What do I love about baseball?
technique, practiced skills and strategy CAN compete with speed, power and size
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I love that it is ANYBODY'S game on any given day. The #1 team in the state can be brought down by the 50th team in the state with a combination of luck/skill/and errors.
Originally Posted by jawaters1:
What do I love about baseball?
The sound of a bat squaring up a ball or a ball hitting leather!
A batter thinking three out of the box on a gapper.
A lumberjack swing and miss on a changeup.
A ground ball speared on a dive in the hole, then a throw from the knees.
A hitter seeing a curveball up, and hitting it out.
A nicely executed cut-off that keeps a runner from taking the extra base.
A runner taking the extra base with a good read on a hit/throw.
EVERYTHING.
Smell of fresh cut grass, crack of ball on wood bat, smell of fresh leather, the fact that a kid who is skilled can compete will the super athlete and vise versa...and the fact that when you get both in one package, watching them play is a thing of beauty...
Being left alone.
A well executed suicide squeeze
Cat and mouse games between pitcher and baserunner
Sound of ball hitting wood when batter squares up to ball
Only major sport where the manager dresses like "one of the players"
The sound of a squared up ball....never ever gets old! Is it March yet?!?!
the day to day activity of my family, virtually everything revolves around practice, school and games
Seeing a couple of my boys (dads) a few times a week we have been watching together for years now that we are done coaching
the weather getting better every week instead of worse
the hurry to get work done on game day....
Soccer is called "the beautiful game." Don't want to bash soccer, but on my view it's really baseball that deserves that title. AS sports go, baseball is singular in so many ways -- and singularity is, I think, one element of beauty. Think about the following situation. Bases loaded, 1 out, home team batting, score tied. Think of how utterly pregnant with possibilities that situation is. Think of how many different possible outcomes there are on any given swing of the bat in that situation. The pitcher could strike out the batter and the runners remain in place. The pitcher can walk or hit the batter. And a run will sore. A pass ball or a wild pitch will score a run, advance the other runners with the hitter still up. The hitter can bunt, hit a sac fly, get a single, double, triple, or home run, scoring 1, 2, 3, or 4 runs with a single swing of the bat. The hitter can hit into a double play ending the inning. The at bat can become a long struggle -- with the batter fouling off pitch after pitch, working his way into a 3-2 count. With each pitch the anticipation builds. I know some people don't like baseball because it seems to them to happen at a snails pace, and that not much happens at that. But the thing is each slowly developing moment in baseball is ripe with a more or less vast array of possibilities. Some favorable to one side, some favorable to the other. And the struggle to actualize the possibilities that favor your side is a moment by moment thing. I just love the sport. I really do.
Being Part of a team
I just had a conversation about this today actually! I love the dimensions... quite simply they just work. From Little League, to Babe Ruth, to College and the Pros the dimensions keep on working.
61' feet and there would be too much offense. 60' and there wouldn't be enough. If the bases were any further apart stolen bases would be too easy and a SS or 3B couldn't throw out a runner on a routine ball.
It is not an accident the game has stayed so popular for so long. It just simply works!!!
Going with the Pitch: Adjusting to Baseball, School and Life as a Division I College Athlete (Second Edition)
Awesome thread.
Nothing sweeter than the 6-4-3 dp. Poetry in motion.
Nothing sweeter than the 6-4-3 dp. Poetry in motion.
Originally Posted by GoingwiththePitch:
I just had a conversation about this today actually! I love the dimensions... quite simply they just work. From Little League, to Babe Ruth, to College and the Pros the dimensions keep on working.
61' feet and there would be too much offense. 60' and there wouldn't be enough. If the bases were any further apart stolen bases would be too easy and a SS or 3B couldn't throw out a runner on a routine ball.
It is not an accident the game has stayed so popular for so long. It just simply works!!!
Going with the Pitch: Adjusting to Baseball, School and Life as a Division I College Athlete (Second Edition)
I agree, and I think about that all the time. Batter hits a rocket down the 3b line. 3rd-baseman lays out to spear it, jumps up and throws. Out at first. Shot in the 5-6 hole. SS does a full Jeeter. Out at first by half a step. That's baseball.
Elder, as the father of a 2nd baseman, I think 4-6-3 is pretty sweet too, as is 5-4-3. And 3-6-4 is okay too.
I like the way that a game that seems to be very simple is surprisingly complex. And I like the way that just when you think you've seen it all, something new happens.
More than anything else, win or lose, I just like being at the yard as the game is played, whether it's our local LL or at AT&T Park.
What I don't like is that yahoo that seems to have been following me around all these years who apparently goes to the game just to yell nonstop for nine innings about exactly how much and and exactly what way some player, umpire, or umpire sucks.
Hotdogs
Defense has the ball.
No penalties on plays.
ps: Playing catch with my son. We could talk...just the two of us!
