How to make baseball a bigger part of your Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is here again, which means baseball isn’t here or anywhere near. That’s a problem if you crave watching a pitcher’s duel or a slugfest as much or more than turkey sandwiches and pumpkin pie. That’s why every year we try to come up with ways to sprinkle a little more baseball into our family gatherings.
Don’t get us wrong, we love Thanksgiving and all that it stands for. It’s just not a day designed for baseball fans. Between all of the football, pro, college and perhaps even high school in some areas, not to mention the college basketball tournaments and non-baseball parades, those who don’t share our passion for the National Pastime often have their focus elsewhere.
That’s great for them. For us, it makes getting through the day a little bit tougher. We don’t ask for much. Just a taste or even a tease of something baseball related to remind us of what lies ahead a few months down the road.
If you have someone who feels the same way at your gathering, that helps a great deal. But even then there’s only so much you can talk about with the hot stove still just heating up. You need things to focus on, so we now present a few potential baseball-related activities that can make surviving Thanksgiving that much easier.
Create your own Scott Boras trivia game
It’s not Thanksgiving without some sort of board or trivia game. Scrabble is always a popular choice because it doesn’t require much explanation. If you’re looking to be a little more creative though, we suggest a game centered around baseball super-agent Scott Boras and his propensity to be, well, Scott Boras.
Simply write down every hyperbolic statement Boras makes about a client currently in free agency or a client searching for an extension. Then quiz your guests about which comment matches which client.
Example: In Scott Boras’ mind, who is the “King Kong of Slug?”
The answer: J.D. Martinez. Also acceptable is J.D. Kong.
The game could go on all night if you dig up quotes from years gone by. Though by night’s end you’ll never want to hear Boras’ name ever again.
Institute some pace-of-play measures
Things can get a little slow and congested at Thanksgiving dinner. But it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a few new holiday rules. In baseball, they’re talking about adding a pitch clock. At your home, maybe keep the line moving through the bathroom with a time limit so guests don’t spend too much extra time fixing makeup or straightening their tie. If you want to make sure there are leftovers, limit the amount of trips by the table. Not everyone will like it, but at least you won’t have to listen to Joe Buck for an extra hour.
Start a baseball pool
Even the non-baseball fans in your life probably know about the Giancarlo Stanton trade rumors or the New York Yankees managerial opening. Why not turn that into a game? Have your family and friends put a few bucks in the pool and try to guess where Stanton will end up, who the Yankees will hire. A Shohei Otani pool would work too now that he’s due to be available soon.
Watch MLB Network’s movie marathon
If your baseball withdrawal gets too overwhelming, we advise you to excuse yourself from the room and to find a television with access to MLB Network. You’ll be treated there to the latest episode of “Play Ball” at 1 p.m. ET, which leads into an all-afternoon marathon of baseball-themed movies. At 1:30 p.m. ET, it’s “Chasing 300” followed by “Major League II” and “Little Big League.” None of those are “The Sandlot,” but they’ll suffice as replacement-level entertainment.
Make a trade like Jerry Dipoto
Who knows, maybe you could even make a trade with Jerry Dipoto. You know the always active Seattle Mariners general manager will be checking his phone between every bite. He’s already up to three trades this offseason after completing more than 40 over the last two seasons. Who knows, if you can get through at the right time you might be able to trade your uncle for a pitching prospect.
Who we’re really talking to here are the fantasy baseball owners. If you’re in a dynasty league with friends and family, this might be your best chance to talk trade and land that player you really want.
Visit Big League Stew
We feel really strongly about this one. The news cycle might be slow on Thanksgiving Day, but there’s no shortage of great content to dig into here at Big League Stew. You can get caught up on the popular “Opening 25-year-old Baseball Cards with Mike Oz” series that you see featured in the video above. You can read about rankings of all the classic baseball stadium food items. You can even look ahead to the upcoming Hall of Fame announcements.
If it has happened or will happen in baseball, you’ll find it at Big League Stew.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
