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No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2019 9:57 pm
by silverscreenselect
If you will note today's MLB schedule, there were only 12 games played today on the Fourth of July. I can't ever remember teams not playing on July 4 unless there was a rainout. But the Mets, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Giants, Orioles, and Astros were off today. And since the Yankees were on the road, that meant that there was no game in New York City today. To make matters worse, one of the teams that was at home today was Toronto, the one team in the majors for which the Fourth does not have special significance. This continues the pattern started on Memorial Day, when the Braves had the day off.

I realize that the Fourth fell on a Thursday this year, which is often an off-day, but I'm sure that with a little effort the schedule makers could have worked around that. There just seems something wrong with 20% of the teams of the major leagues of the national pastime having the day off on the nation's birthday.

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 12:44 am
by Bob78164
silverscreenselect wrote:If you will note today's MLB schedule, there were only 12 games played today on the Fourth of July. I can't ever remember teams not playing on July 4 unless there was a rainout. But the Mets, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Giants, Orioles, and Astros were off today. And since the Yankees were on the road, that meant that there was no game in New York City today. To make matters worse, one of the teams that was at home today was Toronto, the one team in the majors for which the Fourth does not have special significance. This continues the pattern started on Memorial Day, when the Braves had the day off.

I realize that the Fourth fell on a Thursday this year, which is often an off-day, but I'm sure that with a little effort the schedule makers could have worked around that. There just seems something wrong with 20% of the teams of the major leagues of the national pastime having the day off on the nation's birthday.
On the plus side, it did give Jeff McNeil of the Mets to judge the annual hot dog eating contest at Nathan's. --Bob

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 12:59 am
by Estonut
silverscreenselect wrote:...Toronto, the one team in the majors for which the Fourth does not have special significance.
Since 72.5% of Toronto's 40-Man Roster are Americans, I suspect the Fourth of July might have more significance to the team than you claim.

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:06 am
by MarkBarrett
It was the first time since 1941 for the Giants not playing on the 4th. They had played 20 days in a row and that is the maximum allowed by union rules.

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:31 am
by Bob78164
MarkBarrett wrote:It was the first time since 1941 for the Giants not playing on the 4th. They had played 20 days in a row and that is the maximum allowed by union rules.
To be more precise, the maximum allowed by the collective bargaining agreement. --Bob

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:37 am
by Ritterskoop
Bob78164 wrote:
MarkBarrett wrote:It was the first time since 1941 for the Giants not playing on the 4th. They had played 20 days in a row and that is the maximum allowed by union rules.
To be more precise, the maximum allowed by the collective bargaining agreement. --Bob
I fail to see the need for this distinction. Mark's phrase told the story well enough. Most people understand that the "rules" could change with the next CBA.

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 9:36 am
by silverscreenselect
MarkBarrett wrote:It was the first time since 1941 for the Giants not playing on the 4th. They had played 20 days in a row and that is the maximum allowed by union rules.
With all the computers they've got, somebody at MLB could have figured out a way to give the Giants a Monday or Thursday off in the preceding three weeks.

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 10:14 am
by triviawayne
silverscreenselect wrote:
MarkBarrett wrote:It was the first time since 1941 for the Giants not playing on the 4th. They had played 20 days in a row and that is the maximum allowed by union rules.
With all the computers they've got, somebody at MLB could have figured out a way to give the Giants a Monday or Thursday off in the preceding three weeks.
some stadiums are used for more than just baseball, so maybe they couldn't, or didn't care since they obviously had other teams off on the 4th.

This entire thread has yet to mention how Friday/Saturday/Sunday is the most preferred days of the week for a full series to be played.

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 11:01 am
by littlebeast13
triviawayne wrote:This entire thread has yet to mention how Friday/Saturday/Sunday is the most preferred days of the week for a full series to be played.

And yet four teams aren't playing today because putting 2 game interleague series on Saturday/Sunday has become a thing since the extra days off were added a couple years ago...
SSS wrote:...Toronto, the one team in the majors for which the Fourth does not have special significance.
Esto wrote:Since 72.5% of Toronto's 40-Man Roster are Americans, I suspect the Fourth of July might have more significance to the team than you claim.

If it was significant at all to Toronto's American players, I'd assume they'd rather be playing in the US on the Fourth... though I doubt they really care one way or the other. Toronto's fans surely don't care...

Interestingly, I figured Toronto was at home Thursday because of the fact that they always request being at home for Canada Day on the 1st. But that game was the finale of a wrap-around four game series from over the weekend. It's somewhat puzzling scheduling, though as a "let the chips fall where they may" kind of person, I'd rather there be that random chance that teams have a holiday off if it falls on a Monday or Thursday...

lb13

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 9:16 pm
by Bob78164
Ritterskoop wrote:
Bob78164 wrote:
MarkBarrett wrote:It was the first time since 1941 for the Giants not playing on the 4th. They had played 20 days in a row and that is the maximum allowed by union rules.
To be more precise, the maximum allowed by the collective bargaining agreement. --Bob
I fail to see the need for this distinction. Mark's phrase told the story well enough. Most people understand that the "rules" could change with the next CBA.
As written it suggests that the union had the power to impose that rule unilaterally. And I've been on the Bored long enough to believe that there are people here who would believe the incorrect inference. So I took a moment to provide both more precision and more accuracy, which I didn't imagine would be a problem, particularly on a Bored nominally devoted to trivia knowledge. --Bob

Re: No Baseball on the Fourth of July?

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:14 pm
by SportsFan68
The Rockies almost always have Thursday off. This was annoying to SteelersFan on the Fourth, who somehow has become RockiesFan rather than PiratesFan.

NB Pennsylvanians, he will never be BroncosFan.