Astros Fans

Astros fans have no idea how to deal with balls that go into the stands. They fail to fight opposing players who reach in and instead shy away so they can make the catch.

 

and they do the wave

 

Can't wait for the ALCS so we can take over Fenway again

 

I'd say other teams should be scared to play at their own home stadiums when the Astros come into town. It's also going to be fun seeing how many Astros fans manage to worm their way into opponent stadiums these playoffs. It was a pleasure seeing orange everywhere in the majors this year. Especially Boston.

MMP is probably going to be pretty wild this playoffs. Well, wild by Houston fan standards, which is supportive but in a fairly polite, properly-metered, non-dickish way. I don't know how much it will affect the team. The team's home demons don't have anything to do with the crowd. But whatever causes them, I think our guys are going to be more focused and serious this year, and our pitching is going to go out there with the intent and ability to kill. I think the bats will try harder than normal to do the same on their end at home. And maybe seeing the sea of orange will give them a little extra help.

 

It's a loud flipping ballpark in the playoffs, for sure.

 

Like ol' Mack told the UT fans: come early, be loud, wear orange

 

I think this has been a growing phenomenon that has been underrated in this city really since the late 90’s.

The Astros are Houston’s oldest team. It’s really the only team here that has had multiple generations of fans... given that the NBA was still considered a “new” league as late as the early 80’s, when Bird/Magic/Jordan really propelled the league to new unforeseen heights.

The opening of MMP really changed the fandom here. The everyday nature of baseball almost requires a venue that is easily accessible... and the Astrodome just didn’t have that.

And then, when everybody realized what sort of home field advantage it could give you in a roof-closed/playoff situation... it became even more impactful to the franchise. I still remember Cardinals players and TLR complaining that it literally was like a football game environment in there... and there were certainly some day games where they “could” of opened the roof, but decidedly chose not to (till that damn Selig ruling in the WS).

Lastly, Astros fans are passionate about this team. Sounds simplistic enough, but it was a point I made regarding why this city wasn’t at the same hype level for last year’s Rockets, despite them having one of (if not the best) regular seasons in all of houston pro sports history. For some reason, Houston hadn’t fallen in love with that Rockets team as much... some of that did get better during the Warriors series, but I’m not sure if it carried over in the off-season.

Not going to even try and dissect the Texans fandom. Yes, all things being equal, a football team in Houston moves the needle moreso than basketball or baseball.... but they’re still a good 10-15 years away from having any sort of “long term” fandom. S

 

I believe it was David Ortz who said last year he had never been in a ballpark louder than MMP last year in the playoffs. That's pretty impressive.

 

First of all, you have to have a dome.

In today’s venues, that includes sky dome, the Trop, Chase field, Miller Park, and Marlins Field. Not going to include Safeco because its just a covering, and doubtful they would ever close it intentionally unless there was weather.

Out of all those teams, only the Blue Jays have hosted multiple playoff series recently... and while they did have some rabid crowds, the fans are nowhere near on top of the field like they are at MMP. Same goes for Chase field, which was a very poorly designed stadium from the get-go. And lets just presume the Marlins and Rays will never have truly passionate fans for the entirety of their existence.

That leaves Miller Park and the brew-crew... which may get to host multiple series this year. They were pretty up for it the year they got Sabathia...but I don’t recall if all the games were closed roof. Milwaukee can get chilly this time of year, so I doubt they keep it open. They also may be playing the Cubs in the division series (which still is weird to me as they’re playing a playoff for the division today), and that will decidedly cut into their home field advantage.

TL;DR version: MMP is the perfectly built ballpark for both fan convenience and playoff atmosphere.

 

I did compalin about that when George got robbed of a game winner earlier this year.

 

Out of curiosity, what are the rules on fan interference?

 

from mlb.com:

In every case of spectator interference with a batted or thrown ball, the ball shall be declared dead and the baserunners can be placed where the umpire determines they would have been without the interference. When a spectator clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball by reaching onto the field of play, the batter shall be ruled out. But no interference is called if a spectator comes in contact with a batted or thrown ball without reaching onto the field of play -- even if a fielder might have caught the ball had the spectator not been there.

Fans who do it get kicked out of the game.

 

I was at WS game 5. Lost my voice and had ringing in my ears for days.

 

Anything in the stands is fair game, however.

 

Cool, so make sure you catch/interfere if the opposing player is reaching into the stands, but let your own team catch the ball otherwise. God forbid someone ends up as the next Steve Bartman.