We called the game "Strike Out" in the 1970's.
Two young ballplayers would use chalk or spray paint to draw a tall rectangular box on the brick wall of a nearby school facing an empty parking lot or large playground.
Only a bat and rubber ball were needed to replicate the pitcher-batter matchups seen at major league ballparks everywhere.
A pitch that landed inside the box, or on one of the lines, would be called a strike.
Hits were measured by the distance a batted ball traveled through the air.
Little did I know, some 40 years later, Major League Baseball would be reduced to a game of "Strike Out."
So much for the sport's fabulous nuances.
Say goodbye to the hit-and-run or run-and-hit, the safety squeeze or suicide squeeze, relay throws from the right fielder to the second baseman to the catcher, and the ability of a resourceful hitter to take two strikes and slap a hit to the opposite field.
The all-or-nothing nature of the pitcher-batter showdown these days is testing the patience and attention spans of casual observers and diehard followers alike.
Less action over a longer period of time -- games are averaging three hours and six minutes this season compared to two-and-a-half hour games in the 1970's -- makes for a boring product.
Attendance is down about 8% this season after experiencing a 4% decline last year.
But strikeouts in Major League Baseball have reached record highs for 11 consecutive years.
Last season, for the first time in MLB history, there were more strikeouts (41,207) than hits (41,020).
And this season, the trend is continuing.
After Sunday's action, games are averaging 16.7 hits per contest compared to 17.5 strikeouts.
Today's hitter seems to swing as ferociously at the two-strike pitch as he does the 3-0 pitch and rare is the day when a player chokes up on the bat or tempers his uppercut swing.
Ivy League quants insist a hitter's focus on launch angles and exit velocities is the right way to play the game and they may be right.
Sports bettors who gamble on the daily product must be aware of the changing nature of the game.
EOG contributor and baseball devotee EJD5277 recently pointed out, "It’s our job to adjust to the realities of the current environment, not the one that we would prefer."
Welcome to Home Run Derby.
Here are a few thoughts and some oddball ideas on the new style of play in Major League Baseball:
---Why spend $20 or $30 million on a pitching ace?
Instead, recruit 12-14 quality relief pitchers with swing-and-miss stuff to pitch an inning or two per game.
And while you're recruiting proven relievers, teach your relievers to play first base in the late innings of an important game so as to combat an opponent's lineup sequencing of righty-lefty-righty-lefty.
---Is anyone counting the number of times a big swinger loses his helmet after a big cut? Or goes down to one knee after swinging for the fence? Happens nightly, it seems.
---Is a successful check swing a good sign or a bad sign for pitchers?
---Why are players who hit a bases-loaded double allowed to celebrate childishly (playing air guitar, revving an imaginary motorcycle or imitating a Fortnite character) yet players who hit a solo home run are not allowed to flip their bat?
Someone needs to chronicle baseball's unwritten rules.
---No numbers to support the following speculation but after watching hundreds of MLB games this season, it seems players this season are taking more chances on the basepaths.
The strategy goes against the "book" on today's style of play but there are two possible reasons for the aggressive baserunning: 1) Replay reviews require the ball to beat the runner AND the tag to be applied successfully and 2) With fewer and fewer balls put into play, the game becomes more exciting through high-risk maneuvers on the basepaths.
---Defensive shifts work.
However, analysts should compare runs saved from exaggerated shifts against the times when a sharp one-hopper hit to the traditional shortstop position would have resulted in a tailormade double play but instead rolls into left field for a two-run single.
---And finally, my contribution to MLB defensive shifts.
The situation: Tie game, bottom eight, man on second with two outs.
Infielders typically tell one another to knockdown all ground balls and disallow a ball to sneak through the infield.
If that's the case, and it is, why not instruct your middle infielders to retreat 20-30 feet and your corner infielders to retreat 10-15 feet?
This unusual defensive alignment would force the offensive team to record two hits, not one, to score the go-ahead run.
Question: How many times have you witnessed a seeing-eye single or Texas Leaguer win a ballgame?
Answer: Too many.
MONDAY'S BEST BET.....Play 912 Chicago White Sox (Nova/Bailey) -112 over the Kansas City Royals at BetDSI.
Feels like a cheap price to bet against the Royals, a team with a 7-17 road record and a 3-9 mark in one-run games.
Expecting the good Ivan Nova to show up this afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.
It's time for Nova to record a good start at home after three miserable performances before the home crowd.
He exits one of his best performances of the season, a win last Wednesday over the mighty Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The White Sox should appreciate the drop in class after playing the Twins (36-16) and Astros (35-19) over the past seven days.
Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson (sore wrist) is expected to return to the lineup after missing the last two games.
