# MLB: March/April 2018 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 29, 2018, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387 "2018-03-29T01:43:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 29, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/21 "2018-03-29T20:46:14Z")
Giancarlo Stanton has his first at-bat as a Yankee: two run homer, opposite field! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/22 "2018-03-29T21:40:36Z")
This Justin Verlander guy, he’s pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/23 "2018-03-29T21:52:55Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Kyle Schwarber has just again proved that he’s the worst fielding outfielder in the major leagues. You would have been in very good company if you had attended, today. I’m fairly certain Cubs fans outnumbered Marlins fans. Getting TO that stadium is an incredible cluster. I am not exaggerating when I say it took me 10 minutes to drive five miles from my hotel to the area around the stadium. And then a half hour to go the final four blocks. Some of the worst traffic management I’ve seen at any stadium. That being said, it’s a pretty nice stadium. The cheerleaders are an odd touch, though. 18 down, 12 to go. Viva Opening Day! ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/24 "2018-03-29T22:24:34Z")
My Dodgers look set to start strongly, and I will repeat my vow of last year not to mock the Giants whenever they fall to double digits behind in the standings. That article about Melancon’s arm, though, that sounds bad. I wish him a speedy recovery, and might even extend that to the Mad Bum. Hate to see pennant chases derailed by too many injuries… ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/25 "2018-03-29T23:19:54Z")
Woo-hoo! The only thing nicer than having the Yankees win their opener is having the Yankees win their opener AND having the Red Sox blow a 4-0 lead in the 8th inning and lose. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/26 "2018-03-29T23:22:16Z")
So here’s something interesting. In 1975 bleacher seats at Fenway cost $1.50. Per an online inflation calculator, that would be $7.17 today. Unfortunately, those same tickets cost [$41.00](http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/MLBEventInfo?agency=MLB&&orgid=23&pid=8523240&tfl=Boston_Red_Sox-tickets-Boston_Red_Sox:_Tickets:_Red_Sox_Single_Game_Tickets-single_game_tickets-x0-Desktop-Landscape) today. ---
**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 29, 2018, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/27 "2018-03-29T23:41:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > BASEBALL! > BASEBALL BASEBALL BASEBALL BASEBALL BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASEBALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!! > > Hey guys you know what today is? Ya know? Ya know? It’s BASEBALL! Baseball is back! BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > > BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > > I’ll tell you what I like is BASEBALL! Lots and lots and lots of baseball, baseball every day, baseball all day. I like baseball on TV and on the radio and live. I like reading about baseball and playing baseball and watching baseball and listening to baseball and that makes today great 'cause BASEBALL is back, lots and lots and baseball, and the more baseball the better, 'cause BASEBALL. > > Gimme baseball, a whole lotta baseball. Today’s the day for baseball, as every day should be 'cause baseball is the best, but today is special because it’s been way too long since BASEBALL! > > BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > BASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALLBASEBALL > > What do I like about baseball, you ask? Let me tell you, I like a lot of things about baseball; I like ballparks and home runs and stolen bases and hot dogs and baseball diamonds and baseball shows and baseball books and the crack of the bat! I like extra innings and pitchouts and bullpens and popcorn and Hall of Fame arguments and role players and superstars and relief pitchers and slides and foul balls and souvenirs and cheering crowds and scoreboards! If it’s a part of baseball I like it, 'cause BASEBALL IS BACK AND I LOVE BASEBALL. > > This year 2430 regular season games are scheduled. Not enough. I want 24,300 and 243,000 would be better still because the only thing better than baseball is MORE BASEBALL and the only thing better than more baseball is MORE BASEBALL THAN THAT. Gimme baseball, all the baseball! > > BASEBALL! What he said! The long winter is over now that baseball is back. Doesn’t matter if there is still some snow out there. Doesn’t matter if it drops below freezing again next week a few nights. It is spring! Baseball is the greatest sport of them all. It lives though the years, the decades and yes even the centuries. We still talk of those that came over 100 years ago, what other sport has that? as the Babe said, \*\*“The only real game, I think, in the world is baseball.” \*\*Oh and as a bonus the Yanks, my Yanks, looked great today. Stanton had a hell of a first game. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/28 "2018-03-30T00:16:13Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > You would have been in very good company if you had attended, today. I’m fairly certain Cubs fans outnumbered Marlins fans. > > Getting TO that stadium is an incredible cluster. I am not exaggerating when I say it took me 10 minutes to drive five miles from my hotel to the area around the stadium. And then a half hour to go the final four blocks. Some of the worst traffic management I’ve seen at any stadium. > > That being said, it’s a pretty nice stadium. The cheerleaders are an odd touch, though. 