February 29, 2024 [LINK / comment]
Spring training is underway!
Yes, the birds are singing, the days are getting longer, buds are beginning to appear on trees, and the smell of well-oiled leather gloves is in the air -- baseball season is fast approaching!
For fans of the Washington Nationals, expectations for the 2024 season are once again rather modest, as only a few notable acquisitions were made during the off-season. They two signed free agent veterans: Nick Senzel (third baseman) on December 12, and Joey Gallo (outfielder) on January 27. Gallo played for the Minnesota Twins last year, the New York Yankees the year before that, and the Texas Rangers for the first nine years of his career. Gallo has a reputation for power, but has performed very unevenly in recent years, so it's hard to know what to expect.
Prospects are much brighter, in contrast, for the younger talent on the team. On the very first pitch he saw while wearing a Nationals uniform on the first day of spring training last Saturday, James Wood smashed a home run. The Nats were already behind 7-0, however, so this remarkable feat only had a symbolic effect in terms of narrowing the gap. The Nats lost that one to the Astros, 7-4. Wood hit another homer the next day, however, helping his team beat the Marlins. Today he hit his third home run of the season, immediately after Lane Thomas hit a solo homer in the first inning, as the Nationals beat the Cardinals 3-1. Obviously, wins and losses mean nothing in the pre-season, but it's nice to point out that the Nationals now have a 4-2 record for the season. In a Facebook group, I ventured a forecast that the Nationals would win 72 games this season, which would be one more game than they won last year, but if some of these young Nats players are as good as they appear, they might just end up with a winning season!
Orioles are for sale, not Nats
In a surprising development a few weeks ago, the Angelos family announced that the Baltimore Orioles are for sale, and significant progress toward a transaction has been made. Details to follow...
This is good news for the Washington Nationals, because it raises the possibility that the perennial legal dispute over television broadcasting rights might finally be resolved once and for all. Perhaps for this very reason, the Lerner family announced that they are no longer exploring potential buyers of the Nationals. Whether this means they are ready to commit enough resources to become a contending team once again is another matter, however.
Stadiums in the news
The Oakland Athletics remain committed to building a new stadium on the south side of the Las Vegas "Strip," but it is by no means a done deal. There seems to be a distinct lack of enthusiasm from the city residents as well as from the local government leaders. The Super Bowl cast favorable light on Sin City as a football venue, as the Kansas City Chiefs pulled off another miracle comeback win, this time against the San Francisco 49ers. Whether baseball would be as well suited in that desert region, however, is highly debatable. The big question is whether Las Vegas could fill the stands in a high-frequency sport such as baseball (81 home games per year); there's only about eight home games per year for NFL teams, and those events are usually at least 90 percent sold out. Last month the folks at bleedcubbieblue.com explored some of these issues. More recently, the question of where the Athletics will play after their lease at Oakland Coliseum expires at the end of this year. Some have suggested Sacramento or even Salt Lake City, but those seem far-fetched to me. Even if the A's do end up abandoning the city they have called home for over a half century, they'll probably manage to work out a deal with the city of Oakland so they can play there for the three or so years it will take to build a new stadium in Las Vegas. And of course, there is always the possibility that the Vegas deal will fall through, perhaps facilitating a deal to build a new stadium on the waterfront in downtown Oakland. You never know!
The Kansas City Royals have announced the site of the stadium which they are planning to build in the next few years. It will be located on the southeast side of downtown, on the land where the Kansas City Star once did business. I happen to think that Kauffman Stadium is just fine the way it is, but I guess you can't stop "progress" -- especially when gullible taxpayers let themselves be bamboozled by clever businessmen! Free enterprise? Not exactly. On April 2, voters in Jackson County, Missouri (which includes Kansas City) will get to vote on whether to approve a 40-year sales tax to fund a new Royals stadium as well as undertake further renovations of Arrowhead Stadium. See the Kansas City Star.
And finally, work is progressing on the new lower deck of Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Stadiums in the movies & TV
I made a few updates to my Baseball in the Movies page. Yankee Stadium appeared in an overhead aerial view during the opening scene of West Side Story (1961) and That Touch of Mink (1962), starring Cary Grant and Doris Day. Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Roger Maris appeared with those two actors in a humorous dugout scene.
Memorial Coliseum was featured in the movie Heaven Can Wait (1978), starring Warren Beatty, as well as in various television shows, including a 1965 episode of Perry Mason, starring Raymond Burr, 1972 episode of Columbo, starring Peter Falk, as well as an episode of Adam-12. For some reason, the bad guys tried to get away by driving into the Coliseum, which only has one exit for vehicles.
