'THE CROWD GOES"....away

[DOUGHBOYS]

'THE CROWD GOES CRAZY!"

"GO CRAZY FOLKS, GO CRAZY!"

Announcers love saying that crowds are going crazy. They don't. They're mostly just very happy that there team has done something well and are showing it through applause and audible pleasure.
It's what crowds do.
Baseball players feed off the crowds. There chance to show off and get recognition.
Besides showing admiration, crowds infuse themselves into ballgames in other ways.

Some drafters I talked to have told me that they dropped all Houston Astros because of the way they will be treated by crowds in opposing ball parks.
They felt that the pressure and tenseness of enduring boos and remarks would interfere with their usual batting ways.
This, of course, is not new.
Except for his home town, Barry Bonds was booed wherever he played.
Kris Bryant is booed and yelled at in St. Louis for past remarks.
Players are booth cheered and booed when returning to a place where they once called home.
Depending how they left.
Albert Pujols was loudly cheered in St. Louis upon returning there.
Jacoby Ellsbury soundly booed when returning to Fenway Park as a Yankee.
Crowds will yell and boo opposing pitchers to the hilt.
But if that same opposing pitcher has a no-hitter after seven innings, the crowd starts cheering FOR him.
Crowds are fickle that way.
When we tune into a game, we immediately know the type of game it is by the level of crowd noise.
It lets us know if the game is electric or a yawner.
Especially Cubs games during the day.
The crowd WANTS to be a part of the game. The Cubs just have to play well enough to make that happen.

Why the talk about crowds?
Well, can you imagine games without them?
That's what Major League Baseball is talking about.
Games without crowds.
You know what we called those in High School and College?
A scrimmage.

Only baseball wants these scrimmages to count.
First of all, many, many, many things have to fall in place for this plan to happen.
The Arizona plan. The Arizona/Florida plan. The Arizona/Florida/Texas plan. All the plans.
Let's just look at the missing crowd element.
There is an excitement before each game felt by the crowd.
They'll cheer at batting lineups.
They'll cheer a starting pitcher done with bullpen warmups.
There is a buzz in the stadium that cannot be described.
And that is before the first pitch is thrown.

The Astros won't hear the boos from the crowds.
Instead, they'll hear a lot more clearly, just what other teams thought of their tactics last year.
Believe me, the words of one good bench jockey is worth more than 10,000 boos.

The Yankees will have to take their own 'roll call'. Maybe Aaron Boone can do that for 'home' games.
There will be no 'court' held in right field either.
Aaron Judge won't have to acknowledge folks in right field.
No rhythmic "Derek"......"Jeter" type cheers.
When names are announced for the home team, chances are good that it won't be the announcer we're used to hearing, but a local Arizona guy.

Pitchers will be free to throw to first base to pick off a runner 10 times without hearing a single boo.
Unless they hear it from us as a conglomerate from our homes, wishing for the game to continue.
Instant replays can take awhile without boos also.
Bats can be unintentionally thrown into the seats without fear of somebody being hurt and the bat will simply be returned without a fight.
Close plays will not be cheered or booed, they will just be close plays.
A Manager can give the starting pitcher the hook without fans opinions of whether he is making a mistake.

The camera need not follow foul balls into the stands.
It was always of interest with fans and their reactions to the ball.
When a ball strikes an empty seat, nobody will care.

When a pitcher has a no-hitter in the 8th inning it will be eerie. Not only will he be ignored on the bench, but also on the mound.
When a player hits three home runs and gets up a fourth time, the feeling will be like the first three at bats.
When a player makes a great play, will they show it again on the scoreboard?
Will they have 'M-A-K-E N-O-I-S-E!' on scoreboards?
If so, who will make the noise?

We're Americans. We want what we want. We want our normal lives and we want baseball.
The 'new normal' may be a lot more gloves, masks, and distancing when we actually can socialize.
The 'new normal' for baseball may be no fans. No 'home' parks.
For MLB, it means a lot less money.
For the players, it would mean taking scrimmages seriously.
For the fans watching on tv, we would have our game back....Sorta.

To tell the truth, without the fantasy, historical, or fan aspect of baseball, it is a boring game.
We, here on these Message Boards, want baseball because we've invested a lot of time in studying and drafting teams.
Most of us don't even care that it won't be at all the same.

I do.
Baseball is not a television sport. Football is. Even basketball is.
Baseball and hockey are not.
I want to see baseball as much as anybody else, but I don't want to see it like that.
No home crowds.
No vendors crying, "Get your ice cold beer, Here!"
No lights. No sounds.
Just Tim McCarver-like announcers over-describing what is happening.

I want it all.
Baseball is like sex with a beautiful woman after romance when the game is right.
Strip away the fight for a baseball in the stands. Strip away the roar of a crowd for a home home run.
Strip away " AND THE CROWD GOES CRAZY!"
Strip away all that, and you may as well strip away the sex, strip away the beautiful woman.
The romance will be gone.