Aginor's profoundly weird Baseball thread

[Rhinosaurus]

They get new balls almost every time they touch the ground, yes.

[Mudcat]

Oh you can still cheat when it comes to pitching. The Astro’s where accused of it all last year and there are some boring numbers and such that would back up some claims yadda yadda yadda If you ain’t cheatin’ you aren’t trying.

[Aginor]

What also struck (see what I did there) me as odd:

When I watched the Brewers game last night there was a long haired guy named Hader pitching, and even I could see he was doing a pretty good job.
What I didn’t understand is: he pitched, the batter hit the ball, but it was a fly out because the fielder ran, jumped for it, and caught it. Nice athletic performance. However the crowd seemed to more cheer for the pitcher and the commentators also commented on how great he is and that he managed to get the out.

Is that like celebrating a Quarterback because the receiver caught his terribly thrown pass or is there more to it? Did he throw the ball with a special spin that made the fly out more likely or something?

[jenrick]

At brunch I’ll send more later. For the moment though Google baseball rubbing mud :). The rabbit hole goes deep.

[Aginor]

…what. the hell.
They really sell mud in cans to rub onto the baseballs??? I am stumped.

[Mudcat]

very specific mud from a secret location in NJ that mlb has used for a century. anyway watching mr hader pitch now from last night to see what was going on.

• ok think i just saw what you described, so was more of, he came in a situation that easily could given up runs, then went right through the cubs 2-6 batters. watching the top of the 9th now, but yeah, that was a play any left fielder in MLB should make, so wasn’t anything special there from the fielder.

[Aginor]

Remember to take everything I write with a good amount of salt, as I still have only a very rough understanding of what is going on.

[jenrick]

@Aginor

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.

It is not always a new ball, but the umpire can substitute a new ball at any time. Additionally the pitcher can request a new ball at any time.

@Aginor

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?

For most pitchers it’s trying to get the bal a bit rougher in the area they are trying to grip, or burnish it down a bit on the area they’re releasing from. For some it’s just a habit. If a player is just naturally sweaty that would be totally legal, and could well be advantageous for the pitcher. Hair grease, sweat from elsewhere, would be the same as a spit ball and not legal. The batter or base coach can signal that they want the ball/pitcher checked, it’s up to the umpires to decide to do so however.

@Aginor

I guess pitchers like rain? Or maybe they don’t?
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 I’ve seen different bats and wondered if some are more rough than others, which might be advantageous.

Rain is usually a pitchers friend. It’s not hard to keep the ball reasonably dry for grip, and particularly at night stadium lights and a light fine drizzle makes it difficult to see the ball in flight. If the pitcher wants to wet the ball down again, it’s easier to do so and not be noticed if it’s raining some. Remember to baseball isn’t played in a hard rain, so a drizzle is about all you’ll get.

The major adulteration to bats is changing the interior, the term “corked lumber” refers to hollowing out the barrel of the bat and replacing the wood with cork instead. There are various arguments of why it works, but short version is the ball flies farther so who cares why (some of the more popular are bat speed, and the cork being more elastic and rebounding)? You don’t want a bat to be rough/grippy as that would lead to less distance as the ball is pulled along the bat in the swing, rather then bouncing of when hit. Ideally a perfectly smooth and cylindrical bat would allow for the most distance assuming you struck the ball perfectly.

@Aginor

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 isn’t a fastball, while at 96mph it most likely is.

…

I assume the numbers (like 1-7 movement on a screwball) mean clock positions as seen from the batter’s point of view?

It’s not directly related to MLB, but watch some youtube videos of either college women’s softball or “wiffle ball” pitching. You can really see the ball move. It’s not the exact same movement (softball it’s about 50% more movement, and wiffle ball is about double at a minimum) of the ball, but it gives you an idea of what the ball is doing. And yes you are correct about the clock position.

Also you have the catcher “framing” the pitch, which is a whole different area regarding what’s a strike or a ball. I’ll save that for later in the season.

@Aginor

When I watched the Brewers game last night there was a long haired guy named Hader pitching, and even I could see he was doing a pretty good job.
What I didn’t understand is: he pitched, the batter hit the ball, but it was a fly out because the fielder ran, jumped for it, and caught it. Nice athletic performance. However the crowd seemed to more cheer for the pitcher and the commentators also commented on how great he is and that he managed to get the out.

Is that like celebrating a Quarterback because the receiver caught his terribly thrown pass or is there more to it? Did he throw the ball with a special spin that made the fly out more likely or something?

I didn’t watch the game, so all is speculation. In the MLB pretty much anyone (well not counting most pitchers who hit as well a first year tee-ball players on average), can hit an easy pitch deep. Good hitters can usually hit a homerun or at least a double or triple on an easy pitch. So a lot of times if you have a really good hitter, the pitcher causing them to hit a fly ball that can be tracked down for an out is pretty good job by the pitcher.

@Aginor

…what. the hell.
They really sell mud in cans to rub onto the baseballs??? I am stumped.

Short version from a guy I worked with years ago in the gaming industry who pitched in the AAA leagues. The mud is to give every ball a standard finish and grip to help deal with inconsistencies in leather manufacture and finish. This was a major issue a century ago, now it’s really an anachronism. The biggest issue he had with it, was that it is done by hand, so it still gives a lot of variation from ballpark to ballpark.