Et cetera, etc.
For the record, I updated the Baseball Introduction page with the new names of various stadiums, along with photos of the five (5) current MLB stadiums that I saw for the first time last summer.
NOTE: I've been swamped with teaching duties this semester, hence the paucity of blog posts and other updates, but I should have some time to get caught up on baseball matters during spring break, which begins one week from now...
January 3, 2023 [LINK / comment]
Are you ready for some football stadium photos?
Yes, sports fans, we are fast approaching the end of the NFL regular season, this coming Sunday, and the BCS Championship Game, to be held in [Houston -- NOT Las Vegas] next Monday. [The University of Washington Huskies will face the Michigan Wolverines. It so happens that I paid a visit to Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor in 2015, a day after seeing a Tigers game in Detroit, and I came to within a few miles of Husky Stadium last June.]
Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks since 2002; located just north of T-Mobile Park. For two years after departing their original home at the Kingdome, the Seahawks played their home games at Husky Stadium. (Photo taken June 22, 2023.)
The Football stadiums photo gallery page has been updated with new stadiums that I saw for the first time last June. That page includes photos of fourteen current NFL stadiums, one of which (Highmark Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills) will be replaced in two or three years. It also includes photos of six former NFL stadiums. In the back of one stadium in the latter group, the Astrodome, you can see part of NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans since 2002, so let's call it 14 1/2 current NFL stadium photos.
For those who keep up with such things, the Washington "Commanders," as the team formerly known as the "Redskins" are now called, will finish in last place in the NFC East Division. [This Sunday they will play the Dallas Cowboys, who are motivated by the prospect of taking the NFC East title from the Philadelphia Eagles. Right now the winningest teams in the NFL are the Baltimore Ravens (13-3, AFC) and the San Francisco 49ers (12-4, NFC). This year's Super Bowl (LVIII) will be played in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.]
New pro football stadium names
I was taken aback a few months ago when I was watching televised NFL games at stadiums whose names I had never heard of: Paycor Stadium? Acrisure Stadium? Empower Field?? It seems that every year there are multiple changes of pro football stadium names, perhaps even more than has been the case with MLB stadiums. And so, as a public service, here is a brief listing to clarify matters:
Home stadiums of NFL teams
Conference |
City, team |
Previous stadium name(s) |
Current stadium name |
Home stadium since |
AFC-E |
Buffalo Bills |
Rich Stadium / Ralph Wilson Stad. / New Era Field |
Highmark Stadium |
1973 |
AFC-E |
Miami Dolphins |
Joe Robbie Stadium / Dolphin Stad. / Landshark Stad. / Sun Life Stad. |
Hard Rock Stadium |
1987 |
AFC-E |
New England Patriots |
Gillette Stadium |
2002 |
AFC-E |
New York Jets |
New Meadowlands Stadium |
MetLife Stadium |
2010 |
AFC-S |
Houston Texans |
NRG Stadium |
2002 |
AFC-S |
Indianapolis * Colts |
Lucas Oil Stadium |
2008 |
AFC-S |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
Jacksonville Municipal Stadium / AllTel Stad. / Ever Bank Field |
TIAA Bank Field |
(1995) |
AFC-S |
Tennessee * Titans |
Adelphi Coliseum / The Coliseum / LP Field |
Nissan Stadium |
1999 |
AFC-N |
Baltimore * Ravens |
Ravens Stad. at Camden Yards / PSI Net Stad. / Ravens Stad. |
M&T Bank Stadium |
1998 |
AFC-N |
Cincinnati Bengals |
Paul Brown Stadium |
Paycor Stadium |
2000 |
AFC-N |
Cleveland Browns |
Cleveland Browns Stadium |
First Energy Stadium |
1999 |
AFC-N |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
Heinz Field |
Acrisure Stadium |
2001 |
AFC-W |
Denver Broncos |
Invesco Field / Sports Authority Field / Broncos Stad. at Mile High |
Empower Field at Mile High |
2001 |
AFC-W |
Kansas City Chiefs |
Arrowhead Stadium |
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium |
[1972] |
AFC-W |
Las Vegas *** Raiders |
Allegiant Stadium |
2020 |
AFC-W |
Los Angeles * Chargers |
SoFi Stadium |
2020 |
NFC-E |
Dallas Cowboys |
Cowboys Stadium |
AT&T Stadium |
2009 |
NFC-E |
New York Giants |
New Meadowlands Stadium |
MetLife Stadium |
2010 |
NFC-E |
Philadelphia Eagles |
Lincoln Financial Field |
2003 |
NFC-E |
Washington Commanders * |
Jack Kent Cooke Stadium |
FedEx Field |
1997 |
NFC-S |
Atlanta Falcons |
Mercedes Benz Stadium |
2017 |
NFC-S |
Carolina Panthers |
Ericsson Stadium |
Bank of America Stadium |
1996 |
NFC-S |
New Orleans Saints |
Louisiana Superdome / Mercedes Benz Superdome |
Caesar's Superdome |
1976 |
NFC-S |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
Raymond James Stadium |
1998 |
NFC-N |
Chicago Bears |
Soldier Field |
(1971) |
NFC-N |
Detroit Lions |
Ford Field |
2002 |
NFC-N |
Green Bay Packers |
Lambeau Field |
1957 * |
NFC-N |
Minnesota Vikings |
U.S. Bank Stadium |
2016 |
NFC-W |
Arizona ** Cardinals |
University of Phoenix Stadium |
State Farm Stadium |
2006 |
NFC-W |
Los Angeles ** Rams |
SoFi Stadium |
2020 |
NFC-W |
San Francisco 49ers |
Levi's Stadium |
2014 |
NFC-W |
Seattle Seahawks |
Seahawks Stadium / Qwest Field / CenturyLink Field |
Lumen Field |
2002 |
* = Past change or changes of team name, home city, etc.