George said very well:
| by George Carlin |
Baseball is different from any other sport, very different. For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he's out; sometimes unintentionally, he's out. Also: in football,basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring. In most sports the team is run by a coach; in baseball the team is run by a manager. And only in baseball does the manager or coach wear the same clothing the players do. If you'd ever seen John Madden in his Oakland Raiders uniform,you'd know the reason for this custom. Now, I've mentioned football. Baseball & football are the two most popular spectator sports in this country. And as such, it seems they ought to be able to tell us something about ourselves and our values. I enjoy comparing baseball and football: Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game. Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park! Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life. In football you wear a helmet. Football is concerned with downs - what down is it? In football you receive a penalty. In football the specialist comes in to kick. Football has hitting, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting and unnecessary roughness. Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog... Baseball has the seventh inning stretch. Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings. In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness. And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different: In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line. In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home! |
Women in the summer at The Big A (or whatever it might be called this year).
Sitting in the dugout after a really hard practice. Watching the sweat run down a kids face with his shirt soaked, smile and laugh as we shoot the breeze. Talking about that time when ---------- and laughing till it hurts. Hanging out with a group of young men that have the same dreams and goals. Hanging out with that same group that all are willing to do what it takes to accomplish those dreams and goals. Seeing a young man who has never shaved, never had a girlfriend, never driven a car, grow up on and off field right in front of your eyes. And just being a small part of it. Seeing a young man struggle at the game and want it so bad. Watching him work so hard day in and day out. And then being there when he finally get's it. And then sharing in the joy of him finally getting it. Watching a kid that has no clue what it takes. Learn what it takes and then teach others. Building relationships that last a lifetime through a game. Watching a 14 year old kid wilt in a pressure situation on the JV. Watching that same kid at 18 thrive in a pressure situation.
I could go on and on. But what I mostly love about baseball is the players. The young men that play the game. Baseball is a teacher. And if we are willing to learn she will teach us much about life. And leave us with memories that will last a lifetime.
I love Coach May's post. The thing I love most about the game is simply watching my son compete. There is nothing better, and more nerve racking at the same time, than watching my son command a game from the mound. Just seeing the man my son is becoming before my eyes is unbelievable. I never realized just how much I missed it until his injury kept him out of the fall season. This is the first time in his life that he has been unable to play because of an injury. I am more ready for this spring than any in the past, mostly because it will be his first college spring, but also just to see him compete again.
Coach may you are spot on, one thing I am now so far removed from is the dugout culture, the good, bad, ugly, funny...quality stuff happens in the dugout!
Great little story from my last year at 14u keeping the book. Head coach says to back up catcher between innings "what is the best strike" kid looks at him with no idea of the proper response and the coach says a first pitch strike is the best one...kid kind of doesn't get it. the coach says it took weeks for "jim" the primary catcher to understand that but he gets it now. so the coach yells across the dugout "hey jim what is the best strike in baseball" jim looks at him kind of confused and says "fastball?" awesome stuff coach just slowly shakes his head...little jim is now committed to a High Academic for engineering...LOL first pitch strike was to simple for him!!
A few things really get me jacked for baseball.....
-start of college baseball season
-MLB Spring training
-hitter caught looking on a third strike especially if it in inside
-pickoffs
-pitching duels
-no hitters
-the history
Bat Flips
Phiten Necklaces
Digital camo everything
Arm sleeves
Man Buns
Bryce Harper style eye black
Batter turning to the umpire during the middle of an AB to question a called strike.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Go out and work for a half inning, then come back to the dugout for a half inning with your friends, watching the game until it's your AB.
Originally Posted by Texas1836:
Go out and work for a half inning, then come back to the dugout for a half inning with your friends, watching the game until it's your AB.
Thank You to all that have commented, I really needed to be reminded.
I got one more to add to my list
.....a well executed hit and run. There ain't nothing better.
A great shortstop
I love to hear two guys that have great track records as hitting instructors, but different philosophies....talk hitting.
The game has provided an opportunity to create, challenge and achieve.
From the Area Code games [1987-2004] and the Goodwill Series [1983-2015].
In 1999, during our Goodwill Series with the Japan National HS team, both teams were invited view the Yankees- Angels game in Anaheim. The Japan TV media was part of the group. Several Yankees and Angels [Cecil Fielder and Rex Hudler] had played in Japan.
Before the game the Angels GM called and invited me to throw out the 1st ball.
I said "NO". I suggested because of the Japan TV that Mr. Makino, President of the HS Baseball Federation for 40 years "throw out" the 1st ball.
He did and 40 million in Japan were very happy.
Yes, I love the opportunity to provide enjoyment thru the game of baseball.
Bob
Ok - Some of the stuff about the actual game.
A sizzleing 4 seam fastball as it hits the mitt. Something about that sound.
A rope from the catcher to 2B - I mean a frozen rope that nails a runner.
A perfectly executed cut play.
A BOMB! I mean one that when it's hit there is no freaking doubt. One where everyone just stops and stares in amazement.
That same BOMB where the batter acts like it's just another routine at bat as he runs the bags and everyone else is admiring the BOMB while he runs the bags.
A blocked 3rd strike on a nasty slider down and away. Runner busts out of the box and the catcher calmly throws a seed to 1B getting him by a step.
