Please. You want to hate Boston fans for the late run of success in the last 15 years go ahead. I get it.
But no fan base, and I mean in any sport, is as insufferable and entitled for as long as Yankee fans have been.
Philly and Boston fans should at least be able to agree on that.
Ok, I have another noob question:
In the Box Score there is R-H-E
I understand the first thing, thatâs Runs, which equals points.
But what is the significance of the others? What does it tell the person who reads them?
Hits means how often they, well, hit the ball.
Errors isâŠwhen the defense dropped the ball?
Can you give me a few good examples and their interpretation?
Iâll try one myself:
The most recent game the Braves played was:
Cubs 4 - 12 - 1
Braves 6 - 8 - 0
I assume errors are a rare thing among pros. So the fact that the Cubs have one and the Braves donât, that might mean that at least one or two of the Bravesâ runs were a direct result of that error the Cubs made (and not because the Braves are so great).
Also the Cubs have more hits, but less runs.
Hmmm⊠that could mean that the Cubs pitchers threw more balls? So the Braves could more often just walk for their points?
(Ok, ok, you can stop laughing now. 
I know I am probably completely wrong)
You basically have it. 
Runs are runs and really the only thing that counts.
H = Hits are base hits. i.e. a batter hit the ball and made it safely to a base. As you indicated, a Hit is not the only way a batter can get to a base, specifically 1st base. A walk (4 balls) or getting hit by the pitch will put the batter on 1st base without hitting the ball.
E = Errors = something I have always had a hard time with. If a play is counted as an error, it does not count as a hit for the batter. So that is the third way a batter can get onto base without it scoring as a hitâŠeven though he did in fact hit the ball. I think errors should only be counted against the defensive player but⊠Regardless, an error is a mistakeâŠusually some kind of physical mistake with the ballâŠ
The classical error is two guys running to catch a fly ball and at the last moment each decides to let the other catch it, and the ball drops to the ground. Very rare in the majors because from the earliest age, American boys are taught to yell âI got it!â when they think they can catch the ball. The first to say it has âright of wayâ as it were. Still you see times when each fielder is not sure until the last moment, so⊠Plus there are times when neither yells it and they run not each otherâŠalways good for a laugh.
Your example is pretty good and shows that you are really getting the hang of things: Hits can be a metric of the âactionâ of the game. Lots of hits but few runs means that while the pitching may not be that good, the rest of the defense is getting outs. In other words, the Cubs left a lot of men on base when the Braves got a third out and retired the side.
Those totals are a hold over from the older days of baseball (read: no internet) when people would go to the ballpark and watch the scoreboard to see how other teams in the division were doing at that same time.
So Runs are easy and as you both commented - directly reflect who is winning (or won).
Hits are not just a refection of how well your team is doing at the plate, but more importantly how your, or their, pitcher is doing. Back in the way back days a starting pitcher would routinely go 7, 8, or the whole 9 innings. So hits could tell you how Bob Gibson was doing that day against Sandy Koufax at a glance. In this day of starters going 5 innings hopefully, and four or five relievers the rest of the way, the hits column is just a general âhow is my team pitching todayâ stat.
Errors are a mechanism to not reward a hit to a hitter that doesnât deserve it (he should have been out) but more importantly to not penalize a pitcherâs ERA (Earned Run Average) when, again, the guy should have been out. Baseball is the most stat heavy sport ever invented, Baseball counts - EVERYTHINGâŠand some stats are more important than others. Among all the stats, ERA is one of the most important. It is a direct reflection of how well a pitcher keeps runs off the scoreboard and is instrumental in how teams choose the five starters that form their pitching rotation. So it is important to distinguish what is an earned run and what is an un-earned run. If a batter reached base because the first baseman dropped an easy ball (error) and then subsequently scored, that is an unearned run, and does not count towards ERA. Conversely a home run is always an earned run - You let the guy hit it out of the park. Again - we count everything, and in many cases, the same thing in different ways.
As for that box score it is hard to infer anything from it other than who won. 6 runs on 8 hits could have come from a Grand Slam and a couple of doubles and the error may not have impacted it at all. Or some other combination. The 4 runs the Cubs got could have come from 4 solo home runs and the rest were left on base. Again we donât know without the whole box score.
Here is the old time scoreboard at Fenway park - It is still there, but is a glimpse of how fans could see what was happening in the game they were at, and across the league, before they all had smart phones and digital screens -
Now watching:
Miami Marlins @ Atlanta Braves.
Game is early today (1:30PM) which means 19:30h here so I can watch it. 