(Parentheses) indicate that the stadium (or at least part of it) was built many years before the NFL team moved into it.
[Brackets] indicate subsequent correction; Arrowhead Stadium opened in 1972, not 1973 as previously shown. Thanks to Chris Knight for bringing this to my attention.
As you can see, only eight of the [32] NFL franchises have occupied a stadium with the same name for at least ten years. Six NFL stadiums were built less than ten years ago, and in all cases, they have the original names. The Football use page (which lists MLB stadiums that have been used for football, either pro or collegiate) has been updated with new stadium names, etc. I may have to make some further corrections and updates to it, however.
College football: realignment chaos
At the college level, 2023 will be remembered for the destruction of the Pacific 10 athletic conference. Prior to the 2023 season, all but four of its member institutions announced that they were joining other conferences. Next year the Pac 10 will cease to exist. Most notably, and stupidly, the Atlantic Coast Conference will absorb Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley next year, along with Southern Methodist University. This situation is getting totally out of hand, leading to confusion and angst. There's a lot of people getting rich by exploiting public sentiment subsidized by taxpayer money. Meanwhile, they are talking about paying college football athletes, doing away once and for all with the pretense that college sports are "amateurs." If that is the case, college athletic programs should not receive public funding, period.
It so happens that I paid a visit to the campus of one of those new ACC teams last June, before the announcement was made: the University of California at Berkeley. It is a beautiful campus, situated on a slope adjacent to a mountain range full of canyons.
California Memorial Stadium, located on the east (uphill) side of the campus in Berkeley, California. In the background you can see the landmark Sather Tower. (Photo taken June 20, 2023.)
As mentioned above, the Football stadiums photo gallery page has been updated with new stadiums that I saw for the first time last June, including the one you see here. That page now includes a total of ten college football stadiums.
NHL Winter Classic
Thanks to the Washington Post, I learned that the National Hockey League Winter Classic was held at T-Mobile Park on New Year's Day, so I updated the Other sports use page with that information, along with some other updates and corrections. I will need to recheck some of the stadium names, etc. on that page. Somehow I had previously overlooked the fact that the 2022 Winter Classic was held in Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. In due course I will update those respective stadium pages with hockey diagram versions.
Nats sign another pitcher
In my December 31 blog post, I neglected to mention one other player signed by the Washington Nationals: veteran relief pitcher Dylan Floro. He has played for eight years for the Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins, with very respectable numbers, but 2023 was an off year for him, so his one-year contract (worth $2.25 million) with the Nats will include some performance incentives. The Nationals' bullpen was one of their relatively strong roster areas last year, and they really need to acquire another solid starting pitcher and somebody who can slug the ball with consistency.
One faint sign of hope for the Nats' pitching rotation this year is the fact that Trevor Williams, who as of September 2 had the MLB lead for number of home runs allowed (34), did not give up any more for the rest of the month. He finished the season tied for fourth place, behind Lance Lynn (then a Dodger now a Cardinal), Lucas Giolito (then a White Sock now a Red Sock), and Jordan Lyles (with the Royals). Right behind Williams was Patrick Corbin with 33 home runs allowed. Corbin had some severe ups and downs during the 2023 season, and his place the Nats' 2024 rotation is uncertain.