Shoei Ohtani

[AccessBlaster]

And deny us our yearly entertainment as the uninitiated get initiated? Perish the thought!

I'm pretty sure he's referring to the vanquished one, but who knows.

 

[ColinEssex]

Thanks Doc. It seems to me as a foreigner that there could be several explanations for the World Series. I admit I am uninitiated about baseball etc. It seems like our game called 'rounders' which our schoolgirls play. Anyway, no point in debating it as its an American thing and I respect that.
So I'll say no more. (Until next year)
Col

 

[BlueSpruce]

its an American thing and I respect that.

Baseball is also a British thing. The UK has a National Team and a National League.

https://britishbaseball.org.uk/

 

[AccessBlaster]

There is a team called 'The Royals' you might be more comfortable with

 

[BlueSpruce]

Regardless of what the authorities say, I like to delude myself into thinking it is called the World Series because (a) the game of American style baseball IS played world-wide and (b) the individual players are from multiple nations.

But seriously, the international organization that hosts the Little League World Series actually DOES bring in clubs from around the world. Their format is to hold parallel championships of USA teams for the USA champions and non-USA teams for the International champions, then those two champions play one more game for the World championship.

In 2019, the USA LLWS champions faced a team from Curacao. The boys from the USA, who originated from River Ridge, Louisiana, won the world title that year - in a fairly convincing fashion. River Ridge is about 3 miles from where I lived until about 1990. We were proud of those kids, all of whom were 12 years old or younger. For a brief time they were celebrities but then reality kicked in and they had to go back to school.

Lot's of baseball in my hometown of Clearwater, in Greater Tampa Bay, Florida. The Philadelphia Phillies have been doing their Spring Training in Clearwater since 1947. The New York Yankees do theirs in Tampa, in a stadium that resembles Yankee Stadium in New York. A total of 15 Major League teams do their Spring Training in Florida. It's called the Grapefruit League and they play several exhibition games before the regular season starts. Every year it generates billions for the local economy:

• Atlanta Braves: CoolToday Park in North Port
• Baltimore Orioles: Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota
• Boston Red Sox: JetBlue Park in Fort Myers
• Detroit Tigers: Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland
• Houston Astros: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach
• Miami Marlins: Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter
• Minnesota Twins: Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers
• New York Mets: Clover Park in Port St. Lucie
• New York Yankees: George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa
• Philadelphia Phillies: BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater
• Pittsburgh Pirates: LECOM Park in Bradenton
• St. Louis Cardinals: Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter
• Tampa Bay Rays: Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte
• Toronto Blue Jays: TD Ballpark in Dunedin
• Washington Nationals: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach

 

[KitaYama]

And now social media is filled with comments saying the whole series was rigged.
It seems that so many people believe there's no way US allow a non-American team win the series.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

And now social media is filled with comments saying the whole series was rigged.
It seems that so many people believe there's no way US allow a non-American team win the series.

I can't address "rigged" because I stopped watching baseball some time ago. The Toronto Blue Jays DID win the world series a little over 30 years ago. Not long after that, they fell on hard times as good players aged out and retired, and new players were slow to gain skills. My wife and I went on vacation about 20 years ago, going through Montreal, Toronto, and Niagara. We ate at a sports pub in Toronto while the locals watched the televised game between Toronto and Detroit. The comments from the local citizens reminded me of those years when the New Orleans Saints football team wasn't doing so well and fans brought bags with eye-hole cutouts to wear over their heads at the stadium... during which time they cheered for the 'Aints' anonymously. Then in 2006, Drew Brees made the Saints a team to be seriously considered again and the bags stayed home.