The slow roller where the inf plays it perfectly coming full speed and nails the runner by a hair.
That situation in a game where the hitter knows exactly what he is going to get and the pitcher knows it too and he challenges him - that anticipation of outcome is awesome. Especially in a big time situation.
Those are just a few. Nice thread.
I don't want to bore people too much but I've mentioned before that I think Baseball saved my life. I grew up in a bad place. I was cut both my freshman and sophomore years because, according to the lower level coach I was, "just too mean." I wasn't but I had to fight to protect my brother and sister so I gained this reputation. Then, one day in school while standing in the lunch line, my PE Teacher came in followed by the varsity baseball coach. My PE Teacher was the first teacher to ever act like he cared for me. Long story short, he introduced me to the varsity coach and told that coach that if he were the varsity coach I'd be on his team. I was told to tryout again and that I would make the team because my PE Teacher said that. That day gave me hope and the game I love changed everyone's perception of me.
In playing the game itself, I loved the one on one aspect of pitcher and hitter. I was both. So, it was me against my opponent's best. I learned to believe in myself and know that I could overcome anything. I did well but at the same time, I was learning skills that would enable me to become a Coach. Now, I am blessed to be a Coach.
Per Coaching, the game has given me some of the greatest moments of my life. Two State Championship and a State Runner up were so incredible. I coached baseball in the former Soviet Union. Still, it was, is and has always been the kids! I love those guys. Baseball gave me so many sons. I can't help but smile when I see them. This after noon, I ran into a player from 2007. We had a blast talking. He ended our time today together by saying what so many says. "Coach I miss it so much." How much better can a life be!!!
The many hours spent with my son away from a TV and game console outside in the warm sun and spring smell. And each season watching him grow up right before my eyes becoming a good teammate, a good sport, a leader, learning how to win AND lose gracefully, watching the many doors of opportunity open and how he grew all the times that the doors stayed shut. This game brought me and son together in a way that only heaven could have ordained it. This game also helped me build and forge friendships that most likely would have never happened. And the myriad of gentlemen and ladies on this site who supported me and my son along the way on his journey with sage advice, golden wisdom, unwavering encouragement, prayers in the trenches, and cheers when we celebrated as a family. What was so neat was watching many of the young men on here grow up from little league ball and then one day get drafted! This site has so many golden and special memories for me.
YGD
The one thing that always stood out to me was the smell of a just cut field. Then I sneezed.
I love days like today where I am reminded that we can, in fact, pass on some love of the game.
2:15 - attended an LOI signing of one of our players. There were about 100 people crammed into the hallway at the school, lots of our current and recent players and parents among others. I probably had no fewer than twelve returning players approach me, anxious to find out when we get started back up. Nearly as many parents did the same. I had a few parents I had never met before, parents of incoming freshman, say how excited their boys are to play for the school. The senior who signed... "thanks so much for coming, Coach. When do we get started?"
For a while, I stood next to a dad of another recent grad who is flourishing as a redshirt freshman at a strong D1 program. Today's signee will be the second D1 from our school in three years. We have five players currently playing college ball, across all levels. Another is a team manager/ bullpen catcher for the D1 he is attending(injury kept him from pursuing playing). Prior to our staff's involvement, I don't remember a time, ever, when there was more than one college player from our school at any given time (typical of schools our size in our area).
4:30, I had another appointment - at the field. This was with a young man who played for us but decided there were more fun (or mindless) things to do than try to play college ball. After sitting out a year after HS, he is dying to get back on the field as a big LHP. We connected him with a JC that has interest for next year. He is busting his butt trying to get in shape and seems focused enough for the first time in his life to really accomplish something. His love of baseball could save his life. Oh, and then there is his catching partner. Another of our former players. I swung the door open and we grabbed some rakes. The catcher poked his head in... "I love this shed, Coach. I miss it."
Good baseball day. Not even in season.
OK, I have to add my personal on-field love... to this day, every time I step on a field with a glove on my hand, I have to smell the leather. Did it when I was seven. Still do it at 50-somethin'.
Originally Posted by cabbagedad:
OK, I have to add my personal on-field love... to this day, every time I step on a field with a glove on my hand, I have to smell the leather. Did it when I was seven. Still do it at 50-somethin'.
Good one Cabbage
I'll add... as a player it was "me and my domain". Whether it be the surrounding area of my position or the pitching mound.
Also, Salted peanuts in the shell
I really like this thread and all of the great replies. A couple things that stand out for me that I love.
How baseball is a team game with so many individual aspects to it. I love the 1v1 pitcher vs hitter. I dont think there is another team sport where one player can take over a game and dominate like a pitcher who is on can. And in that same game with one swing of the bat 1 player on the other team can still win the game.
The other thing is the generational bonding that can take place. I still remember when I was in high school my dad telling me he gets more enjoyment out of watching me play than he did actually playing. I thought he was crazy, but now that I have my own son playing the game I know exactly what he was talking about.
Best game ever.
That stinging sensation that makes your entire hand numb when you catch one of your sons throws in the palm. Usually happens right after I tell him he throws like a girl.
No Clock.