Results tagged ‘ Major League Baseball ’
WORLD SERIES GAME ONE WINS NIGHT ON TV AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Major League Baseball passed along the following press release earlier today; good news all around for the health of our game. -TribeVibe
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October 25, 2012
WORLD SERIES GAME ONE WINS NIGHT ON TV AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Giants Win, Sandoval’s Historic Night Generate Second-Most
Social Media Comments in Postseason History
Kung Fu Panda had fans buzzing during Game One of the World Series. Last night’s lopsided win by the Giants in Game One — which featured an historic three home run performance by Pablo Sandoval — generated 813,000 social media comments, making it the second-most talked-about game on social media in Postseason history, trailing only the classic Game Six of the 2011 World Series.
The World Series game dominated the social media conversation last night, as the game generated more than five times as many public Facebook and Twitter comments as the next highest-ranking show on television (+412%), and +79% more comments than the next nine most talked about shows on television Wednesday, according to data from Bluefin Labs. On television, the World Series led FOX to an easy win in prime time over all other competition and was the highest-rated Wednesday night on FOX since the American Idol finale in May.
Sandoval’s three home runs sparked social media’s biggest buzz, as 163,881 comments featured the words Pablo, Sandoval or Panda, representing 20.2% of all conversations around the game. #WorldSeries was by far the most widely-used hashtag of the night, featured in 15% of all comments.
The World Series also elicited tweets yesterday from celebrity baseball fans including Jeff Daniels, Kid Rock, Colin Hanks, Eminem, Larry King, Kevin Pollack, MC Hammer, Kerri Walsh and Rob Schneider, as well as current MLB players Matt Kemp, Jeremy Guthrie, Josh Reddick, Jimmy Rollins, Joba Chamberlain, Elvis Andrus and Ian Desmond, among many others.
Coverage of Game Two of the World Series begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
More History Made at Progressive Field
Wow – 28.0 innings of baseball in the span of 2 games. Gut-wrenching losses no doubt, but if you hang around this game long enough you really learn to appreciate the opportunity to witness baseball history and Progressive Field has no doubt supplied us with plenty of memories over the past 72 hours.
Two days removed from watching the longest Opening Day game in Major League history (16 innings), we played another 12-inning affair against the Blue Jays this afternoon. In research conducted by the Indians Baseball Information Dept. using Baseball-Reference.com and confirmed by the Elias Sports Bureau, 2012 marks the first time that any team has opened the season with consecutive extra-inning games of at least 12 innings since 1969 when four different teams pulled the trick. At Municipal Stadium in Kansas City that year, the Twins and Royals played a 12-inning game on April 8 followed by a 17-inning game on April 9. At Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, the Red Sox and Orioles played a 12-inning game on April 8 followed by a 13-inning game on April 10. Ironically, the Red Sox added a 3rd straight game of 12-plus innings when the club played a 16-inning game here in Cleveland against the Indians on April 11 at Cleveland Stadium. If you’re into brevity, we’ve just witnessed something that hasn’t happened in 43 years.
