Flip Flop Fly Ball - Sports infographics.

June 19, 2009 9:35 AM

Flip Flop Fly Ball - Baseball infographics and other visual treats. Highlights: How tall is the Green Monster?, Assembling and dismantling the '86 Mets, and Wu-Tang Clan vs. E-Street Band.
posted by Ufez Jones (48 comments total)

Oh this is too much, and I mean that in a good way.
posted by Xoebe at 9:48 AM on June 19, 2009

These are cool and informative. While I like Gill Sans, I wish he'd use another font or two from time to time.
posted by sciurus at 9:55 AM on June 19, 2009

Impressively weird! GZA should be pitching, though.

I'm on the mound, G, and it's a no-hitter
And my DJ, the catcher, he's my man
Anyway, he's the one who devised the plan
He throws the signs, I hook up the beats with clout
I throw the rhymes to the mic, and I strike 'em out
So it really doesn't matter on how you intrigue
You can't FUCK with those in the major leagues
posted by ignignokt at 10:02 AM on June 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Surely it's not a coincidence that the number that has been retired by all major league teams (42; Jackie Robinson's number) is ALSO THE ANSWER TO THE ULTIMATE QUESTION
posted by taliaferro at 10:05 AM on June 19, 2009

Here's a nice little baseball visual treat I saw for the first time just a moment ago [SAFE FOR WORK]. I'd like to think I could teach myself that, given a few months practice. Will give it a burl as soon as the sun comes up, mes thinks.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 10:11 AM on June 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

If I liked baseball more, I imagine this would be even more fantastic. As it is, very keen.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:12 AM on June 19, 2009

uncanny h, is that real? Man, I wanna do that if it is.
posted by ORthey at 10:18 AM on June 19, 2009

Awesome. If only the site could magically make the Nationals stop sucking. Thanks Yankees!
posted by exogenous at 10:21 AM on June 19, 2009

Max Weinberg as a CF? I don't really see him with the foot speed to play there. Batting in the three spot makes sense though.
posted by drezdn at 10:24 AM on June 19, 2009

uncanny h, is that real? Man, I wanna do that if it is.

Upon further investigation it seems some people are saying it's physically / biomechanically impossible. But it's too late over here for my brain to want to think about it.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 10:25 AM on June 19, 2009

ignignokt: Impressively weird! GZA should be pitching, though.

Indeed. But ODB is in the perfect spot out in Left Field; he can probably switch in and be the catcher, too, since Ol' Dirty Bastard always was the Yogi Berra of the hip-hop world.

And it makes sense that the Wu prevailed against the E Street Bombers. I mean, yeah, you gotta give some hometown cred to the boys from NJ, but when it really comes down, it doesn't matter how much you were born to run if you're playing against Masters of the Nine Innings.
posted by koeselitz at 10:25 AM on June 19, 2009

I bet having ODB on your team is like having "Spaceman" Bill Lee on your team, or Steve Lyons. You never know where he's gonna play today!
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 10:26 AM on June 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Umpires HP J. Bonham 1B J. Page 2B R. Plant 3B J.P. Jones

Delicious.
posted by mhoye at 10:43 AM on June 19, 2009

Thanks Ufez Jones! I work at MLB and forwarded this around to a bunch of co-workers-slash-baseball freaks, who will definitely enjoy this.
posted by adamms222 at 10:49 AM on June 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

adamms222: I work at MLB…

*sigh* Gosh, life must be rough…
posted by koeselitz at 10:55 AM on June 19, 2009

Baseball post!

This is really nicely designed stuff. I wouldn't mind seeing them mix up aesthetic a little bit either, yeah, but if you're going to pick one and go with it you could do a lot worse.

This one in particular kind of kills me. Never would have occurred to me, but it makes sense once I think about it.
posted by cortex at 11:21 AM on June 19, 2009

Only 28,146 turned out to watch Wu-Tang vs. The E-Street Band? I think he accidentally left off a zero at the end of that number.

As much fun as it is to imagine that game, it's even more fun to think about what the crowd would be like...
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:29 AM on June 19, 2009

Fuckin' Yankees, man.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 11:30 AM on June 19, 2009

Alright, actually the E-Street Band would win and that is a cold fact. BRUCE could throw that speedball by you for one and then YOU would look like a fool.

Also, Springsteen as pitcher, Patti as catcher, of COURSE. Lolsex.
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:31 AM on June 19, 2009

I work at MLB…

*sigh* Gosh, life must be rough…

I dunno. It's probably tough to explain "Despite repeated warnings, cockpunches Selig on-site" come performance review time.

