On Baseball
Hear it here!
I don’t pine for the old days.
But I do respect the qualities they had. That’s why I’m thrilled with the World Series matchup we have this year. I should have known. What made baseball the singularly unique sport it’s been, would never totally disappear. What made it the national pastime, with every other sport mere fillers between seasons, couldn’t and wouldn’t become unrecognizable forever.
The battle between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in progress, is a godsend. Yes, it is not a confrontation between two sky-high payrolls, and a pair of home run, high scoring, swing-at-anything squads, but a pairing of two teams who play the game the way it was meant to be played. With a first-time championship awaiting the winner.
Somewhere along the way, people who never understood the charm of baseball, decided there wasn’t enough scoring, that it was boring to watch batters hit singles, that the games would just drag on, that it was losing its attraction. They were spot on when they saw games last three, three and half hours and more. They were correct in seeing the agonizing delays, with batters stepping out of the box, or pitchers walking around the mound rubbing up the ball.
That’s not the way it always was. That’s the way it became. Ultimately, the pitch clock solved that problem, so you don’t hear of the length of games anymore.
As for games being low scoring, I haven’t heard too many fans complain of the kind of scores we see in soccer, as played around the world, football they call it correctly, and the World Cup which may be the world’s greatest sports attraction.
ESPN aired the Home Run Derby, the night before the All-Star Game and it became more popular than the event the next day, which has now faded from view.
So now baseball became a matter of who hit the most home runs to win games, and how far they traveled. It became a matter of who could swing the hardest, with the bat angled up and away hoping that’s where the ball would go. Of course batters would swing hard to try to hit home runs regardless of the fact that they would reach base if they held off on a 3-0 count.
If you don’t hit a home run you probably strike out. How exciting is that? Thus, in practically every game there were more strikeouts than hits. How exciting is that?
I won’t get into the pitching aspect yet, but we’ll fast forward to what we are seeing now with the two World Series contenders, from small markets, displaying nail-biting excitement by doing the little things that championship teams have always done.
The Brewers who got off to a good start by winning the first two games at home, and the Rays, who are playing to get even and more with their turn at home, play a similar brand of ball.
Instead of constantly swinging for the fences, they are looking to make contact. Get the bat on the ball, produce singles, or maybe extra base hits. Move runners along so that runs are easier to be scored, use speed in the process by stealing bases, having runners take off and maybe advance further on hit-and-run maneuvers. Bunt the ball where infielders can’t handle it or make it unable for them to halt the attack by the hitting team. The whole idea is to force the defense, particularly the infield, to pay attention, be aware of the possibilities, be alert for anything, and returning baseball to a thinking man’s sport. Are we eliminating the home run? Hardly. It’s still there, and maybe more effective with the timing of when it happens. The Brewers hit four in one game en route to a sweep of the LA Dodgers to get into the World Series for only the second time in their history. The Dodgers won the last two titles, armed with high-priced stars, including a few from Japan which has become an international force in the game.
Pro sports has never been a matter of paying the most money for the best players.
Fans and naive owners have been led to believe that’s the formula for ultimate success.
Sometimes it is. But if you spend intelligently, scout for the consistent players, have them best utilize their roles on the team, you can produce an exciting and competitive brand of baseball that will keep fans coming for years. It’s not just home run or no count.
It’s sport’s greatest chess game. Chess in itself tends to appear boring. But when players on the field have to react to constant movement and an awareness to where the ball is, it is not the least bit boring.
I touched on pitching earlier. It’s the key to the game. Lately it’s been a matter of not giving up a home run. Now, it’s different. By doing the so-called little things, teams can make pitchers work harder, make them throw more pitches which speeds up their exit from the game.
It’s always interesting when the emphasis on game analysis is on what a team failed to do at bat, how they came up short with runners in scoring position, how they couldn’t get runners on base.
How about the pitching? The intent of the starters, then the relievers, perhaps then the closer, who shuts the door in the ninth inning to seal the victory. Good pitching stops good hitting.
It’s not a cliche. It’s pure fact when it comes to baseball. And it will decide who becomes this year’s world champion.
The are strong indications that there will be a lockout after the season.
Baseball wants to apply a salary cap so that teams can’t overspend on players. They would lockout the players who would not agree to that plan. And the game would come to a sudden halt.
It’s really about the baseball owners protecting themselves from themselves.
Some can’t stop spending. They include the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, and other big city clubs.
They all should closely examine teams like the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, who simply don’t have the pocketbooks to throw huge sums of cash at the players.
How about a recipe of smart management, solid instruction, good scouting, players who execute and excel as a team. Doing the little things, which are not so little, winning games in a variety of ways, and especially developing a versatile pitching staff who can do more than just throw 95-100 mph (I know the Brewers have one of those), change speeds, and keep hitters off balance. The recipe that can result in a World Series crown like the Brewers and Rays are doing. All without throwing away the money.
The World Series
The bunt is back
Excitement on the bases
Brewers ace