Did I mention that both starting pitchers carried no-hitters into the 5th inning? Ubaldo took that a step further and had a perfect game going until issuing a 2-out walk in the 6th – his no-hitter remained in tact until Brett Lawrie’s 2-out single in the 7th. He seemed really locked in and followed up Justin’s Opening Day performance to give the Tribe a couple outstanding starts to begin the year. Through 2 games of this young season, Justin and Ubaldo have combined to give the Indians starting rotation a 1.80 ERA (3 ER/15.0 IP). The duo has also combined to hold Toronto to a .063 (3-for-48) opponents average (one single, one double, one home run), while notching 13 strikeouts against just 4 walks. The Indians pitching staff overall has held the Blue Jays lineup to a .180 clip (18-for-100). It was also really good to see Jason and Asdrubal dial in with their first home runs of the year
I wonder what’s in store for us here at the ballpark tomorrow…
Today’s Indians Lineup & News and Notes
Here is today’s Indians lineup straight from the clubhouse
Here are some news and notes from today’s titanic struggle:
- FAMILIAR SCRIPT: While Thursday’s game did set an MLB record, extra innings
have become a somewhat familiar circumstance during home openers
here in Cleveland over the past two decades, as the Indians have played bonus
baseball in 6 of the 19 home openers hosted all-time at Progressive Field
(1994-2012)…4 of the 6 instances have seen a home run push across the
decisive tally…the Indians have lost each of the last 3 after winning each of
the first 3. - SONIC YOUTH: According to STATS INC., Cleveland began the 2012 season
with the 8th-youngest 25-man roster in the majors at an average age of 28.67
years (ages determined as of April 5)…that also ranks 4th in the A.L. behind
only Kansas City (27.42), Seattle (28.33) and Oakland (28.36)…in fact, the A.L.
Central Division as a whole happens to be the youngest division in the majors,
as Kansas City (1st), Chicago-AL (10th, 28.78), Detroit (12th, 28.92) and Minnesota(14th, 28.96) all rank in the top 14 for youngest Opening Day roster…no
other division in baseball has more than 2 teams in the top 14. - FRIDAY REFRESHER: Yesterday the Indians had their first of 5 scheduled
off days in April, which matches July (one scheduled off day + 4-day All-Star
break) for the most in any month this season…no other month currently has
more than 3…Cleveland went 9-7 last season in games immediately following
a true off day, winning each of the first 5. - JUST MASTERFUL: Justin Masterson made his first career Opening Day
start on Thursday, but did not record a victory despite exiting with a 4-1 lead
after 8.0 innings of work (8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 10 SO, 1 HR, 1 WP, 99
pitches/66 strikes)…according to Baseball-Reference, Masterson became just
the 4th different Indians pitcher (6th time) dating back to at least 1918 to work
8.0+ innings while holding his opponent to no more than 2 hits and one run
in an Opening Day start, joining Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and Sonny Siebert…
Masterson’s outing, however, marked the first time under those parameters for
the starting pitcher to finish without being awarded a win.
Hannahan at the Hot Corner
With the roster moves that came down the pipeline this morning, some of the biggest news of the day involved the announcement that Jack Hannahan would be the Indians’ starting third baseman to begin the season. Hanny was nice enough to share his reaction with TribeVibe and he also talked about getting off to a quick start after being sidelined for just over a week with a mid-back strain (2-for-2, 2 doubles yesterday vs. Milwaukee). Overall this spring, he is batting .300 (6-20) with 3 doubles, a home run and 5 RBI, while playing the kind of defense Jack has become known for.
Obviously decisions like these have ramifications for other players in camp and this one was no exception, as Lonnie Chisenhall was optioned to Triple-A Columbus where he will be the Clippers’ Opening Day third baseman and have the opportunity to receive regular playing time. Anytime a move is made involving one of the club’s top prospects it elicits a number of passionate responses from fans, but it’s important to maintain perspective and remember how the game of baseball has a way of teaching us all patience time and time again. At 23 years, 5 months and 23 days of age (as of March 27), Lonnie is currently the third-youngest player on the Indians 40-man roster. The only two players on the 40-man who have taken fewer trips around the sun are infielder Juan Diaz (23 years, 3 months, 15 days) and right-hander Danny Salazar (22 years, 2 months, 16 days) – incidentally, RHP Jeanmar Gomez is 4th-youngest (24 years, 1 month, 17 days). Like most other prospects their age, Juan and Danny finished the 2011 season at Double-A Akron and Low-A Lake County, respectively, while Lonnie spent the last 3 months of the year as the youngest member of the Indians Major League roster. To reiterate what Manny Acta touched on today, Lonnie’s been one of the youngest players at every level of his professional career thus far. As a 22-year-old, he batted .255 (54-212) with 13 doubles, 7 homers and 22 RBI in 66 games for the Tribe, which stirs up memories of another former Indian who debuted at the same position. As many will recall, Jim Thome originally came up with the Tribe at the hot corner before making the transition to first base. In 3 seasons between 1991-93, Jim combined to hit .244 (90-369) with 18 doubles, 10 homers and 43 RBI in 114 games at roughly the same age as Lonnie – Jim debuted with the Tribe as a 21-year-old in ’91 and turned 23 shortly after joining the club during the ’93 campaign. While we all remember the outstanding career Jim had during his time in Cleveland, it’s healthy to recognize and respect the hard work, learning and repetition that was required to build it.
