# A couple of baseball questions **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 9, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518 "2013-06-09T01:58:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518/21 "2013-06-11T02:11:47Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I’ve never seen a list of the 1920 spitballers, but I don’t believe Mays was one of them. In any case by most contemporary accounts the pitch was simply a fastball that Chapman never saw, because the ball was dirty. It was also getting dark at the time. By all accounts Chapman completely froze up and did not move at all, as if he’d completely lost sight of the ball. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518/22 "2013-06-11T13:38:03Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Another question: I know that runners can’t go until somebody catches a fly ball, but players being who they are, I’m sure some of them run right before its caught. But I’ve never seen that happen. Maybe I don’t watch enough, but people violate the clock in the NBA all the time. Do runners often run before a fly ball is caught? And if so, what’s the punishment? [Nitpick] The runners can’t leave the base until a fielder TOUCHES the fly ball. If the fielder bobbles it several times and then catches it, the runner is free to go on the first bobble. This rule prevents the fielder from being able to intentionally bobble it all the way to the infield and prevent the runner from advancing. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518/23 "2013-06-13T16:52:22Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It was also getting dark at the time. By all accounts Chapman completely froze up and did not move at all, as if he’d completely lost sight of the ball. Carl Mays was a submarine pitcher, and his ball was notoriously difficult to pick up when thrown (his release point was near his ankles). In addition, he liked to brushback batters. As a right handed hitter (Mays was right handed, too), it would have been very difficult to pick up the ball even in the best of circumstances and it’s not too surprising he lost track of the ball. The incident was in the fifth inning of the game. Games in that era usually started at 3:00 pm and the time of the entire game was 1:55, making it unlikely that darkness was a factor (there had been rain earlier in the day, but that had stopped by game time). ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518/24 "2013-06-13T17:22:41Z")
Jim Bouton, in Ball Four, alleged Whitey Ford was a master at exploiting marred baseballs, and that Yodi sharpened a buckle on his shinguards to ‘help’. It is rumored that some of the pitches sang arias from italian opears on the way to the plate. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518/25 "2013-06-19T15:20:51Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Its not like the ball has to move a lot for a pitched ball go from a hit to pop up or a ground ball (or a whiffy). > > Have you ever seen a knuckleball pitcher “in the zone”? The batters (and the catcher) are comical against a knuckleballer. Just to illustrate, please enjoy [the best animated GIF of all time.](http://cdn.fangraphs.com/not/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/knuckletastic.gif) Keep an eye on the catcher’s reaction. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518/26 "2013-06-19T23:50:36Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > Just to illustrate, please enjoy [the best animated GIF of all time.](http://cdn.fangraphs.com/not/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/knuckletastic.gif) Keep an eye on the catcher’s reaction. Wow. That’s a thing of beauty. ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518/27 "2013-06-20T13:19:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It was also getting dark at the time. By all accounts Chapman completely froze up and did not move at all, as if he’d completely lost sight of the ball. My understanding of the Chapman incident is that it led to frequent switching of baseballs, not banning of the splitter - and so it’s actually pretty relevant to the OP’s question! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518/28 "2013-06-24T21:38:46Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I watched about half of the Dodgers/Braves game last night which is half a game more than I’ve watched in years (go Puig!). Since I don’t follow baseball, I saw a few things that absolutely baffled me. > > During consecutive pitches, the pitcher threw a ball that landed basically on the ground in front of the catcher. On the first pitch, the catcher turned to the umpire and handed him the ball. On the second pitch, the catcher was going to throw the ball back to the pitcher but the umpire asked for it and handed him a new ball. Why do they change balls so much? And after what I imagine is a tiny little scuff from the ball hitting the ground. Is this done all the time? And how many balls does an average game go through? > > Right now, I have the TV turned to the current Dodger/Braves game. However, it looks like before the game, they have this “Old timers game” where a bunch of retired players come out and play a few innings. Is this new?? I’ve never heard of this before! Do all teams do this? I notice the teams featured are the Dodgers and Yankees. I imagine some new team or one that’s sucked for most of its history probably won’t have a lot of good players to call up. This is brand new to me, not only have I never seen something like this, I’ve never even heard a hint of this before. I thought golf was the only one with a seniors tour. This isn’t like the NBA All-Star weekend where they have retired players and celebrities play a game The Yankees have been doing it for a loooong time- the first one I actually attended was in 1973, where I got to see Mickey Mantle hit a homer off Whitey Ford. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-baseball-questions/660518.md?page=1)