Archive for May, 2012

Call 9-1-1 Our Strike Zone is Missing!

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

First things first, this iconic image of Ted Williams (on display in Cooperstown) at bat should be imprinted upon our nation’s baseball conscience forever; he is, after all, possibly the last .400 hitter! All coiled-up and ready to spring, that stare alone, must have been an intimidating sight to opposing pitchers.

The chart, which shows Ted’s BA based on pitch location, has a huge, old-school, strike zone that only a baseball-parent sitting in drizzle on a Saturday morning could love. In today’s game, anything above the belt is a ball; imagine the rhubarb if a pitch above the hands were called a strike! In amateur baseball, the zone might start out this big at the lowest levels but as you move up, the zone shrinks down almost to the pro-level. Of course all the umpires in the stands know a good pitch when they see one but how many of you know what the rule book says about the strike zone?

The major league official rules define the zone as follows:

“The Strike Zone is that area over home plate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap. The Strike Zone shall be determined from the batter’s stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball.”

Now, take another look at Ted and note the lines we’ve drawn on his back. That mid-line perfectly dissects the top ball in the zone – amazingly, the diagram accurately displays the modern strike zone, as defined in 2012. And since it’s a strike if any part of the ball hits the zone, you can pretty much add the width of the ball all the way around. We understand the game of baseball is more exciting when there is lots of action and we could write a book on all the factors affecting how and why balls and strikes are called, but that is for another day…

The best hitters have great plate coverage and can drive any pitch back where it came from and to all fields but even Ted had a trouble zone with the low and away junk. We’re not gonna go so far as to say we could have helped Ted out but knowing that all great hitters work hard at it, we can say that small-ball training with The MaxBP is the most efficient, safe and cost effective way to practice until your hands bleed. We guarantee it (not the hands bleeding part, that’s optional).

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Clown College and the Infield Fly Rule

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

I’m always surprised to see players surprised when the infield fly rule is called and all hell breaks loose on the bases. It takes but one clown to trip the first insane-base-running domino when the ball hits the ground and all of a sudden, it seems like the circus is in town and the diamond is the center ring. Everyone involved with a baseball team should not only know the IFR but recognize when it is a possibility in real-time, during games. Those of you serious baseball people whose intelligence we have already insulted have to admit you’ve probably seen some confusing IFR scenarios in your day – read on.

(IFR 101) The spirit of the IFR is to protect the runners in a situation that clearly favors the defense, which could easily turn a double play on a cleverly or ineptly dropped ball. The rule is pretty simple:

IF a fair territory infield fly ball can be caught with ordinary effort
AND there are less than 2 outs
AND runners are on 1st/2nd or bases loaded, (<2o) & (2nd/3rd or BL)…

…The batter is declared out while the ball is in flight, the runners are not forced, and any advance is optional and follows the rules for a non-force play. The umpires should call out something like “infield fly – batter is out” and point to the sky to alert the players (see photo).

(IFR 201) We think of IFR madness being triggered by the ball on the ground but how can runners stay calm if they are not aware of the the situation in the first place? Where are the base coaches when you really need them? If they can be programmed to yell “make sure he goes home” on every full count with 2 outs, surely they could dish out a little love when the IFR is a possibility. The players don’t need to do a lot of thinking, which we know they’re good at; they just need to be aware of the IFR and plan to stay anchored if they hear the call! Base coaches need to be coached to alert runners; runners need to be alert to the IFR call.

(IFR 301) The IFR circus tent can pop-up quickly when the umpires DON’T call it so lets look at how the blue view it. First, it’s not the Infield Pop-Up Rule, the key word is “fly” which is defined as a ball in the air that is NOT a line drive, which is defined as a ball that is hit sharply and directly to a player. The tricky job for the umpires is to decide when a ball is a liner and when it is not, based on the arc; as soon as it’s not a liner, it’s a fly. Second, the umpire needs to decide if it can be caught with ordinary effort. The rule book doesn’t say ordinary effort by a pony leaguer, or a 50 year old with a bad ankle on a windy day, or ordinary for a first baseman who’s had a few too many double cheeseburgers – it just says “ordinary”. While the mile high pop-up is easy, the looper between first and second suddenly has the umpire on the spot as though his wife just asked him “does this make me look fat?” He can’t take a lot of time to answer the question, and like all calls, he’ll be wise to call it quickly and with authority; it is after all a judgment call that is final so really, if it is not obvious, then he should declare, “no, it does not make you look fat!”

Summary: Know the rule – Recognize the possibility – Look for the call.

(IFR – Extra Credit) There are other lesser know details about the IFR you might not know like: did you know a bunt cannot result in the IFR? Baseball rules are wise and proper so if the batter can’t lay down a good bunt, the offense isn’t about to be bailed out by the rules. The defense has the option to let the ball hit the ground and go for the dp but they can’t intentionally drop it, like any ball. Many of you know also that the ball does not have to remain in the infield as defined by grass/dirt lines and can be caught by an outfielder in the outfield, if it is just as easily caught by an infielder. Also, if the ball is not caught and rolls foul, it’s a foul just like any other ball but if it lands foul and rolls fair, the batter is out. A little more bonus Cracker Jack – there is a little known rule that if a ball lands beyond an imaginary line from 1st to 3rd base, it is fair even if it spins foul – we’ve never seen it. So there you have it, an advanced education on the Infield Fly Rule, we hope you’ve learned something today.

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