How much do you know about baseball?

SIBullets, I read the remark on another site and it is uncalled for. You know a lot.

As per myself = Nothing! The best way to learn is to know that you don't know nothing. Then, create a base for your knowledge. After that teach what you believe in. If it comes from the heart, then, you know a lot.

JMHO!

Thanks coach. Good advice. I have never claimed ever to know everything about baseball and try to learn something new everyday. Some of the smartest baseball people I have been around never played beyond high school, they did'nt have the physical talent but they had a passion and love for the game. They always tried to learn more about it.

SIBullets,

Don't be concerned of others what others think, there are many fools out there. Coach your kids the game and how to play and act in the game of life. Live for the respect your team and others give you. Thats baseball!!!

Baseball is a life-long learning lesson.

Gets better with age.

After talking to some guys who played the game for a long time, I often wondered if they were paying attention to the game all the while. Some learn some don't bother. A lot of coaches are guys who studied the game while they played, regardless of how good they were.

Take it from me, I know more about baseball then most of you guys ever will.

quote:

Originally posted by FastballDad:
Take it from me, I know more about baseball then most of you guys ever will.

My personal favorite comment said to me was "I have forgotten more about baseball than you will ever know"

SI,

Actually had this question asked once. "How much do you know about baseball"

Thought about it for a second and decided I couldn't accurately answer that question. So I said "Not as much as I'd like to"

Bullet,

I am checking the roster archives to see if I ever played with you before I answer .lol. I'm probably one of the dummies!
I think experience in the game is the biggest teacher , regardless whether you played or coached. I learned a ton from many good baseball men as a player but it wasnt because I was a player, IT WAS BECAUSE I LISTENED AND WANTED TO LEARN FROM AS MANY A I POSSIBLY COULD.
Bullet, I know your club and the people involved with your program, there is no question you are learning from them and they are learning from you. Its how it works.

SI,

As long as you are helping athletes get to the next level and/or beyond, you have been done your job as a coach. Not everyone could possibly have the exact same knowledge as a coach. From everything I have read on this site, I wouldn't worry about what somebody would type! - Don't get rabbit ears!

I guess I have been around awhile to at least say that I have some experience with baseabll. My father played minor league ball in the late thirties, early forties. He never met his potential and I most certainly didn't meet mine. Having said that, my son has explained some things to me in recent years that I was unknowledgable about. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

As you continue to watch baseball games, you can most definitely pick-up new things. Look at what Pierzynski did by running to first base on what appeared to be 'strike three'. His foresight forced the umpires to make a most difficult judgement call. What I learned was that,no player should take anything for granted. Runout the play!! Don't be like many lazy players. BUT, I'm sure that catchers will take that incident and remember to throw down to first base on every 'swinging (dropped) third strike, whether they thought he was out or not.

Anyway, I have a friend who umpired college baseball in Colorado, and we spent one evening talking about different situations, plays, calls. WOW, how enlightning!!!!! We think we know alot! They deserve much more respect for their knowledge than we give them credit for. They do make mistakes, and they always try to be consistent and make-up for those mistakes. These people are where we can gain more knowledge about the game. I'm still learning.

Those who don't think they know it all will end knowing more than those who do think they know it all.

One thing I know for certain, after years of coaching the little ones and administering their 'post game' sugar fix, is General Mills' Fruit Roll-Ups wins hands down over Rapunzel brand Organic Yogurt Sticks. Discriminating little devils I discovered.

gotwood,

As usual we learn something new every day. I can now go home, thanks!

PGStaff:

No problem at all...you're welcome!

" I don't care how much you know until I know how much you care". I don't know who came up with the phrase, but I can tell you from my experience that it may be the most important thing you get across to them.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PGStaff:
SI,

Actually had this question asked once. "How much do you know about baseball"

Thought about it for a second and decided I couldn't accurately answer that question. So I said "Not as much as I'd like to".

PG,
Good answer!

