would argue.
It was good to see Jose get so emotional. He really wanted to have his sunglasses on the whole time I think! One of the better ceremonies I've seen.