watch every single MLB game each day while chronicling their experiences online through videos, blogs and social media.

This is my idea of Hell.

No, really. I love baseball, loved it all my life. But being required to watch every game and tell the world about it? Shudder.

i hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate this MLB Fan Cave crap. seriously, whenever i saw it featured on official MLB propaganda i shuddered with the fury of a thousand douche chills. they seemed hell-bent on shoving as many "now" players and legendary retired players through there to pose for photo-ops with the super-nerdy-looking idiots they had in there watching every game or whatever... and it made me wonder how they could watch EVERY game if they had to stop and take pictures with chase utley or something?

like the poster above me pointed out, i would think that being forced to watch and blog about every game would be akin to the kind of torture afflicted upon alex in "a clockwork orange" during his mental re-programming.

Do you have to know how to tweet to live in that thing? 'Cause I can't tweet.

While it is a bit silly, I checked it out when I was in NYC... It's kinda cool.

Do you have to know how to tweet to live in that thing? 'Cause I can't tweet.

Just put you lips together and blow.

I really don't get what this is. No matter how many times I RTFA about this thing I can't conceptualize it.

I really don't get what this is. No matter how many times I RTFA about this thing I can't conceptualize it.

The contest or the actual cave? I walked by the cave a few weeks ago and it just looks like a fancy sports bar.

Just to see if I get it: The people who win this contest are charged with watching and reporting on every single game of the MLB season? Is that even possible without some sort of DC Comics-worthy timeline fudging?

Just to see if I get it: The people who win this contest are charged with watching and reporting on every single game of the MLB season? Is that even possible without some sort of DC Comics-worthy timeline fudging?

That and there also seem to be some Survivor-like challenges and the audience gets to vote them out of the cave one at a time. I think.

Yeah, I have the same question as NJ. Do you have to watch each game individually or do you sit in front of 16 TVs and watch all the games going on at once?

I could probably do the latter.

The MLB Fan Cave will return to the 15,000 square foot location at 4th Street and Broadway in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village that was formerly the home of Tower Records.

spent many an hour there in the 70s

They have to watch every game live. If there's 10 games going on, that's 10 TVs. Remember there's never actually 16 games at the same time, given the West Coast time difference and Cubs weekday day games. I would think the worst times are when there's only one game going, as with Cubs day games and the Sunday prime-time slot; they have to be there and watching with no secondary option if the game or teams suck.

They have to watch every game live. If there's 10 games going on, that's 10 TVs. Remember there's never actually 16 games at the same time, given the West Coast time difference and Cubs weekday day games.

And the fact there are only 30 teams.

Do they get paid?

How in the hell could someone even afford to essentially devote 6 months to watching every game.

Do they get paid?

How in the hell could someone even afford to essentially devote 6 months to watching every game.

That was my question. I mean, I know what the current deal is with the economy and everything, but most people still work, do they not?

Assuming they feed you, I don't think I'd do this for less than $50k...

Pfft. $50k wouldn't even get me to return a phone call.

Not only would I have to give up my job; given the current economy I cannot be sure how long it would take me to get a new one when this nonsense was over.

On the other hand, my wife would probably love to get me out of the house for the summer.

Assuming they feed you, I don't think I'd do this for less than $50k...

I assume there are people out there who would do it for beer and chicken wings (that and peanuts cover a person's nutritional needs, right?).

Highlights from last season:

MLB Fan Cave 2011

The MLB Fan Cave will return to the 15,000 square foot location at 4th Street and Broadway in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village that was formerly the home of Tower Records.

spent many an hour there in the 70s

It could have been worse. They could have been taking over where this was.

I assume there are people out there who would do it for beer and chicken wings (that and peanuts cover a person's nutritional needs, right?).

Really?

I mean - you're "working", even if just watching games and tweeting about it, every day for 6 months... beyond, what, the day before and after ASB (when I assume you'd be expected to watch and report on the festivities).

With Sunday night baseball -- I think that other than a maybe few random Mondays here and there, this means 6 months of NEVER going out to dinner, NEVER going to see a movie or a band, NEVER anything else...

I was thinking $50k -- thinking mainly that it also includes room and board on top -- might be decent compensation for 6 months of work, but the more I think about it, Chris is right... I'd probably want something in the six figure range.

July 4th, Labor Day, Memorial Day BBQs? Nope - working... family events, etc? Nope - working.

I mean, I don't exactly have a packed social calendar now and I'm pretty much working 6 days a week as it is -- but at least I can squeeze in the occasional happy hour or cook-out.

The MLB Fan Cave is a unique event space and content factory mixing baseball with music, popular culture, media, interactive technology, and art. It also serves as a digital hub for all baseball fans, with a constant flow of online video and conversation via social media.