(Kudos to Danny Steele of the Indians Baseball Information Dept. for research support)
Welcome to TribeVibe!
“For me, broadcasting the game is like sitting in the stands talking to the fellow sitting next to me.” – Herb Score
With the true spirit of Herb Score in mind, we want you sitting next to us too, so to speak. As we begin yet another season of The Great Game, the Cleveland Indians front office is thrilled to introduce you to TribeVibe, a brand new MLBlog on Indians.com. We’ve had so much success connecting with all of you through the Indians Facebook page and our Twitter accounts (@Indians, @TribeInsider ) that we decided to take that a step further and create TribeVibe as a way for fans to gain even better access to information about the Cleveland Indians.
The goal of TribeVibe is simple – to give you an inside perspective of what it’s like to be with a Major League Baseball team for a full season. That means different things to different people in this industry, so we want to make a concerted effort to show you the game through a variety of lenses.
Naturally, our focus will be on what you care most about – the team – and frankly it’s an exciting time to be following the Indians. We embark on the 2012 season with the opportunity to watch a young group of athletes as they grow together and tackle the daily challenges that come with learning how to win on a consistent basis. This club has also been constructed with several respected veterans who are in place to set a positive example, offer advice and provide perspective as this process unfolds. Throw in the outstanding leadership qualities of Manny Acta and we can’t wait to help you get to know this group of players and coaches even better. Let’s face it, the camaraderie and comedy that exist in a major league clubhouse make it a pretty special place and we think we’ve come up with some creative features that will allow us to have a little fun and highlight the unique personalities who represent the Block “C”.
TribeVibe will also be geared towards helping you keep up with the Indians when they’re away from home and that will begin immediately with the latest news from spring training as the 25-man roster begins to take shape in our final days here in Arizona. We hope that all fans have the opportunity to visit the Tribe in Goodyear, Arizona at some point, but in the meantime TribeVibe will bring the Cactus League action straight to you. Once the season starts, you’ll see this concept transition into road trips as we stow readers away in our carry-on luggage and provide a glimpse into the daily grind of leaving the comforts of Progressive Field and Cleveland behind.
Last, but certainly not least, we’ll take you inside the front office to keep you informed of the latest decisions made by our Baseball Operations Department and coaching staff – TribeVibe can be your source for official press releases, injury news and even pre-game lineup cards. Along the way, we can also provide information that will make transaction rules and the thought process behind certain types of roster moves easier to comprehend. The complex strategies involved account for just a few of the reasons that we all share a love and passion for America’s Pastime.
While the Indians Baseball Information Department will serve as the primary voice of TribeVibe on a day-to-day basis, you may also hear from people like Indians President Mark Shapiro, General Manager Chris Antonetti and Senior VP of Public Affairs Bob DiBiasio from time to time. These respected executives, along with more than 150 employees, have and will continue to shape the culture of an organization that cares deeply about bringing championship baseball back to the city of Cleveland. We’re all very excited to be sharing this brand new forum with you so please don’t hesitate to leave comments or contact us directly – if you have suggestions for the types of features you want to see more of in this space, shoot us an email at TribeVibe@indians.com and we’ll do our best to incorporate them going forward.
Welcome to TribeVibe, we’re glad you’re here!
