Baseball – Page 3 – a simple man

The Pre-Game Show

I am about to embark on an historic journey….what am I thinking? I almost forgot to bring extra plutonium!

Actually, I won’t need plutonium where I am going, which isn’t Hill Valley, 1955, but rather Cleveland, Ohio. Earlier this year I applied on Indians.com to receive an invitation to the Tribe Social Deck of Progressive Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians baseball team. I never figured that I would actually be the recipient of such an invitation, and had actually mostly forgotten about it when, a few weeks ago, I received an email asking if I would like to attend the August 31st game and watch the Indians host division rivals the Chicago White Sox. With no hesitation, after asking my wife’s permission, I said yes.

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I am a die- hard Indians fan and a life-long lover of baseball. I watch every game that I can, and shout at the TV when the Indians play like Little Leaguers, and leap for joy when they manage to do the impossible. I watched 13 years ago when they almost won the World Series against the Florida Marlins, and I watched 15 years ago when they lost the World Series to the Atlanta Braves. My heart has been broken many times, but I cannot help but cheer for them.

Despite my love of the game, and my passion to watch the Indians, I have only attended one game at their ballpark, at the time, Jacob’s Field. It was the inaugural season for the new stadium, the 1994 season which will always be remembered as the year there was no World Series because of a player’s strike. I don’t remember much about the experience: I was only 7 at the time, but I do remember going with my mother, my uncle (who lives near Cleveland and who we were visiting at the time) and a brother of mine (though I am unsure which). I remember drinking a Coke out of a large cup, and knowing that below me in right field was the legend Kirby Puckett. Because of that detail I know the Indians were hosting the Minnesota Twins. It must have been early July, and it was a day game. I think.

Now I am 23, and can’t wait to hit the road to once again see the Indians play in their coliseum. Two of the players that were on that field 16 years ago, somewhat amazingly, will be again. Sandy Alomar, Jr was the Indians catcher that day, and Omar Vizquel was their shortstop. On Tuesday, the day I will be in the park, Alomar will be standing behind first base, coaching for the Indians, and Vizquel might be at third base for the White Sox (he only plays occasionally). This time I will be in left field, and have a much better grasp on what is happening. There is an electric feeling in my heart, an excitement that builds.

I know that right now the Indians hold the dubious honor of being the 3rd worst team in the American League, and that they will likely to lose, if they don’t win. I know that the stands around me will probably be mostly empty in a city that is weary of losing seasons and injuries to star players, but for me, I will be channeling the spirit of Ray Kinsella, who built a left field in a corn field, and watched Shoeless Joe when no one else cared, or thought him a fool. The breath of the game will catch me up, and I will be lost in baseball reverie. (It seems like fate, too, that Shoeless played for both the Indians and the White Sox, and was the ghost in the cornfield and that the White Sox will be in town.)

Or, somewhat less melodramatically, I will enjoy a night out at the ole ballpark, watching a team and a game that I love.

On the Field: Interleague Play

Tonight is the first night for interleague play in baseball in the 2010 season. The Cincinnati Reds have made the drive north to Cleveland to take on the Indians. As it stands tonight, the Reds lead the National League Central Division, and the Indians bring up the rear of the American League Central Division, but in their interleague matchup the Reds and Indians are almost dead even for wins and losses, so it should be an interesting game. At the time of writing, it is the top of the fourth, and the game is tied 1-1, so it remains either team’s game to win.

Ever since 1997, when Interleague play was adopted into Major League Baseball, the Reds and Indians have been meeting as state rivals, and similar matchups take place all across the nation. The New York Mets are playing the New York Yankees, and the Philadelphia Phillies are hosting the Boston Red Sox. Later in the year the Chicago Cubs will host their cross city rivals White Sox.

All in all, I like interleague play. Before 1997, anytime a team, or even a player, from either league saw one from the opposing league it was during Spring Training, the All·Star Game, or the World Series. The separation between the American and the National Leagues was a mile wide and a wall of iron. The only real difference between the leagues, as far as rules go, is in the American League with the implementation of the designated hitter, a player that bats in place of the pitcher, but who doesn’t play defensively. Despite this minor difference, the leagues seem to have an intangible difference: the National League is said to be more offensive, the American League is more of a pitcher’s league.

I like interleague play because I like seeing teams from opposing leagues play each other. Because the separation existed for over 100 years, the novelty is still fresh. Secondly, I have been an Indians fan my entire life, which means I have become a bit of an American League fan, but I have never really liked the designated hitter rule. My personal philosophy is that if you play defense you play offense. Pitchers should not be exempted because of their “special” status as a specialized position player. National League pitchers have been hitting since the dawn of baseball and still manage to pitch extremely well. Let’s not forget that Babe Ruth, the most legendary hitter in all of baseball, was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Sure, pitchers today are way more targeted than in Ruth’s time, but I think the logic holds.

Lastly, I like the idea of interleague play because it brings teams to town that otherwise a fan would not often see. Cleveland and Cincinnati are close enough that one could make the occasional drive to the other city, or in Chicago or New York one can simply take a subway or cab to the other stadium, but I doubt many people make the 5 and 1/2 hour drive between Boston and Philadelphia to be a fan of both the Red Sox and the Phillies. Now, at least three times during the season, a fan can see opposing league teams ride right into town and play the home team. In the era of internet and TV televised games, going out to the ballpark is still time well spent, and if you can see a team you would never before see, that is a bonus for fans.