18 down, 12 to go. Viva Opening Day! South Florida must have the worst fans in the USA. I know everyone’s a transplant from someplace else, but South Florida takes it to a ridiculous extreme. Someone who is 35 and hasn’t lived in New York since they were in diapers is still a Yankees fan down in South Fla. South Florida only backs winners so everyone jumped on board the Heat, Panthers, and Marlins bandwagons when they were doing well, other wise they draw flies with the opposing fans outnumbering people rooting for the home team. I’ve attended a few Marlins games at the old park, what an awful place for baseball that stadium was. Absolutely nothing besides a couple of car dealerships by the old park. I"m glad the new park is decent. although the corruption to get it built would shock a Chicago politician. ---
**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 30, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/29 "2018-03-30T02:05:56Z")
And the Giants lead the NLWest. I know. The words don’t make any sense to me either. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/30 "2018-03-30T02:15:06Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > And the Giants lead the NLWest. > > I know. The words don’t make any sense to me either. Well, they make perfect sense to me. 😃 It was a great game. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/31 "2018-03-30T02:58:54Z")
Astros used a four-man outfield in Joey Gallo’s at-bats today. Worked for the first game, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/32 "2018-03-30T03:15:18Z")
It came out today that the Toronto Blue Jays are giving tickets to online scalpers - indeed, **more tickets than they sell through the box office** - and taking a cut of the proceeds of the vastly more expensive tickets. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/33 "2018-03-30T12:40:34Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It came out today that the Toronto Blue Jays are giving tickets to online scalpers - indeed, **more tickets than they sell through the box office** - and taking a cut of the proceeds of the vastly more expensive tickets. How’s that work? Instead of selling the tickets themselves for say $50, they give them to a third party to sell for $100 and getting $20 of the cut? Why not keep the tickets and keep all sales for themselves? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/34 "2018-03-30T13:16:44Z")
My concerns over the Red Sox bullpen are not unfounded, after that 6-run 8th yesterday where both Kelly and Smith couldn’t find home plate with a GPS. I don’t trust any of the setup guys to get to Kimbrel, and there’s no obvious fill-in closer if he goes down. Signing Greg Holland would have taken care of most of that, but for some reason they never tried. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/35 "2018-03-30T14:28:53Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Oh and as a bonus the Yanks, my Yanks, looked great today. Stanton had a hell of a first game. I’m worried about Aaron Judge, though. He hasn’t hit a home run all year! Maybe it’s time to send him down to AAA. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/36 "2018-03-30T14:57:31Z")
the Orioles had a nice opening day, culminating in a walkoff HR in the 11th, their third season in a row with a walkoff opening day victory. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/37 "2018-03-30T15:27:17Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > How’s that work? Instead of selling the tickets themselves for say $50, they give them to a third party to sell for $100 and getting $20 of the cut? Why not keep the tickets and keep all sales for themselves? The markups are way higher than that; over 100 percent on average and 300-500 percent for some tickets. A $148 ticket was going for $750. So at that price you can let the scalper keep a lot of money and still realize a hefty added profit. Even at your price suggestion, why would they only take $20? Take your $50 ticket, and give it to a scalping front. Let them keep $35 - it’s almost pure profit for them if you’re not charging them anything - and keep $65. Obviously this can only work if demand is very high; Opening Day is always a sellout, and Toronto led the AL in attendance the last two years. Attendance will fall in April since 1. April weekday games are always light in Toronto, 2. The team was bad last year and Toronto is a win-sensitive market, and 3. The Blue Jays significantly hiked ticket prices this year. So I assume they won’t scalp as many seats, but will wait for higher attendance games. I find it disgraceful. ---
**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 30, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/38 "2018-03-30T18:30:04Z")
I would just like to point out that [Matt Davidson](http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22959954/chicago-white-sox-dh-matt-davidson-hits-3-opening-day-home-runs-vs-kansas-city-royals) is a former student of mine. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/39 "2018-03-30T18:55:17Z")
Reds opening day postponed to today due to rain. Homer Bailey goes for the Reds, Max Sherzer for the Nats. Should be on TV for anyone to watch as it’s the only 4 o’clock game today. A few opening day questions: Are the Reds still (other than the weather like yesterday) the only team that has the very first pitch thrown in all of MLB at their place on opening day? I know that was the case for quite awhile, but I sense this has changed. Reds opening day is always on Thursday, then I think they always get a day off on the next day and play Saturday and Sunday to finish the series. Are they the only team that gets a day off after opening day (this season aside)? By the way, the Cincinnati Findlay Market parade is 98 years old today. Opening Day here is probably different than elsewhere. Tons of people take off work to go, kids take off school, lots of parades, daydrinking, etc. It’s a city-wide holiday here. I have been exactly once due to a paucity or expense of tickets. It’s a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387/40 "2018-03-30T19:15:06Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > . . . Are the Reds still (other than the weather like yesterday) the only team that has the very first pitch thrown in all of MLB at their place on opening day? I know that was the case for quite awhile, but I sense this has changed. . . . In the old days, the Senators had that honor. I thought the Nats continued the tradition, but I guess not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2018/811387.md?page=3)