"PIN"

[Victor Steinbok]

  Not only that, but MLB is a fairly recent vintage. I don't recall ever
hearing or seeing references to "MLB" prior to the late 1990s--i.e., the
"dotcom era". Checking GNA gives a very vivid graph:

http://bit.ly/9EU41j

To make matters worse, most of the early hits are from documents on
MLB.com. The graph for "MLB baseball" makes the point even more obvious:

http://bit.ly/9QUHy8

Compare that distribution to "major leagues baseball" (you extend the
search range into the early 1900s):

http://bit.ly/bJWnOl

Clearly the Google database is not exhaustive, but it provides a fairly
clear view of a cross-section of publications.

In fact, comparing NBA to MLB is also illustrative:

http://bit.ly/99R2fx
http://bit.ly/cO3QYM

and

http://bit.ly/b7PmJa

Clearly, there is a recent upswing in "NBA basketball" hits, but that's
largely due to 1) a similar increase in "NBA" hits, and 2) a gradual
increase in the number of digital-ready publications available to
Google. The numbers for "MLB baseball" cannot be explained in the same
manner.

     VS-)

On 8/12/2010 4:39 PM, Dan Goodman wrote:
> Jeff Prucher wrote:
>>> From: Dan Goodman<dsgood at IPHOUSE.COM>
>>>
>>> USA Today's tv listings of baseball broadcasts include the phrase  "MLB
>>> baseball."
>>>
>>
>> That strikes me more as being specific about which league is being broadcast (as
>> opposed to, say, NCAA baseball) than redundant.
>>
> MLB = Major League Baseball.    It refers to the National League and the
> American League.  Not to one specific league.
>
> --
> Dan Goodman
> "I have always depended on the kindness of stranglers."
> Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Expire
> Journal dsgood.dreamwidth.org (livejournal.com, insanejournal.com)

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