This sentence is amusing to me. That could just describe a bar with a jukebox, TV, pinball machine, a few paintings on the walls, and a young-ish clientele with iPhones. For example, if "interactive technology" means "darts," this could completely and accurately describe the extremely dive-y Grassroots Tavern on St. Mark's Place. It's even kind of a cave, too.

Do they really need to use real estate lies to sell this? 4th and Broadway is within walking distance of Greenwich Village, but it's only arguably within the village and certainly not the "heart" of it. Broadway in that area is just a mush of Petcos and Best Buys.

Not that that actually matters, but if we can't be obnoxiously overprecise on the internet, where can we be obnoxiously overprecise?

I wouldn't be surprised if the people applying for this somehow think this is an opportunity to help them get either a job in Major League Baseball and/or sports media.

For Major League Baseball, it maybe a way to promote the game to attract relatively younger adult fans.

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has done a couple of promotions where they have someone live at the museum for a month and blog, etc. about the experience. You can sleep in the U-Boat! That would be far more awesome than the Fan Cave.

And as for the Fan Cave, we should look at the rules:

Live Every Baseball Fan's Dream!

The MLB Fan Cave is back and is running a contest to select multiple fans to live the dream baseball experience. Winners will hang with MLB stars and celebrities as you take part in exciting challenges against fellow fans to remain a part of the MLB Fan Cave Experience until the final pitch of the 2012 World Series.

As part of the MLB Fan Cave, Winners will 1) watch every single baseball game played, 2) interact and film video content with current and former players, celebrities and musicians, 3) discuss the hottest baseball and pop culture topics through blog posts and social media 4) compete in exciting challenges with other fans to remain in the MLB Fan Cave - and much more. MLB will provide housing and a stipend for Winners while in the Fan Cave. Submissions must be received by Friday, January 13, 2012 by 11:59PM ET.

Each Winner will:
- Be a passionate baseball fan
- Have strong writing skills
- Have strong verbal communication skills
- Have strong organizational skills with the ability to give attention to multiple things at the same time
- Be comfortable in front of the camera and be able to present a positive public image
- Have a fun and creative personality
- Be highly skilled on social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- Pass a background check to the satisfaction of MLB

Each Winner must:
- Reside in a location provided by MLB in New York City
- Participate in all aspects of MLB Fan Cave duties, including but not limited to, watching every game played of the 2012 MLB season, taking part in media events, interviews, etc.
- Share thoughts regarding games and topics of MLB and pop culture interest via daily blogging, vlogging and through social media platforms
- Adhere to all other policies and procedures as required by MLB
- Grant all rights in all aspects of his/her participation in MLB Fan Cave to MLB for MLB's use, worldwide, in all media.

No mention of pay in there, though they do put you up and presumably feed you as well. The "Adhere to all other policies and procedures as required by MLB" is what really kills it for me. The way to make this enjoyable would be to go out of your way to do things that would displease MLB and turn it into something like performance art. This clause pretty much says that you have to work within the parameters they're happy with, or you're out on your ear. No fun.

How in the hell could someone even afford to essentially devote 6 months to watching every game.

Eighty-five percent of the f*ckin' world is working. The other fifteen percent come out here.

spent many an hour there in the 70s

Neat trick, since Tower didn't open there until the mid-'80s.

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has done a couple of promotions where they have someone live at the museum for a month and blog, etc. about the experience. You can sleep in the U-Boat! That would be far more awesome than the Fan Cave.

Oh, absolutely. Plus, it's a month. I can scrape together enough paid vacation to do that. Doing the MLB thing means quitting my job.

Man, sleep in the U-Boat? I'd so do that.

I love that museum.

I think the Fan Cave is meant to appeal to those who don't have jobs, or at most an expendable unskilled retail type of job. It's not for us professional desk sitters.

but if we can't be obnoxiously overprecise on the internet, where can we be obnoxiously overprecise?

At all URLs beneath the domain 66.197.211.53

I do wonder what the stipend is. It seems like an awful lot of work, certainly.

Maybe one of us would work as the "SABR" contestant. The amount of idiotic abuse one would take - if they had a level head about themselves and were skilled at turning it around - would be worth it.

I probably would never pass the background check, though, out of fear I would say something about the people at MLB.com who I worked for. Or MLB.com, period.

trust me on this, living in a cave is not EVERY baseball fan's dream.

it looks like a LOT of hard work. and no husband and kids. no dogs. no going outside and just taking a walk. or going shopping. i mean, seriously, living in NYC and no going to 5th avenue? even to look?

i wouldn't mind meeting some ballplayers and maybe getting a few hitting tips. especially from lefty swingers

hehhehheh

but seriously - cooped up for SIX months? no thank you.

and no husband and kids. no dogs.

I'm loving the idea already.

I think it's safe to say, Lisa, that you're not the target audience for this.