My buddy and I were playing ESPN 2k baseball on the 360 the other day – which is quite fun, even for non-baseball fans – and a few questions came up.
I was pitching with El Duque and one of his pitches was called “Eephius”. What the heck is that? (It was around 59 mph and dropped like a rock; quite effective as an off-speed pitch in a videogame, at least.) Anyone heard this term before?
We had a gentlemen’s agreement not to sub in any starters, but were a little confused as to a couple abbreviations:
SP: Starting pitcher
MR: Middle reliever
CL: Closer
LR: ? (Late reliever? But if so, isn’t that a closer?)
SU: ??? (These guys pitched roughly the same # of innings as games played.)
The basic unit in a baseball season is a series, right? As in, three games in a row between the same two teams in the same park? If this is the case, why are there five starting pitchers? I would think three would be a more fitting number. How does that work from series to series?
When stealing a base, do you have to tag up if a pop fly is caught?
LR = long reliever (comes in if the starter is having a bad day or you want someone to pitch 2 or 3 innings)
SU = set-up reliever. Usually pitches the 8th inning. Is usually the second-best pitcher or sometimes the best pitcher, but is usually younger than the closer and considered “not experienced” enough to pitch the ninth.
Most baseball series are three games, but the rotation is five pitchers because modern training techniques are based on the fact that a starting pitcher needs to have four days of rest between starts and do certain activities on each day. Many people think that teams should just employ a four-man rotation, as was the norm in the 1960s and 1970s. But it appears unlikely that any team will switch to four for an extended period of time. Most teams will skip the fifth starter if an intervening day off allows the #1 starter to come back with his regular amount of rest.
If you just used three starting pitchers in your rotation, you’ll end up with a lot of arm injuries.
Yes, if a base stealer is running on a pitch hit in the air, he has to go back to the bag or risk being doubled up. It’s the biggest reason why most of the time a manager will signal the hitter to take the pitch when a steal sign is given.
Teams have 5 starting pitchers because while teams typically play 3 game series against each opponent, they also typically only have a couple of off days a month. So for example, if the Yankee have a 3 game series with the Red Sox over the weekend from Friday through Sunday, come Monday the Yankees will be starting a 3 game series in Tampa while the Red Sox will be starting a series against Toronto. It isn’t like football where they only play one game a week.
Not sure why you would make the connection that a pitching rotation and a 3-game series would be interrelated.
Baseball teams have 5-man rotations because years and years of baseball have given way to the logic that 5 days rest is the optimal amount for a pitcher to pitch at his peak form every outing with the least risk to his health. No other factors play a role in the strategy. There’s some who question if this is the correct presumption, and leagues in Japan and Latin America have different systems in place, but in MLB its considered an optimization.
You’ll see it once every three years, if that. It’s a knuckleball without the knuckle… I’m always shocked when it’s not slugged 420 ft… but if you’re geared up for a 95mph heater I know it’ll throw the batter off…
Are you only allowed to steal a base when the pitcher begins his windup, or can you try to steal whenevr you want?
I ask because I thought that the stealing home thing that happened recently happened when the lefty pitcher was eyeballing the runner on first. The guy on third took off for home even though no pitch was thrown.
If I have that correct, how does that reconcile with the tag up rule? Do you not have to tag up if you take off before the pitcher begins his windup?
What if you steal home, but halfway there the pitcher starts his windup and throws an actual picth that gets popped up seconds before the runner gets to home plate. When the popup gets caught, what happens?
You are allowed to attempt to steal a base at any time so long as the Ump has not signaled a stoppage in play.
It’s an interesting question you raise regarding the timing however. I’m sure the voluminous baseball rules address this in some form, I don’t know where to dig this up unfortunately, but I imagine that it all boils down to the umpires judgment. The Ump likely must judge whether or not the steal was occurring during a pitch, presumably if the runner leaves when the pitcher is not on the rubber there’s no way he could be doubled up since the pitcher could not legally deliver a pitch. I expect someone will be along with a citation to better cover that.
You can try to steal anytime your little heart desires that the ball is in play.
The defense will attempt to double off the runner. The runner has to return to his base, or he can be thrown out.
A lot of double plays, and all triple plays (at least in the majors) happen that way. The runners are going (not necessarily on a steal attempt), and a batted ball is caught when the runner is too far away from his base to possibly return.
Not even close. While triple-plays are more often than not started with a fly-out, conventional triple-plays are not exactly unheard of. On April 21st of this year the Phillies turned one against the Reds that scored 6-4-3-2 beginning with a grounder to short. In 2006 the D-Rays completed one against the Mariners that started with a strikeout followed by two runners picked off.
According to this (PDF) only 13 of the 24 triple plays recorded from 2000 to 2006 began with a fly-out.
Ah, I remember the last time El Duque fired up the eephus pitch. He did it to Alex Rodriguez when he was with the Rangers. Mr. Rod swung about 5 seconds before the ball crossed the place for the third strike. A few innings later, Mr. Hernandez throws it to him again to strike him out. It hits the ground some 400-plus feet. Big home run.
As long as it’s a market for getting questions answered: what is meant by the term “stealing signs”? And why, if it means what it sounds like, do players get really indignant over it, like the sign stealer is cheating?
The catcher signals the signs for which pitch to throw to the pitcher by holding down his fingers by his inner thigh. Only the pitcher is normally able to see that. However, if you put someone out in the bullpens or the bleachers with a telescope, the opposing team can pick up those signs.
If you steal the signs and relay them to the batter, he’ll know what pitch is coming. This is a bad thing. It is really counter to the spirit of the game.
A base runner on second base can do the same thing. If the defending team thinks that a base runner is doing that, you’ll notice the catcher going out to the mound to change the signs a lot more often. Now, you won’t KNOW they’re changing the signs after every pitch, but if the pitcher and catcher meet on the mound after every pitch or so, that’s more than likely what they’re doing.
Here’s a really good article about him, and cheating in baseball. It’s a really good inside look at the game. Barry Bonds has cheated and on a national level most fans seem to dislike him. But that’s mostly just because he’s percieved as an asshole. Gaylord Perry cheated and is in the Hall of Fame while still being revered by fans of baseball. That’s because* he * cheated with style.
While we’re asking random baseball questions I’ll ask my own here too that I’ve never been able to get answered (even here on the SDMB).
I noticed this during my first baseball game I attended this season, and Cecil had the answer to my question.
Though on my second game this season I began wondering… “yah, but WHO throws the ball to the first baseman?”
I was on the first base line, so I could see into the away teams dugout, and it looked like the same guy who tossed the ball everytime, but I can’t be sure. So my question is, is it the same guy who throws the ball everytime? And is it a certain position (like it’s the team’s first base coah)?