I try to think that it is not how much you know but whether you can pass it on to others. I have been blessed to have been around some great baseball people who communicate their passion and love for the game. I am also not too proud to have " borrowed " alot from other people who's ego was to teach and respect the game and your opponent . It was and always will be an honor to step foot on the diamond and compete in the 6,7. or 9 inning war that is baseball and then to shake the hand of the team who you just try to beat and then shake the hands of your teammates and coaches knowing that everyone involved left it all on the field.

Great thoughts..

Isn't the reason we spend hours, days, weeks, months and years here to learn. Obviously we don't know enough . I too have been a baseball lifer and I've learned more in the last few years then in all the games I played.

Many great knowledgeable baseball minds...The truly knowledgeable know that the key to this game of failure is being able to respond and react to imperfection. The coach that can instill in a player the virtues that become the tools for building confidence, overcoming fear and as we all know fear hovers over perfectionism. The real key is being able to convey the message, that's what separates the truly great coaches from the pack..If you can develop that bond...boy that's magic..when a kid comes back after getting drafted and says Coach we did this or I wouldn't be here without you! Magic! Being able to confront fear and allowing yourself to fail and not dwelling on it, is the core foundation to success in baseball and life! So if that D1 scholarship doesn't come, the knowledgeable coach will have given the lad a far greater gift. The ability to move forward and the realization that mistakes aren't failures at all, rather the stepping stones to success. The truly knowledgeable coach knows how to help a player through difficult times not by slick production or lecture, rather being able to reinvigorate and re-energize the confidence and helping the kid to believe in himself again. It's a strange paradox that all of the great baseball minds have over the years stated that "Baseball is 90% mental, why then do coaches spend so little time on this facet of the game (New thread topic) Walk into any baseball school and you will hear the crack of the bats...not much talking...Lot's to still learn.


Deleted per a number of request.

The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing.

Billy, I disagree! That's the easy way out.....The attempt at the profound but short quote...leaves me wanting and needing more...I think I've heard that before. What would really be inspiring would be if people would create some of their own concepts...takes a little work...may in fact be challenging! I think you (we) could all do better.

Socrates said it and I agree. I find myself, at times, wanting to expound on my great knowledge (LOL) and prove that I'm the next best thing to sliced bread. I can quote my GPA from college including all of the awards gather there, then factor in all of my accolades from the teacher profession. Boy, I am smart and great. Then I remember to remind myself of that quote about not knowing anything. Humility is a virtue. That is found somewhere in some black book. Knowledge comes from knowing what you know and then realizing that what you know might not be the truth as perceived by others. It’s kind of like is my red your red. You know, we can agree that that color is recognized by both of us as red but are you seeing my blue but have always been told it is red. Ok, so now I’ve convinced you that I’m not smart at all.

I love to sit and listen to baseball people who have all of the answers and portray themselves as the expert. Most of them have a rude awakening coming when they get bypassed by people such as we have here on this site who want to continuing learning about this great game. We would all do well when thinking about how smart we are or about winning to remember a quote by John Madden:

"When victory is achieved, that feeling can be overwhelming. Keep your common sense about you and be gracious. Silence is often the best practice after a win. If you must talk, praise your opponent and praise your teammates. Never praise yourself.

Why do so many athletes feel the need to tell everyone what happened - how they won, how well they performed? If you win, if you are good, people will see it. They will know without you telling them. Your job is to perform, not report.

Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class and be humble.

The most important thing to do after winning is to get right back to work. Winning can actually have a negative influence if you become satisfied with yourself. Even in victory, be critical and look for mistakes you might have made. Never be completely satisfied; always search for ways to improve.

My biggest guard is against becoming too satisfied when we win. There are many times when you've got to put the joy of winning behind you and look ahead to what really is uncertainty."