As of 2010, every team in each league has played every other team at least once, and I hope that Interleague play continues into the future. I for one look forward to seeing which National League teams will come into Cleveland, and which cities the Indians will visit that they normally don’t see. This year, I am eager to see the Philadelphia Phillies cruise into Cleveland, because having spent several years in central Pennsylvania I have become a Phillies fan. Because my teams sit in opposing leagues, the opportunity that I would have to pick one over the other to cheer for is a limited prospect. In a few weeks, I will be forced to make that decision, but it is easy: I cheer for the Indians. Always first, foremost, and forever. However, my rational assessment of each team leads me to believe that the Phillies will beat the living daylights out of the Tribe, as currently the Phillies are the best team in the National League, and the Indians are close to the worst team in the American League. But, there is still plenty of baseball to play, and anything can happen.

Speaking of which, while I was writing this post, the Reds jumped ahead of the Indians 4-1, but in the last Indians’ at bat, Shin-Soo Choo of the Tribe went deep, hitting a two run home run helping his team tie the game 4-4. The top of the sixth is under way, and still either team could wind up with the win.

This is why baseball is the best sport in the world.

The Game of Baseball Part One: Time

The second game of the 2009 World Series is going to begin in just over an hour. I thought I would take this opportunity to vent/respond to some things I have been hearing lately, mostly negative comments on the game of baseball itself.

I begin with a few generalities. Baseball is a game of endurance. Everything in the game is built around this fact. The season itself is 162 games scheduled over 180 days. The game is comprised of 9 innings, during which each team has a chance to bat until they suffer 3 outs. It takes 3 strikes to get out, unless you hit the ball, and get out in the course of the play. Generally speaking, the game takes about 2 hours to play, and less than that is considered really fast (and is probably a game without a score). The fastest game on record is 51 minutes. There is no time limit for a baseball game, and unless there are extenuating circumstances, the game cannot end in a tie. The winning team is not only the one who scores one more run than the opposing team, but also is the team that outlasts their opponent.

Once a team wins the regular season, and advances to the post season, they must play several rounds of playoff series. The Division Series is the best of 5 games. The League Championship and the World Series are best of 7 series. To be the best, you must be the best consistently over a long period of time. It is grueling and it is challenging.

Thus, I am confused when people complain that the game is too long. I assume they mean that a particular game they want to watch is too long, and usually they mean a playoff game, because the majority of fans who watch games during the season either 1) don’t care about the length or 2) are ok watching part of the game. Usually if you complain about it being too long it is because you would want to watch the entire game, but don’t feel you have the time.

Before I address this, some more numbers: technically a football game is only an hour long (4 15 minute quarters), but with timeouts, side changes, and other considerations most football games take between 2 and 3 hours…the same as your average baseball game. Similarly, technically a basketball game is only 48 minutes long (4 12 minute quarters) but with time outs and other considerations most games take around 2 hours to play…about the same as a fast baseball game. And, for my international friends, a game of soccer is technically an hour and a half (2 45 minute halfs) but with a half time and other considerations, a soccer game could last 2 hours or more. Again, like a fast baseball game.

Now, at least on Sunday afternoon and Monday evening, alot of Americans will watch at least 1 football game, lasting around 2.5 hours. On Sunday, some fans will take in two games, taking up around 5 hours of their time. Add to this consideration pre and post game shows, and you’ve got close to 7 hours. And a really long baseball game is about 3, 3 and 1/2 hours.

Now, for baseball’s playoffs, the game tends to take a little longer, mostly because the commercial break is longer. I defy anyone to prove that baseball has longer commercials than Monday Night Football, or the SuperBowl though, which sometimes is just as much about the commercials as it is the game (Bud. Weis. Err.)

So, why the annoyance over the length of baseball games? The only conclusion I can come to is that, if one really has something more important to do, or kids to care for, or whatever, the game can seem longer than it is. Basketball and Soccer players are almost always running. Football players run for short bursts, and stand around in between. Baseball is focused on three men: the pitcher, the catcher, and the batter trying to cut in on their fun. This can give the illusion of alot of down time. The pitcher throws. The batter stands there. The catcher throws the ball back. The pitcher looks in to the catcher. The batter stands out. The pitcher looks in again. Checks the runner at first. The pitcher pitches. The batter swings and hits a ball into the stands, foul. In reality, it isn’t that long of a time. I have heard comments to the effect that “they should stop the batters from stepping out of the batter’s box, and stop the pitchers from stepping off the mound” and that this would speed up the game. Hardly. This interaction isn’t what takes time in a baseball game.

Most of the time in baseball is taken up when a team is actually hitting the ball and having a good inning, offensively. In last night’s game, for instance, the Phillies loaded the bases and looked fairly dangerous, in the top of the first inning. They eventually made 3 outs before scoring, but total half inning time was about 12 minutes. The bottom of the first, in which the Yankees did nothing, took about 4 minutes, a third of the time. And nothing much happened until the eighth inning, due to alot of pitchers pitching and hitters failing to hit, for both teams, except for this one guy who hit a home run, but it takes about a minute to run around the bases, three if you are Manny Ramirez, so this didn’t add much to the length of the inning. The Phillies added two more runs in the top of the eighth inning and took about 16 minutes to do it. The bottom of the eighth clocked in at about 5 minutes.

My point is this: all the supposed time that is being wasted by batters and pitchers is insignificant compared to the whopping time being wasted in innings when stuff actually happens. The Phillies took about 45 minutes to score 6 runs. The Yankees took about 15 minutes to score 1 run. The other two hours were full of 8 really quick innings, the average length of which was all of 10 minutes (5 for each half). I don’t see how a whole lot of time could be saved there, really.

So, my conclusion on the time aspect of baseball: it takes about the same amount of time to watch a baseball game as it does any other sport. Those that complain don’t really like baseball that much. Put this in terms of watching a chick flick with your girl instead of T2 and you see what am getting at.

As Game Two is about to start, I will save “Black and White Blindness: The Ump Factor” for next time. Play Ball!