That's awesome, though, adamms222. I'd love to hear your co-workers replies if you wouldn't mind sharing them.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:33 AM on June 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wow those are awesome. Thanks for this. I tried to get people to guess the right stadium one this one, I got one right haha.
posted by lilkeith07 at 11:38 AM on June 19, 2009

BRUCE could throw that speedball by you for one and then YOU would look like a fool.

Then every once in a while he would throw a changeup that would be really slow and gentle but you'd be so blown away by it that you forgot to swing. And then: Dancin' In The Dark.
posted by cortex at 12:01 PM on June 19, 2009

I just noticed that on the "football pitches" chart, he refers to soccer as "association football". This is absolutely correct, but I don't think I've ever actually heard it called that outside the context of encyclopedia articles on the history of the game. Looks like someone did their homework.
posted by deadmessenger at 12:03 PM on June 19, 2009

And just to the right of all that eye candy: Ichiro!
posted by dw at 12:16 PM on June 19, 2009

Wonderful stuff! A quibble about the Washington one: why would you start in 1870? The first Washington Nationals were formed in November 1859 (consisting mostly of government clerks); they were only the second DC team, the first, the Potomac Club, having gotten together that same summer. The two teams practiced in the backyard of the White House and played each other in the spring of 1860; the Nats didn't provide much competition for the superior Potomacs, but the latter disbanded on the outbreak of the Civil War while the Nationals kept playing, and by the end of the war were "solidly in the esteem of Washington fans, with the club's shortstop, slight, 23-year-old Arthur Pue Gorman, the darling of the spectators. Young Gorham quickly rose thttp://www.metafilter.com/82595/Flip-Flop-Fly-Ball-Sports-infographics#2613538o stardom on the not-too-brilliant Nationals." (Shirley Povich, The Washington Senators, pp. 3-4.) (Gorman later became a real senator, from Maryland!) In the summer of 1865 the Nats invited the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Atlantics, two of the major teams of the era, to Washington, losing to the former 87-12 and to the latter 34-19, before 6,000 spectators, including President Johnson. They "jealously guarded their amateur status by refusing all payments, including travel expenses." (David Quentin Voigt, American Baseball. Vol. 1: From Gentleman's Sport to the Commissioner System, p. 10.)

By 1867, the Nationals were much improved; they toured the West and defeated the best the locals had to offer, crushing Columbus 90-10, the Cincinnati Reds 53-10, and the Cincinnati Buckeyes 88-12, beating Louisville, Indianapolis, and St. Louis as well before falling to the Rockford Forest Citys (with future Hall of Famer Albert Spalding) 29-23. The citizens of Rockford were so proud they honored their team with watches, gold pins, and other gifts. The Nats ended the road trip the next day by beating the Chicago Excelsiors 49-4.

Washington was one of the early homes of commercialism:

One writer, Thomas Henry, said the U. S. Treasury Department was "the real birthplace of professional base ball in Washington." As a source of patronage for good players, this bureau was widely exploited after the Civil War. In addition, Washington players benefited from the collection plates passed at games. By this kind of enterprise Washington clubs were able to keep a cadre of good players and to offer excellent accommodations. In 1867 the Nationals' park was located on a field four hundred feet square, surrounded by a ten foot fence, and shaded on the north side by roofed stands. To discourage gamblers, a sign which read "Betting Positively Prohibited" was posted. (Voigt, American Baseball. Vol. 1, pp. 17-19.)

/above typed while proudly wearing Senators cap

Assembling and dismantling the '86 Mets

*puts on Mets cap, cries*
posted by languagehat at 12:41 PM on June 19, 2009 [5 favorites]

Huh? I have no idea how that happened; for the garbled mess, read "Young Gorham quickly rose to stardom..." (The book has "Gorham" for Gorman; I changed it for the link.)
posted by languagehat at 12:44 PM on June 19, 2009

Mentally flagged as awesome.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:46 PM on June 19, 2009

I work at MLB...

Good, can you fix MLBtv so it actually, like, WORKS?

Every month they add six new features that don't work, while disabling the older, better-working version. And they do it live. :/
posted by rokusan at 1:35 PM on June 19, 2009

I love* that there's a single game ticket at New-New-Yankee Stadium that costs the same as FOUR YEARS of SEASON TICKETS to the cheap seat in Colorado.