John Madden

TBS

I don't think you under stand the concept. It is not an easy way out. Admitting that one does not know makes them wanting to know more. People who say they know everything are wrong. Only God can say that. Knowledge is a wonderful thing but abusing it can cause more harm then good. When it comes to baseball coaches can make decisions that will make them heroes and people will say he must really know baseball and that same decision can lose the game for them the next day. There are millions of people with a million different ideas and all of them are the best. I can tell you that I love to watch the game, I love to watch my son play, and I can question coach’s decisions all I want but that doesn't mean I know more. I like the quote from Coach Russ Gangler, "It worked, so I made the right call".

The original post asked - How do you quantify baseball knowledge?

My opinion is there is no real answer because it is a never ending process.

For people to say I know more than you are immature and ignorant but to be able to admit that you need to learn more is truly knowledgeable.

Bill,

Great posts Bill and coachb,
My dad "who wasnt the smartest guy in the world when I was 16" once said to me after a good game I had that "no matter how good you are or how smart you think you are there is always someone out there who is smarter and better than you". He is alot smarter now that I am in my 30's. I didnt understand the meaning then and thought he was putting me down. Now I use that phrase all the time to players I coach.

How much do I know about baseball?

If you were to drop me into England or India, I would say that I was in the top 1% of the most baseball savvy people in that country (of course, everyone would want to talk about cricket anyway). Here in the US, there are thousands of people who have more baseball knowledge than I do. Even while I work hard to learn as much as I can continuously, so do they. I'll never catch them. Instead, I'll use them to learn. That should keep me just far enough ahead of the younger crowd to be able to help them as they try to learn all they can.

On this board there are many great baseball people. I am not one of them (maybe someday). Over a little time, I think it becomes easy to identify the truly smart ones...their posts have more ?'s than !'s.

Mike F

Ah, yes CoachB...but would you have been a "just" leader? None of your virtues were on Caesars list?

Bill: Now were talking!
Strength & Honor.....The range is good!

More than baseball to TBS?

MikeF, you made me laugh with your India anaolgy. It felt like I got dropped into Russia one time. Acutally the Soviet Union and Lithuana but... Anyway, I was there to help coach them and they were putting together their Olympic Team structure. Talk about being smart, I told them to get their arms loose and then we'd go over some stuff. Not bright on my part. They had never played catch and so, they were throwing in every concievable direction. Mountains of men they called ball players were getting drilled in every direction. That's when I knew that "Playing catch" was Z and I had skipped A-Y!!! I'm a little smarter now. LOL!

Mike F:

quote:

Even while I work hard to learn as much as I can continuously, so do they. I'll never catch them. Instead, I'll use them to learn.

Remember this if nothing else...

Fruit Roll-Ups... good.

Yogurt Sticks... bad.


Ok...ok...I'll take a hike!

quote:

Lithuana

Coach...love dear old Lithuania. Look for a fastballer or two in the big leagues in the next 6-8 years...from Lithuania.

Have 4 from Lithuania in pro basketball with more on the way.

Been

send them our way--bet they will be great students

Coach B

quote:

Originally posted by CoachB25:
That's when I knew that "Playing catch" was Z and I had skipped A-Y!!! I'm a little smarter now. LOL!

I'll bet that you had a blast6 when it was all said and done. And you just gave me an analogy that I will use going forward...playing catch is Z, and I'm all about A-Y.

Thanks,

Mike F

Gotwood,

quote:

Originally posted by gotwood4sale:

Remember this if nothing else...

Fruit Roll-Ups... good.

Yogurt Sticks... bad.

I'm afraid that all I offer these days are sunflower seeds or Double Bubble...if they want fruit roll ups, they'll have to see you.

Thanks for the tip,

Mike F

6-8 years??? TBS, any 12 year old All American Lithuanians out there throwing gas????

Sorry , I couldnt resist.....

or all Luthuanian Luthuanians?

Deuce, You caught that....and took the comeback away!
Remember...USSSA has an All-World Team. Lithuanians included.

TBS - Nice Christmas story. The only thing missing was a rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas by Carl Tex.