Indians up already on the Jays!
Short question:
When batters do warmup swings, they have something on their bat that looks like a white tube, 10 inches long or so. Whatâs that for?
a weight so that when they swing their regular bat it feels lighter and/or easier to swing, since they were swinging something heavier beforehand
Ok, thanks!
The player next in line to the batter at the plate is âon deckâ - in pro baseball, this player stands in a marked circle in foul territory, called the on deck circle.
And with that ends the first full game of Baseball Iâve ever watched!
I learned a lot and it was fun to watch.
In the end it was close but the Braves won.
Iâve seen two double plays, two home runs, a stolen base, two errors, a catcher interference (although I am not 100% sure what exactly happened there. It seems he touched the ball or the bat with his glove?) and lots of outs, including two I hadnât known yet (ground out and pop out).
I also saw something I didnât quite understand:
For the last few pitches (there was a runner on second or third) there were five defenders infield, leaving only two deep. Then the batter hit the ball far and there was nobody to catch it, so it was game over.
Why did they do that?
Now watching Cubs @ Brewers, bottom of 6th inning at the moment. @Mudcat might like that.
Edit: coming from Football the kinda non-threatening team names in Baseball crack me up.
I mean: the Chicago team is basically called âbaby bearsâ. And there are at least two teams who chose their⊠sock colors for their names?
Recent years have seen the incredible emergence of the shift. Basically analytics say a batter will hit somewhere more often than not so they are optimizing chance of fielding the ball by placing more players there.
It works or they wouldnât do it. Except when it doesnât
Next question:
Why is there a K displayed when there is a strike out?
What does that mean?
Iâve also noticed that after the top of the 7th inning somebody sings âGod Bless Americaâ.
Is there any particular reason as to why it is sung at that point, kinda in the middle of the game?
7th inning stretch.
Dunno why k is for strikeout other than it has a k.
Backward k is strikeout without swinging btw.
That would have been my next question!
Thanks!
âTake me out to the ball gameâ was another one that got sang regularly during the 7th inning stretch. I think âGod Bless Americaâ gained its favor after Sept 11.
Wheels
I didnât watch this game so I canât say for sure, however one possibility is a bunt. This is where the batter rather than swinging at the ball, places a hand on the barrel of the bat and attempts to tap the ball. It allows for far better directional control of the ball, and it normally goes into the ground quite quickly forcing a ground ball play rather than being able to pull down a fly ball, and go for a double play. A bunt in this situation could be sent to the first base line, or between 2nd and 3rd. While the batter would be almost guaranteed to be out (making it a sacrifice bunt), if done well it might give the runner on 3rd enough time to get home.
Bringing the outfield in basically removes that option for the batting team. Now the batter has to hit a long ball, but not a fly ball. A fly would give the outfielders time to adjust and pull it down, and force the runners to stay tight on the bags.
I also thought a bit more about the physics of Baseball. Some thoughts:
Making the ball either more slippery or giving it a different, rougher surface might be advantageous, depending on what kind of throw is intended by the pitcher.
I quickly learned that (unsurprisingly, the pastime is over 100 years old so any meaningful way to cheat probably has been encountered by now) carrying a file or grease is not allowed. Nor is spitting on the ball or dragging it through the dirt before the pitch allowed.
So I wondered: is the ball for the pitch always a new one? Because if it was rolling around over the grass or dirt and so on, that could be an advantage or disadvantage.
And I can also imagine that if a ball is in play for a while then everyone who has it might rub it a bit on his clothes or something to make it asymmetrically rough or clean or whatever.
Also: why are the pitchers kneading the ball sometimes? Some of them seem to do it more than others.
Are there rules for that kind of thing? I mean: what if a pitcher is like a guy I know who has always sweaty hands for some reason? What if he had greasy hair on his head and touched it before the pitch? Does someone check if he wipes his hands?
I guess pitchers like rain? Or maybe they donât?
What amount of rain is still OK? (The pitcher might dry the ball or not based on preference)
What about the bats?
I guess a greased bat would be not ideal, but Iâve seen different bats and wondered if some are more rough than others, which might be advantageous.
I am reading about the different kinds of throws now, as the commentators constantly talk about fastballs, curveballs, and sliders, and I cannot see the difference yet. Except that a ball flying at 85mph probably isnât a fastball, while at 96mph it most likely is.
Edit:
This site looks informative.
https://lokeshdhakar.com/baseball-pitches-illustrated/
I assume the numbers (like 1-7 movement on a screwball) mean clock positions as seen from the batterâs point of view?