Two young ballplayers would use chalk or spray paint to draw a tall rectangular box on the brick wall of a nearby school facing an empty parking lot or large playground.
Only a bat and rubber ball were needed to replicate the pitcher-batter matchups seen at major league ballparks everywhere.
A pitch that landed inside the box, or on one of the lines, would be called a strike.
Hits were measured by the distance a batted ball traveled through the air.
Little did I know, some 40 years later, Major League Baseball would be reduced to a game of "Strike Out."
So much for the sport's fabulous nuances.
Say goodbye to the hit-and-run or run-and-hit, the safety squeeze or suicide squeeze, relay throws from the right fielder to the second baseman to the catcher, and the ability of a resourceful hitter to take two strikes and slap a hit to the opposite field.
The all-or-nothing nature of the pitcher-batter showdown these days is testing the patience and attention spans of casual observers and diehard followers alike.
Less action over a longer period of time -- games are averaging three hours and six minutes this season compared to two-and-a-half hour games in the 1970's -- makes for a boring product.
Attendance is down about 8% this season after experiencing a 4% decline last year.
But strikeouts in Major League Baseball have reached record highs for 11 consecutive years.
Last season, for the first time in MLB history, there were more strikeouts (41,207) than hits (41,020).
And this season, the trend is continuing.
After Sunday's action, games are averaging 16.7 hits per contest compared to 17.5 strikeouts.
Today's hitter seems to swing as ferociously at the two-strike pitch as he does the 3-0 pitch and rare is the day when a player chokes up on the bat or tempers his uppercut swing.
Ivy League quants insist a hitter's focus on launch angles and exit velocities is the right way to play the game and they may be right.
Sports bettors who gamble on the daily product must be aware of the changing nature of the game.
EOG contributor and baseball devotee EJD5277 recently pointed out, "It’s our job to adjust to the realities of the current environment, not the one that we would prefer."
Welcome to Home Run Derby.
Here are a few thoughts and some oddball ideas on the new style of play in Major League Baseball:
---Why spend $20 or $30 million on a pitching ace?
Instead, recruit 12-14 quality relief pitchers with swing-and-miss stuff to pitch an inning or two per game.
And while you're recruiting proven relievers, teach your relievers to play first base in the late innings of an important game so as to combat an opponent's lineup sequencing of righty-lefty-righty-lefty.
---Is anyone counting the number of times a big swinger loses his helmet after a big cut? Or goes down to one knee after swinging for the fence? Happens nightly, it seems.
---Is a successful check swing a good sign or a bad sign for pitchers?
---Why are players who hit a bases-loaded double allowed to celebrate childishly (playing air guitar, revving an imaginary motorcycle or imitating a Fortnite character) yet players who hit a solo home run are not allowed to flip their bat?
Someone needs to chronicle baseball's unwritten rules.
---No numbers to support the following speculation but after watching hundreds of MLB games this season, it seems players this season are taking more chances on the basepaths.
The strategy goes against the "book" on today's style of play but there are two possible reasons for the aggressive baserunning: 1) Replay reviews require the ball to beat the runner AND the tag to be applied successfully and 2) With fewer and fewer balls put into play, the game becomes more exciting through high-risk maneuvers on the basepaths.
---Defensive shifts work.
However, analysts should compare runs saved from exaggerated shifts against the times when a sharp one-hopper hit to the traditional shortstop position would have resulted in a tailormade double play but instead rolls into left field for a two-run single.
---And finally, my contribution to MLB defensive shifts.
The situation: Tie game, bottom eight, man on second with two outs.
Infielders typically tell one another to knockdown all ground balls and disallow a ball to sneak through the infield.
If that's the case, and it is, why not instruct your middle infielders to retreat 20-30 feet and your corner infielders to retreat 10-15 feet?
This unusual defensive alignment would force the offensive team to record two hits, not one, to score the go-ahead run.
Question: How many times have you witnessed a seeing-eye single or Texas Leaguer win a ballgame?
Answer: Too many.
MONDAY'S BEST BET.....Play 912 Chicago White Sox (Nova/Bailey) -112 over the Kansas City Royals at BetDSI.
Feels like a cheap price to bet against the Royals, a team with a 7-17 road record and a 3-9 mark in one-run games.
Expecting the good Ivan Nova to show up this afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.
It's time for Nova to record a good start at home after three miserable performances before the home crowd.
He exits one of his best performances of the season, a win last Wednesday over the mighty Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The White Sox should appreciate the drop in class after playing the Twins (36-16) and Astros (35-19) over the past seven days.
Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson (sore wrist) is expected to return to the lineup after missing the last two games.
