American League Wild Card: Houston @ NY Yankees

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I think the Twins could probably have won the game last night if they had been there, which is kinda surprising.

With advancement on the line, not a chance.  Did you see the Twins-Yankees series in July and August?  Regardless of personnel, not a thing has changed in attitude between these two clubs since 2002.

 

Since then, in addition to last night, the Yankees have been beaten in playoff series by the following teams:

 

Detroit (3 times)

Texas

Cleveland

Boston

Anaheim (twice)

Florida

 

(And even our division mates the White Sox beat Anaheim after Anaheim beat the Yankees.)

 

But 4-0 in series (and 12-2 in games) against the Twins...

[biggentleben]

So, one of the following teams will represent the AL:

 

Texas, Kansas City, Toronto, Houston.

 

ESPN has to be crapping itself right now.

[Hrbowski]

 

So, one of the following teams will represent the AL:

 

Texas, Kansas City, Toronto, Houston.

 

ESPN has to be crapping itself right now.

They like Toronto.

[biggentleben]

 

They like Toronto.

 

They like big media markets. Toronto really isn't even in the same breath as a Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, or New York.

[Circus Boy]

Pleased to see the Rastrohs hold off the Angels to get the WC, then win at Yankee Stadium. Still will root for KC. Houston will show up, but KC in five games.

[twinsnorth49]

They like big media markets. Toronto really isn't even in the same breath as a Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, or New York.

In what context? As a baseball market? Toronto would represent the 3rd largest market on the US, it is a huge media market. Also, it's unique in that you have to include the rest of Canada when considering the Jays (present company excluded) or the Raptors.

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but it seems to me Toronto is a pretty major media centre.

[TheLeviathan]

Way to flip those bats on the homeruns 'Stros.  Be yourself and have fun.

[biggentleben]

 

In what context? As a baseball market? Toronto would represent the 3rd largest market on the US, it is a huge media market. Also, it's unique in that you have to include the rest of Canada when considering the Jays (present company excluded) or the Raptors.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but it seems to me Toronto is a pretty major media centre.

 

As a baseball market, especially with the NHL having already started. One of the great reports I read was in a book on the early 1990s Blue Jays discussing how one guy was surprised to see half of the televisions in a Toronto bar tuned into a World Series game while the other half were tuned into hockey. If, in the midst of a World Series, only half of the TVs at a bar are tuned into baseball in the town of the team playing for the World Series, that says something.

 

That's not a knock on Toronto in general, it's just that as a baseball market, it doesn't really compare to the markets I mentioned.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

You can hate the Yankees, but it was really hard to hate those Yankee teams in the late 90's with Torre and those guys.

 

Looks like MLB will get their big (baseball) market wish in the NL if maybe not the AL.

[biggentleben]

 

You can hate the Yankees, but it was really hard to hate those Yankee teams in the late 90's with Torre and those guys.

Looks like MLB will get their big (baseball) market wish in the NL if maybe not the AL.

 

Yep, LA, St. Louis, New York, Chicago. Can't be much bigger in baseball markets than that - though, of course the Cardinals somehow remain eligible each year for a compensatory draft pick based on competitive balance because of their small market...

 

Oh, and I could definitely hate those Yankees. They defeated my beloved Braves twice in that era.

[twinsnorth49]

As a baseball market, especially with the NHL having already started. One of the great reports I read was in a book on the early 1990s Blue Jays discussing how one guy was surprised to see half of the televisions in a Toronto bar tuned into a World Series game while the other half were tuned into hockey. If, in the midst of a World Series, only half of the TVs at a bar are tuned into baseball in the town of the team playing for the World Series, that says something.

 

That's not a knock on Toronto in general, it's just that as a baseball market, it doesn't really compare to the markets I mentioned.

Interesting, no doubt Toronto is a hockey town but the World Series bar story seems rather anecdotal. It doesn't seem to add up, they've averaged almost 900,000 viewers since the trade deadline and have topped 2 million a number if times. Those are gaudy numbers no matter who you are. The '92 and '93 teams averaged over 3.5 million viewers in Canada for the WS, most of which were in Ontario. Those two WS also rank in the top 5 highest rated and largest share championship series of the last 25 years.

