People talk about that catch and, I’ve said this many times, that I’ve made better catches than that many times in regular season. But of course in my time, you didn’t have a lot of television during the regular season. A lot of people didn’t see me do a lot of things.
~Willie Mays
If you’re looking for a pick-me-up, this song is probably not the way to go. But I do like the analogies between baseball and life.
Here’s a cartoon by Willard Mullin that makes me want to chuckle and face palm simultaneously. I’m not sure who you are, Brooklyn runner, but you and your team are doing it wrong.
On May 7, 1922, Walter Mueller became the first player to record five RBIs in his major league debut. Mueller’s offensive statistics included a double and a home run, leading the Pirates to an 11-5 victory over the Cubs in Chicago.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
~George Will
Here’s an ad from 2013 for the Japan Pacific League that calls upon the Force that is the Star Wars universe. Do you think it counts as cheating if Vader uses the Force when he’s at the plate?
May the Force be with us all, both on and off the field!
Here’s a rather unusual and playful piece written by Gershon Wolf earlier this year. It features some interesting plays on words to create a bit of a mind-twisting puzzle.
*
Backwards forwards upside down
Driving in reverse back through town
Yahoo.com said moo — landed in Honolu
This poem is insane and so are Yu
Darvish and awl of you hoo(!) still think
The Chicago Cubs have a (phat!) chance
To win it all egg-N with that letter
“C” on their pin ~ striped pants
Cuz miracles Kant Happ en more than
Every century oar sew. The Cubs of had theirs
And that’s awl eye no about baseball, faceball, and
Spaceball, if that’s really a game. Well, me mum said it is
And that ends this horr-if(?)-ick
Poe – aim
Four Now Brown Cow
A bunt is a type of offensive play that involves tapping the ball into play. The batter squares around in the batter’s box, sliding their top hand farther up the bat, and using the barrel to “catch” the pitch as it comes in. The batter can manipulate the bunt to where the ball simply drops in front of the plate, or they can angle the bat in order to guide the bunted ball along the first or third base line.
A sacrifice bunt is a sort of bunt play in which the goal is to advance a runner who is already on base. The batter attempts to bunt in a manner that leaves the fielders no choice but to throw only the batter out, thus allowing the other runner to advance to the next base.
Some hitters, particularly those who are speedy runners, may attempt bunt for a hit. These bunts typically come in the form of a drag bunt, in which the batter begins running in the batter’s box at the same time as they bunt, to help them get a head start in the race for first base.
Squeeze bunts are employed when there is a runner on third base. A safety squeeze is when the runner starts towards home after he sees that the bunt has been successfully laid down. A suicide squeeze (probably my favorite play in all of baseball) is when the runner on third takes off towards home with the pitch, and it becomes imperative that the batter lay the bunt down in order to prevent the runner being tagged out.
I was in Little League. I was on first base-I stole third base. I ran straight across the diamond. Earlier in the week, I learned the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. I argue with the umpire that second base was out of my way.
~Steve Wright
