# MLB 2020 Spring training thread starts here **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [February 19, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172 "2020-02-19T14:56:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/41 "2020-03-13T16:40:10Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > _Bang the Drum Slowly_ is a great movie. I guess you could say it’s not a great “baseball” movie, but it’s one of my favorite movies. If you haven’t seen it, seek it out! I have seen it, it is a very good drama but not great for a baseball fix. The cast is great though. A virtually unknown De Niro among many others. It really is worth a watch. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/42 "2020-03-13T17:55:01Z")
I’ll add the following movies to your list: The Rookie (2002): It’s Disneyfied, but this based-on-a-true-story movie is well told. It’s in my top 5 of baseball movies. Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977): This is the 2nd movie, where they get to play in the Astrodome. It’s not as good as the original, but it’s actually pretty damn close. Moneyball: Honestly, I’ll watch anything with Philip Seymour Hoffman. I don’t know how they told that story of the Oakland As without even mentioning Miguel Tejada, but they did! Trouble With the Curve: Just kidding - this movie is garbage. Sugar (2008): A great story about a minor leaguer from Central America. Very good. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/43 "2020-03-13T20:30:03Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Moneyball: Honestly, I’ll watch anything with Philip Seymour Hoffman. I don’t know how they told that story of the Oakland As without even mentioning Miguel Tejada, but they did! Didn’t they also neglect to mention that they had Zito, Hudson and Mulder? Maybe the best starting trio in MLB that season? ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/44 "2020-03-13T20:36:58Z")
I would add _Rookie of the Year_ to the if-you’re-desperate list. Under no circumstances would I rewatch _Major League: Back to the Minors_, though. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/45 "2020-03-13T20:42:43Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I would add _Rookie of the Year_ to the if-you’re-desperate list. Under no circumstances would I rewatch _Major League: Back to the Minors_, though. I agree on both. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/46 "2020-03-13T21:28:59Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I would add _Rookie of the Year_ to the if-you’re-desperate list. And _Little Big League_. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/47 "2020-03-13T23:16:27Z")
Thank you for the baseball flicks. I searched Netflix for the drum beater. Don’t have it. But they gave these selections: Weeds on Fire. (Chinese) Hope, one in a million Screwball Battered Bastards of Baseball Haven’t seen any. How 'bout you players? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/48 "2020-03-13T23:22:33Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Thank you for the baseball flicks. > > I searched Netflix for the drum beater. Don’t have it. But they gave these selections: > > Weeds on Fire. (Chinese) > Hope, one in a million > Screwball > Battered Bastards of Baseball > > Haven’t seen any. How 'bout you players? **Battered Bastards of Baseball** was interesting. Might give a good second tier baseball fix. Screwball, I didn’t make it through. Wait, I’m thinking about a doc about Tim Wakefield, it looks like this is something else. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/49 "2020-03-14T03:11:36Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > **Battered Bastards of Baseball** was interesting. Might give a good second tier baseball fix. Especially for fans of Kurt Russell. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/50 "2020-03-14T23:30:49Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Didn’t they also neglect to mention that they had Zito, Hudson and Mulder? Maybe the best starting trio in MLB that season? Besides Tejada and the big three starters, the book and movie barely mention Eric Chavez either. The five best players on the team that year by WAR, and by pretty much any other measure you;d care to name. But they didn’t fit the _narrative_…If I didn’t know better I’d think the A’s were successful that year because of Scott Hatteberg and Ricardo Rincon. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/51 "2020-03-14T23:42:24Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > **Battered Bastards of Baseball** was interesting. Might give a good second tier baseball fix. > > Gracias. I saw it last night. Was nice, but gave a few lumps in the throat/ > > Screwball, I didn’t make it through. Wait, I’m thinking about a doc about Tim Wakefield, it looks like this is something else. I think that is it. About a seller of PEDS. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/52 "2020-03-15T03:18:48Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Besides Tejada and the big three starters, the book and movie barely mention Eric Chavez either. The five best players on the team that year by WAR, and by pretty much any other measure you;d care to name. But they didn’t fit the _narrative_…If I didn’t know better I’d think the A’s were successful that year because of Scott Hatteberg and Ricardo Rincon. There’s a whole section of the book where Beane brags about Chavez. People keep forgetting it’s there. Having said that, Michael Lewis had a point to make, so of course he looked at the information that made it. Moneyball is NOT primarily a book about baseball. It is a business book about the phenomenon of mis-valuing of assets. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/53 "2020-03-16T20:19:39Z")
Update: [Opening Day now postponed by at least 7 weeks](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28911970/mlb-opening-day-pushed-mid-earliest). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/54 "2020-03-16T20:22:51Z")
Well, better to decide now. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/55 "2020-03-19T17:37:57Z")
How short could a viable season be, anyway? Half? It’s hard to imagine starting in mid-August and then having a postseason after 40 games. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/56 "2020-03-19T18:00:57Z")
I think 80-100 games is enough. MLB will be inclined to do SOMETHING. Every game makes money. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/57 "2020-03-19T18:07:24Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > How short could a viable season be, anyway? Half? It’s hard to imagine starting in mid-August and then having a postseason after 40 games. The only significantly shortened season that MLB has had in its modern history (but which did feature a postseason) was 1981, due to a players’ strike in mid-season; that year, teams played just over 100 regular-season games. It led to a revised post-season format, in which the first round pitted the division leaders in the first half of the season against the leaders from the second half of the season. We also had 1994, in which the players went on strike in mid-August, after ~115 games, but there was no postseason that year. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/58 "2020-03-19T18:27:02Z")
I should also note that, in 1918, the major leagues ended their seasons about a month early, due to the ongoing effects of World War I; teams played about 125 games that season, and there was a World Series. (Normal schedules in that era were 154 games.) Then, in 1919, they played a slightly abbreviated schedule of 140 games. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/59 "2020-03-20T00:02:36Z")
With a shortened season, I am hoping for an adjustment. Anyone know of anything? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172/60 "2020-03-22T19:16:49Z")
Another question: I know it would depend on contract wording, but if a team signed someone for the 2020 season and it didn’t happen, would the contract roll over to the 2021 season? I’m thinking Mookie here. My feeling is that if he gets paid for not doing shit this year, he owes the Dodgers the 2021 season _gratis_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2020-spring-training-thread-starts-here/848172.md?page=4)