 

Number 1?.....the '91 Twins-Braves series.

 

Toronto might not be the baseball market that NY, Boston or LA is, but it is a huge market, and one that loves a winner

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Oh, and I could definitely hate those Yankees. They defeated my beloved Braves twice in that era.

ok, Braves fans excepted (and Red Sox fans of course)

 

Otherwise it was hard to hate Torre and Zimmer, the young Jeter, Bernie Williams the classical guitarist, good guys Girardi and Tino Martinez, humble Mariano Rivera, so on. This was before the Clemens and A-Rod types came sniffing around. Those were some jolly good fellows on those late 90's teams.

[twinsnorth49]

ok, Braves fans excepted (and Red Sox fans of course)

 

Otherwise it was hard to hate Torre and Zimmer, the young Jeter, Bernie Williams the classical guitarist, good guys Girardi and Tino Martinez, humble Mariano Rivera, so on. This was before the Clemens and A-Rod types came sniffing around. Those were some jolly good fellows on those late 90's teams.

Torre...ok.....the rest, barf!

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Torre...ok.....the rest, barf!

You didn't hear the violins in the background of post?

[twinsnorth49]

You didn't hear the violins in the background of post?

Oops, had the mute button on.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Oops, had the mute button on.

I got a message saying the audio is disabled when it detects Yankees sentimentality, so it wouldn't have mattered.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

You can hate the Yankees, but it was really hard to hate those Yankee teams in the late 90's with Torre and those guys.

Hard to hate the late 90's Yankees?  That's when I learned to hate them.  When I was growing up, I learned they were a historical powerhouse but they were very much a bumbling, stumbling big market mess under Steinbrenner in the 1980's.  Interesting but benign.

 

But by 1998-2000, 3 straight World Series, 12-1 W-L record in them... very boring for a fan looking for some compelling baseball action outside the local 9.  In college, I remember celebrating the Diamondbacks win over the Yankees in 2001 as if the local team had done it, even though most of us couldn't have identified the Diamondbacks before that and probably haven't thought about them since.

 

 

Actually, the Gardy-era domination has probably shifted my Yankee hate more toward frustration, often directed at the Twins, although anti-Yankees is still my #1 non-Twins rooting interest.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Otherwise it was hard to hate Torre and Zimmer, the young Jeter, Bernie Williams the classical guitarist, good guys Girardi and Tino Martinez, humble Mariano Rivera, so on. This was before the Clemens and A-Rod types came sniffing around. Those were some jolly good fellows on those late 90's teams.

Clemens was there by 1999.

 

I guess the 1995-1997 teams were good but pretty innocuous, ALDS losses to the Mariners and Indians plus a reasonably competitive World Series win over the Braves.  Plus Seinfeld appearances which were fun.

 

But 1998, the year Seinfeld ended, they acquired Knoblauch and steamrolled the league, I think they firmly moved back into "team to hate" territory.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but it seems to me Toronto is a pretty major media centre.

Toronto is a major media centre, but ESPN prefers major media centers.  

 

Actually I don't know why ESPN was brought up, I doubt they really care -- they don't broadcast any postseason games after the AL Wild Card anyway.

 

FOX would be the ones affected, but by this point, I would hope they aren't too hung up on ratings.  Even the Red Sox in 2013 didn't provide much of a ratings boost.  Far more important now seems to be getting a 6 or 7 game series.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Series_television_ratings#Television_ratings_by_year.2C_1984_.E2.80.93_present

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

 

But 1998, the year Seinfeld ended, they acquired Knoblauch and steamrolled the league, I think they firmly moved back into "team to hate" territory.

It was more like "Yankee fatigue" for me. I still couldn't hate. As Dan Barreiro might say, "I am aroused by excellence."

 

And as you pointed out, by the time the Twins got good and started losing to them in the ALDS, it was more like "damn you Twins" than hating the Yankees. At least for me anyway.