[Hangar200]

@Aginor

Remember to take everything I write with a good amount of salt, as I still have only a very rough understanding of what is going on.

Actually, your questions are great! You see things that those of us who have grown up with it, just take for granted.

Mud - yep they rub mud over the baseballs to make them easier to handle.

New Baseballs - Only in the majors and maybe some level of the minors. Little League? Maybe a dozen balls for the whole game. A long would ball or home run? Somebody gets to chase it down and bring it back to the ump.

In the MLB you may also see a couple of attractive young ladies in a pseudo home team uniform and baseball glove, about half way down the could linesman foul territory. They are “Ball Girls”. Their job is to pick up foul balls that were not fielded and remain on the field…and now aways just toss them into the crowd. Not to be confuse with the Bat Boy, who comes out of the dugout and picks up the bat after a batter has hit and run.

Emphasis on the Pitcher - I’m with you on this one. Yes, there is a special talent to be able to throw a ball into the strike at 90 mph. Too much emphasis? I feel it does get that way at time. If you think about it, pitching a “No Hitter” game does not mea the ball was never hit, it just means that nobody got on base from the hit…which means the other 8 players on the field had a little something to do with it.

Rough/slipper ball: Pitchers have been caught with nail files to roughen up the ball. It is cheating and they get thrown out. Spit balls (putting some saliva on the ball before the pitch, is also illegal.

The raised seams on the baseball provide the aerodynamic properties when the ball is spinning to make it curve in flight. A properly thrown curve ball will really curve a large amount. The opposite of this is the knuckleball. Both are perfectly legal.

[Aginor]

@Hangar200

pitching a “No Hitter” game does not mea the ball was never hit, it just means that nobody got on base from the hit…

That also threw me off a bit.
A fly out isn’t a “hit”. Although the ball was hit pretty great in some cases.

[jenrick]

You can have a perfect game which is not hits or errors, which is a pretty good job by a team pitching and playing defense. Also you can have an “immaculate” inning, which is 3 batters struck out. A true 9 pitch inning is a major rarity though. Apparently my terminology was wrong. A perfect inning is 3 up, 3 down with no one getting on base, and immaculate inning is 9 pitch inning.

@Hangar200

Emphasis on the Pitcher - I’m with you on this one. Yes, there is a special talent to be able to throw a ball into the strike at 90 mph. Too much emphasis? I feel it does get that way at time. If you think about it, pitching a “No Hitter” game does not mea the ball was never hit, it just means that nobody got on base from the hit…which means the other 8 players on the field had a little something to do with it.

The over emphasis on pitching in the last decade or so has turned me off of the sport honestly. I’d actually like to see a return to less specialization. We’ll never see it, but I’d love to see a 9 man roster, and barring injury that’s all you have. If you want a relief pitcher, it’s another player on the field. That would certainly change the dynamic.

[Hangar200]

I don’t mind relief pitchers. I do get kind of annoyed when they bring in one pitcher for one batter…bring in a southpaw because the batter statistically has a lower batting average against lefties. However, overall you can tell when the starting pitcher is starting to lose it and I don’t mind if they bringing a closer. Of course I’ve got very fond memories of the 1980 World Series with reliever Tug McGraw on the mound…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPcFeaLLltY

[Aginor]

You know you are playing Philly when you need riot police on the field because they won…

[Aginor]

Now watching a bit of Rays vs. White Sox.

[Mudcat]

Normally I’d be in the grumblely old man club, but I can assure you this was well earned by the pitcher. Fastballs 96-98 mph and was seemingly hitting the black everytime to all edges and corners of the strike zone. His breaking stuff was 79-83. That’s just brutal.

Hader's perfect save on birthday | 04/07/2019

[Aginor]

Yeah he did look pretty good.
Definitely a lot better than the White Sox guy I am watching right now.
Thanks for your comment!

Another observation:
Some of those guys either

• have severe OCD
• have athletic cups that don’t fit quite perfectly
• have crabs
• any combination of the above

Seriously, some of them scratch their crotches or something after every few pitches.

[Hangar200]

@Aginor

Seriously, some of them scratch their crotches or something after every few pitches.

It’s a baseball thing.

[Hangar200]

Ballgirls…they field way better than I can. EDIT: The play at 3:03 is amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63elkdAjyO0

[Aginor]

Some great catches there!

Btw, a question about the equipment:
Some pitchers seem to wear different gloves than others. I am not 100% sure about it, but it looks like some wear a glove similar to the one the catcher has, while others have a smaller one.
What’s that about? (Provided I am not mistaken)

Also: the catchers sometimes tap their chests, helmets, knees or so before the pitch, looking almost like Catholics crossing themselves. Is that signaling for the pitcher?

[Mudcat]

@Aginor

Also: the catchers sometimes tap their chests, helmets, knees or so before the pitch, looking almost like Catholics crossing themselves. Is that signaling for the pitcher?

possibly, it could also be a fake sign or even some more OCD. Also fixing one’s cup is important, getting hit directly in the cup ain’t not fun, better than the alternative, but not by much, no one wants a marble hanging out of the sack at the wrong time

The riot police for the WS victory, while it’s easy to give the usual philly stereotypes, you’ll hardly ever go wrong there, it also happened to be their first World Series win ever. That may not be quite the reason to have the riot squad for most, but realize the Phillies started in 1883 and didn’t win a championship till 1980…