Quote:
Originally Posted by PsychoLoco
You've probably heard this 1,000 times from baseball fans, but you have to have played baseball to understand why a professional baseball game looks like nothing is happening for stretches of time. Here's a 1-paragraph history lesson.
/START
You have a catcher taking a few seconds to call a pitch, then the pitcher has to agree on the pitch (can take several tries). The 2nd-baseman and shortstop, who are the only ones besides the pitcher that can actually see the catcher's fingers, have to understand the pitch call and set up their defense where they expect the ball to be hit based on the batter's side (right/left) and the expected pitch location (inside/out) because statistically it will determine where the ball is hit on the field, and the type of pitch can determine whether a batter will hit it on the ground or in the air. These two then have to relay the pitch call to the 3rd and 1st basemen and all three outfielders so they can set up their defense as well. All of this is the reason it takes 60-90 seconds between pitches. What makes it look boring is because they cannot show on a broadcast the signals from the catcher. They will only show the batter taking his practice swings, the pitcher shaking his head or nodding, or a runner taking a lead off of a base. If they did show all the catcher's signs, there would be a Bill Belichick of Major League Baseball that would be yelling the expected pitch call to his batter because he can see it live on TV. A lot of fights start because a runner on second will start signaling the pitch call to a batter.
/STOP
How long did that take to read?
|
Not long at all, because I saw the word "baseball" and immediately scrolled past it.