Baseball Virgin

[LTLJOHN]

I took a German colleague to a baseball game earlier this year. It was also his first exposure to the game that we have been learning about our entire lives. It is hard to impart a lifetime of things that one "just knows" by living it in a short time. There are so many subtle things in the strategy of the game.
Lamble is getting a pretty good primer here. Ask lots of questions and enjoy the game.

A quick note to Tessler GO SOX

 

[sheridesabeemer]

Reading the rule book to understand baseball is like reading your owners manual to learn about riding.

Baseball is about history, legends, rivalries and characters. The more you know about these things prior to watching a game the more interesting it becomes.
I hope you can watch the game with someone who knows!


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[LTLJOHN]

Gail,
Thanks for posting that.
GO SOX

 

[rocketman]

Don't feel badly. I've never been to a cricket game (match?). Moot

A cricket match makes almost any game seem like a mad house of activity! I know, I used to play it gowning up, now please pass the tea, crumpets and cucumber sandwiches...


RM

 

[akbeemer]

Baseball Neophytes

While attending the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College I tried to organize a baseball game in which the non-Canadian officers played our hosts in a friendly game of softball. Many of the allied officers were Brits, Aussies or from Pakistan and had played cricket. Their skill sets for playing softball were good (they could throw a ball, swing a bat and hoist a beer) so we Americans spent most of our time teaching our neophyte teammates the critical skills of spitting, calling time while digging-in in the batterÔÇÖs box and of course ÔÇ£checking your packageÔÇØ. Confidence was high until all hell broke loose when a Royal Marine left the batterÔÇÖs box and charged the pitcher with bat at the ready. I guess this is encouraged in cricket, but it leads to a huge brouhaha in Toronto. PLAY BALL!!

 

[rocketman]

A squeeze play sounds interesting, is there a cheerleader doused with baby oil that they have to chase and catch?

Bawhaha! Thats just too rich! Plus one for Lamble!

I do believe you've found yourself in a bit of a sticky wicket trying to understand base-a-ball...

RM

 

[glurkus]

"I never realized how boring baseball is until I quit drinking!" - Homer Simpson

 

[RIK]

All you need to know

Abbott and Costello Who's on First? skit.

 

[gabentx]

Abbott and Costello Who's on First? skit.

Classic!!!

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Now what I really want is someone to explain to him the Infield Fly rule & Balks! Also the DH rule and why only 1/2 the teams are forced to use it!

hehehe!!!! (Adding fuel to the fire!)

 

[tessler]

If by "other team" you mean the Cardinals (who, by the way, are the only MLB team with a winning record against the Yankees in the World Series), I don't think The Rocket ever played for StL.

You are correct sir. My '86 reference coupled with Rocket and other team was meant for the illustrious Astros, who put up a good fight in the playoffs that year.

Truth be told, to me, the game to see in NYC during the 80s was anytime Whitey Herzog brought his Cards up to Shea. Watching Ozzie Smith play '85-'87 was a sight to behold. Smith was one of the best shortstops in the business.

But if you did have ground, then you could bowl a bouncer at 150mph and knock the batsman's head off.

I think I heard Tim McCarver whine about this very same thing one time...

A quick note to Tessler GO SOX

I've always thought that the Sox should have been called the Yankees... Never made any sense to me that the New England team was named after an article of clothing and the NY team got a moniker more closely associated with a region to our north!

That's as if Boston decided to choose the name the Boston Knickerbockers or the Boston Wall Streeters

 

[BeemerMike]

But if you did have ground, then you could bowl a bouncer at 150mph and knock the batsman's head off.

Ahem . . . in the U.S., we don't play with dirty balls.

 

[BeemerMike]

Watching Ozzie Smith play '85-'87 was a sight to behold. Smith was one of the best shortstops in the business.

And Ozzie didn't need a stock car to jump off of in order to do a flip!

 

[26667]

it's a game of inches!

Baseball's a perfect game. Now that you've got the basics, here's some "subtleties" to consider. The distance btw bases (90FT) is just exactly enough that on a ball hit to the third baseman, for example, the speediest runners in the game can just barely beat it out and be ''safe" at first...or not. Tie goes to the runner. (not enough time, tho' to get from first to second, hence the possibility of the "double play")The distance from the pitcher's mound to the plate (60'6") gives the batter about .4 seconds to decide whether he's going to swing and to predict where the ball will be when it reaches him. The curve ball for example looks very tantalizing mid-flight, (much like a fast ball that will arrive in the hitting zone)but then, travelling at a slower rate of speed and spinning differently, drops abruptly out of the hitting area and away from where the batter "predicted" it would when he decided to swing. The distance to second base is just enough that the time it takes for the pitch to reach the catcher combined with the the time it takes to be thrown to second base is just about enough time for the speediest runners to "steal" second...or not. It's much much easier to get a run in from second than first. Notice between batters where the fielders set up. That'll tell you a lot about how the pitcher's going to pitch this particular hitter. They know in advance all the other players' tendencies and they know what they'd like for them to do. ie. hit a grounder to the left side or a fly ball. Walking the first batter in an inning is almost alway a recipe for trouble. That's an "extra" chance to score a run. A "fourth" out if you will. Strategery! mixed w skill is the game. ok and mixed w beer. Have fun anyway.

 

[PAGoldsby]

Watching Ozzie Smith play '85-'87 was a sight to behold. Smith was one of the best shortstops in the business.

I clarified it for you.

 

[tessler]

I clarified it for you.

+1

 

[BeemerMike]

I clarified it for you.

Well, I can't argue with the clarification.

 

[kbasa]

Baseball is a game of potential outcomes. It's more fun when you understand what the potential series of events is for every play.

 

[PAGoldsby]

So, you guys wanna hear my Whitey Herzog story?

 

[Threeteas]

Did homework last night on baseball...just one question really... Yogi Beara...made up name, or what?

Sorry if he's some sort of cult institution held dear here, but come on Yogi?

 

[PAGoldsby]

He got the nickname Yogi from a friend who saw him as a Hindu mystic. THe cartoon character was named after him, and he didn't particularly like it.

He's from an area in St. Louis known as "The Hill". It used to be called "(somewhat derogatory term for Italians) Hill" but I guess we can't do that anymore. At any rate, the best food in STL is on The Hill. Go there around Labor Day (or is it Memorial Day?) and watch the bicycle race!