* this use of the word 'love' may be tinged with a little sarcasm.
posted by rokusan at 1:36 PM on June 19, 2009

rokusan, I shall run your concerns upstairs to Mr. Selig posthaste! Stay tuned...
posted by adamms222 at 1:42 PM on June 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

I shall run your concerns upstairs to Mr. Selig posthaste!

Heh, yeah. Got me on a bad day, I guess.

That department really needs some QA badly, though. The support forum is like a litany of bad customer service. They have the entire Microsoft-style monopoly attitude working perfectly.

Don't bother Bud, though. Poor guy always looks like he needs a nap. ;)
posted by rokusan at 1:56 PM on June 19, 2009

like having "Spaceman" Bill Lee on your team... you never know where he's gonna play today!

Way, way, way out in left field.
posted by rokusan at 1:57 PM on June 19, 2009

The length of basketball shorts graphic only covers the vertical dimension. There's been a dramatic expansion in bagginess between Larry Byrd's Tiny Shorts Era and the present day.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:18 PM on June 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Assembling and dismantling the '86 Mets

*puts on Mets cap, cries*

I looked at that one and thought of you, languagehat.

Splendid site - thank you!
posted by rtha at 2:41 PM on June 19, 2009

The first one I clicked, and it's a total winner. I laughed so hard, I think a little pee came out.

Cleveland Indians.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 2:50 PM on June 19, 2009

I am now formulating a theory correlating the insane shape of Fenway Park (the TOTALLY EFFIN' BIZARRO one on the previously linked diagram and the insanity of Red Sox Nation.

It is possible that we are not properly oriented to the space-time continuum. But who cares?! GO SOX!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 2:52 PM on June 19, 2009

Fuckin' Yankees, man.

It makes sense, though, that the Yankees would be expensive. What I want to know is, who in Christ is paying $250 to watch the Royals?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 4:30 PM on June 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

What the hell else is there to do in Kansas City?
posted by box at 5:51 PM on June 19, 2009

I love* that there's a single game ticket at New-New-Yankee Stadium that costs the same as FOUR YEARS of SEASON TICKETS to the cheap seat in Colorado.

Actually, you can't buy season tickets in the Rockpile section, but it looks like you can get $8 season tickets in the RF upper deck.

So, for one Yankees ticket, you can buy two season tickets to the Rockies game.

And that's AFTER the Yankees halved the face value of the tickets.
posted by dw at 8:53 PM on June 19, 2009

These would make great posters if printed correctly . . . I wonder if he's considered selling high quality, limited edition prints? What a fantastic blend of art, stats and a dash of wit/politics.
posted by eggman at 9:00 PM on June 19, 2009

This is sweet!
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 11:02 PM on June 19, 2009

I now understand baseball less than I ever did.
posted by item at 6:04 AM on June 20, 2009

Max Weinberg as a CF? I don't really see him with the foot speed to play there.

Also, Springsteen as pitcher, Patti as catcher, of COURSE. Lolsex.

Yeah, the misplacement of Weinberg was I think a side effect of going for the obvious because-they-do-it-together-geddit? gag. Weinberg's your obvious choice for catcher. Move Clemons to CF and Little Steven to 1B, let Patti play 2B. Totally change the game.

Wu-Tang Clan ain't nuthin to fuck with, but with this line-up the smart money's on the Asbury Park squad taking it in a last-chance power drive.
posted by gompa at 7:58 AM on June 20, 2009

Awesome sauce, thanks!
posted by hypersloth at 3:29 PM on June 20, 2009

Don't miss his link to this George Brett soliloquy about pooping himself.
posted by popechunk at 4:32 PM on June 20, 2009

Didn't notice it until today, but it gets bonus points for having Robin Yount playing short and the racing sausages in the header image. Go Chorizo!
posted by drezdn at 5:11 PM on July 4, 2009

Note that's he's now included the PBP of the Wu-Tang/E-Street playoff game.
posted by dw at 8:10 AM on July 5, 2009

Didn't notice it until today, but it gets bonus points for having Robin Yount playing short and the racing sausages in the header image.

Heh. And two Mariners on that team, though I can't figure out who's playing first:

1B: Killebrew???
2B: Jackie
SS: Yount
3B: Brett
LF: Ted Williams
CF: Junior Griffey
RF: Ruth
P: Randy Johnson

And not only does he have the M's leading the AL West, he has the Pirates leading the NL Central. Fantasy basebal indeed.
posted by dw at 8:36 AM on July 5, 2009