Working the Strike Zone

   Earlier today the spring training schedule opened with the Philadelphia Phillies defeating the Florida State Seminoles by a score of 6-1.  To kick off the start of live action, I wrote this post to give readers some insight to what goes on between the lines.
 
   Pitchers are taught at a young age to throw strikes.   "Just go out there and throw strikes" a Little League coach might tell his young hurler.  That's fine at that age because it teaches control, but the problem with throwing strikes is that hitters can hit strikes.  What big-league pitchers try to do is paint the corners or get the hitters chasing balls out of the strike zone with their breaking stuff.  There is a difference between a strike and a good strike in baseball, and Greg Maddux was the ultimate master to support this.  He worked the strike zone brilliantly and this is why he is sure to be a first ballot Hall of Famer.
  The hitter's strike zone is the area over home plate from the top of the shoulders to just below the kneecap.   This leaves the catcher up to nine zones in which to set up.  These zones vary however because of human error by the umpire and the batter's stance at the plate.  This does not mean that a pitcher needs to throw a fastball down the middle though, because if he does the fans in the bleachers will get a lot of souvenirs that day and the pitcher might receive a plane ticket to the minor leagues.  He simply needs to make adjustments and mix up his speeds better.  Work up and down and in and out and utilize his breaking stuff.  A good, hard slider will look like it's headed right down the middle and "slide" at the last moment leaving the batter to hit a weak ground ball off the end of the bat or jam him inside.  That's just one example of the many pitches a pitcher might have in his repertoire which supports the case that good pitching will beat good hitting any day.  The next time that you watch a game on television, and that pitch tracker strike zone (that the umpires hate so much) shows up on the screen, take notice of how many pitches are in the middle of the plate.  You might be surprised at what you see.

The Quotable Side of the Game

This quote was said by Wes Westrum.  Westrum was a catcher for the New York Giants  from 1947-1957.  This particular one, however, came from the years when he was a coach for the San Francisco Giants.

"Baseball is like church.  Many attend but few understand."

Just Another Crooked Campaign from Washington

   "First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League".  This is a widely used statement referring to the beginning years of the old Washington Senators.   Things have changed a lot since then but the Washington Nationals, now of the National League, are trying to prove that statement true once again.
   Earlier this month the Nationals displayed a total lack of class by an organization when they kicked off their "Take Back the Park" campaign.  According to the initiative the Nationals are allowing only people who live in Washington D.C., Maryland, or Virginia the chance to purchase single game tickets for all of the Nationals vs. Phillies contests this season at Nationals Park.  Furthermore, the team has limited the group sales for these games, and even returned the deposits to some of the out of market fans once the campaign kicked off.  Their goal is to keep bus loads of Phillies fans out of the ballpark and cater to their fans.  The Nationals Chief Operating Officer, Andy Feffer, stated that other fans can buy as many tickets that they want once the promotion is over.  The individual tickets will be at a non-discounted rate and he has failed to state exactly when the promotion will end.  The last time that I checked, money in Philadelphia was just as good as the money in Washington  D.C., Maryland, or Virginia.
   Last Sunday, the team's third baseman, Ryan Zimmerman signed a 6 year deal worth $100 million.  This comes one year after the Nationals signed outfielder Jayson Werth to 7 years at $126 million.  These players in particular and the organization in general should be publicly thanking the bus loads of Phillies fans that show up every season and pay good money for their tickets.  Maybe, the Nationals are still upset that after they signed Werth to the big contract his batting average dropped 64 points from his last year as a Phillie.  Whatever it is the Nationals need to concentrate less on who is buying tickets and more on building a winning team.  The Phillies don't discriminate against fans watching a game at Citizens Bank Park and they have won the National League East  in five consecutive seasons with a World Series Title .  If it's a rivalry the Washington Nationals want they need to be able to compete, and there is a better chance of bringing an honest politician to The Nation's Capital than a World Series Championship.

The Quotable Side of the Game

This one comes from "The Flying Dutchman", Hall of Fame shortstop- Honus Wagner:

"There ain't much to being a ballplayer, if you're a ballplayer."

Exhibition vs. Classic

The NBA All Star Game is in the books with the West prevailing by a score of 152-149.  Does it really matter?  Unlike the Major League Baseball All-Star Game the NBA, NHL, and Pro Bowl games are purely an exhibition for the fans, and nothing more.  That's why it is not a huge surprise that, according to USA Today, the NBA All-Star Game outranked the NASCAR Daytona 500 rainout by only a slight margin in television ratings, (5.4 to 4.5), and the race never started.   Major League Baseball did a great thing by adding the incentive of home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that won its' All-Star game and the stats don't lie.   Since the incentive was introduced to the game in 2003, the team with the home-field advantage has won 6 out of those 9 World Series Championships including the last 3.  No team wants to open the World Series in Philadelphia, or Yankee Stadium in New York where it's hard to get a win in April let alone October.  The players play harder and the game is more intriguing for the fans, especially those who have teams in the hunt for a championship.  In comparison to other sports, the "exhibition" games fall way short of the Midsummer Classic that is Major League Baseball's All Star Game.

Baseball: The Modern Day Fountain of Youth

   In 1513, the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon set out on a voyage and discovered what is now the state of Florida.  As the legend goes, he set sail looking for the Fountain of Youth to cure his aging.  Today pharmaceutical companies are always searching for the next anti-aging products, and people all over the world are using them.  Is anti-aging just a myth, or was Abner Doubleday searching for the same vitality restoring waters when, as history says, he invented the game of baseball in 1839? 
   The game of baseball is a kids' game that never leaves your heart once you let it in.  That's why, in the vitality-restoring waters that is the game of baseball, a 'kid' refers to anyone between the ages of 5 and 105.  From the 8-year-old Little Leaguer, putting on his uniform for the first time, to the 40-year-old Major League veteran who is wondering if this will be the last time he wears one.  Then there are the 60-year-old managers and coaches who have so much knowledge and enthusiasm for the game that they cannot bear to do anything else but pass along that knowledge.  The Fountain of Youth doesn't stop with the people in the game either.  Fathers and grandfathers all over tell stories of games and players of years gone by, returning them to the days when they were young and life was so much simpler.  Is it a coincidence that both spring training and the Fountain are associated with Florida?
   Satchel Paige pitched in a game when he was 59 years old, Minnie Minoso played when he was 57, and more recently Jaime Moyer pitched in the 2008 World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies, at the age of 45.  All of these players might have seemed old by sports standards, but in their hearts they knew that they still had what it takes to be competitive.  They had the drive and determination to step onto a baseball diamond, on a warm summer day, and pick up a baseball again; just like they have thousands of times since they were little.  Moyer's manager in that 2008 World Series was 64-year-old Charlie Manuel who gained near "rock star" status in Philadelphia after leading the Phillies to their first World Series Championship in 28 years.  Before that, what baseball fan could forget the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park in Boston when Ted Williams, appropriately nicknamed "The Kid", threw out the first pitch.  Williams was driven in from centerfield on a golf cart as thousands of fans stood and cheered him.  When he got to the mound All-Stars past and present greeted him with handshakes and hugs.  Then the 80-year-old Williams, who had suffered two strokes and a broken hip, stood up, and delivered the first pitch of the game.  He shook hands and talked baseball with the surrounding players there, and for that moment he was "The Kid" again.
   Growing up, many rookie baseball fans cannot wait for their fathers to get home from work to play catch in the backyard.  There is something about tossing a baseball back and forth that bridges that gap in life between generations and sticks with you well into adulthood.  Warm, sunny spring afternoons tossing a ball and hearing stories of days gone by.  Looking at Dad's old bubblegum cards, hearing the stories of players that you have never heard of until then, and listening about how your grandmother threw away a lot of his best cards because she felt that he grew up from collecting them.  They become snapshots in your memory, almost like ghosts in your mind, of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams until you wake up one day and you're the one bridging that gap between your generation and the next.  It is part of the game that keeps those who allow it to stay young forever.

   Ponce de Leon may have never found the Fountain of Youth in his travels to a new land, but that didn't stop him from searching.  Baseball may not be the cure for wrinkles and grey hair either, but as long as the game continues to be the "Great American Pastime" there will always be an "old timer" willing to share his stories of days when he was a young man and couldn't wait until spring.  Dad's old cards may become faded and worn, but that just adds more vibrant color to the memories and stories behind them.

Just Any Other Game?

   Baseball is just a game.  Tell this to an eight year old who is putting on his uniform for the first time, or a journeyman minor leaguer hanging on for the love of the game.  Then there are the Major Leaguers, such as Aaron Rowand who sacrificed his body, smashing into the center field fence at Citizens Bank Park in 2006 with the Phillies.  It's true--baseball is just a game--but to some it's so much more.
   The love of the game usually starts at a very young age.  A young boy cannot wait for his father to get home from work to play catch in the backyard.  Then after dinner listen to stories of teams and players of generations past.  He can imagine Ted Williams' swing, Mickey Mantle making a catch in center field and Brooks Robinson making a diving stab at third base, all without ever seeing these greats play.  As time passes he starts to collect baseball cards, magazines, and play Little League Ball.  He cannot wait to get on the field and play third base like Mike Schmidt, or shortstop like Ozzie Smith.  If he could do a backflip onto the field he would.  The dreams of playing in the big leagues seem almost like a reality in his overactive and vivid imagination. 
   Then that young boy grows up to a world of responsibility and preparation to become a young adult, but he never gives up on his childhood dream.  It is that vision that makes him work that much harder in the gym and on the high school field, then into college.  His teammates become his brothers.  He learns what mental toughness is and the strategy that makes baseball such a great game.
   Some players are talented and lucky enough to make it to the next level after college.  Then there are some who simply become fans of the game.  They go to the ballparks to cheer on their heroes.  They tell their children stories of great teams and players of their generation, and even a few old stories that they remember from when they were young, sitting on the porch listening to their fathers.  Like Jim Bouton wrote in his book "Ball Four"--"You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time."