Hi, so I’ve been trying to learn and appreciate baseball on and off ever since I was a kid mostly because my friends were big baseball fans. However, I never played Little League and I think that really put a kibosh on my interest in the sport.
I watch football and basketball fairly avidly (both college and pro) so if there are analogies to be drawn, use those. I found the college football analogy writeup for the world cup to be a fairly good primer (Religion News: Church of England releases World Cup prayers).
I know the basic rules but feel free to re-explain and expand in case I don’t know as much as I think I do (infield fly rule?). Some strategy talk would be welcome and would help me enjoy watching the games (or even just the highlights) more.
What’d be really helpful would be rundowns of the teams, history, storylines, notable players/prospects, etc. I’m even open to learning about college baseball. Really just looking to embrace a sport I don’t watch rather than avoid it.
Watch Ken Burns’ Baseball…or the History of Baseball (I can’t remember the official title).
I also recommend picking a team (the Milwaukee Brewers!!) and watching that team’s pregame show. Why the pregame show? That’s where they get into the nuance of the game and can give you more information on things like arm placement in pitching and how to turn a double play and stuff like that.
Same with watching MLB Tonight on the MLB network.
You have to watch it. There is no way to “Explain” baseball to you in simple words. Sorry.
Even Ken Burns’s “Baseball” series will nto explain the sport to you, since the series is about the history of baseball and its evolution into a professional sport; it assumes the viewer already understands the game of baseball.
So watcha few games, listen to the announcers, and jot down a few questions, and we’ll answer them.
BTW, the Infield Fly Rule, since you asked; if there are runners at first and second (there can be a runner at third, too, doesn’t matter) and less than two out, if the batters hits a popup that
Is a fair ball, and
Can be caught by an infielder making an ordinary effort to do so (it does not matter is anyone DOES make the effort, only that they could)
… the batter who hit the popup is instantly out. The runners may advance if they wish, but they are at risk of being put out. As with any other fly ball, if they leave the base before the ball touches a fielder or hits the ground, they must return to the base or they can be put out there.
The reason this rule exists is to prevent cheap double plays. If you didn’t have the rule the runners would be doomed. If they left their bases, the infielder could catch the ball and throw them out. If they didn’t leave, the infielder could pretend he was going to catch the ball, let it drop, and throw the ball to third and then have it thrown to second for an easy double play. The rule makes the batter out, so there is no force play, so you can’t do that.
Yep, it’s a matter of watching the game and listening and asking questions. I don’t know what team is local to you (if any), but if there is a local team and they are on TV, baseball announcers tend to be fairly good at explaining anything that’s out of the ordinary. They don’t assume everyone watching has the rulebook memorized, though they will assume you have the basic idea down (that there are 3 outs in an inning, etc.).
You’ve just kind of got to pick that up as you go along. I mean–I could tell you that the original American League team Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis the next year, and then the Browns spent better than 50 years being the worst team in the AL, except for one year, and then moved to Baltimore, where they turned into a very good team for some 40 years, and then they sucked for a decade, and now they’re 7 games up in the AL East, but that won’t really mean anything to you, will it?
Well, here’s something you might note, the St. Louis Browns in 1945 had a one-armed outfielder named Pete Gray.
Watch Dodger home games and listen to Vin Scully. Vin is the best there is, and the Dodgers will always have something happening, good or bad, that Vin can elaborate on and tell stories about, without ever interfering with the announcing of the game.
Otherwise, what Crash said (and kunilou quoted.) Besides, in what other sport would a player ever say something like:
*Crash Davis: After 12 years in the minor leagues, I don’t try out. Besides, uh, I don’t believe in quantum physics when it comes to matters of the heart.
Annie Savoy: What do you believe in, then?
Crash Davis: Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.*
There are some good books you could read that would give you insight into the game, “History, storylines,” etc. Three Nights In August is one I liked, but I’m sure other people will have their own recommendations.
It would help for you to ask some specific questions. You’ve made an open-ended request for knowledge about a big subject, and it’s hard to know where to start (or stop).
I agree with RickJay that he Ken Burns baseball documentary isn’t a good way to learn about the game. The series is about the history of baseball, not about how the game is played.
BTW, the infield fly rule isn’t very important to a basic understanding of the game. The rule is invoked fairly frequently, but the only time it makes a difference is if an infielder fails to make what’s usually an easy catch in a certain situation. The fielder will almost always make this catch, so you usually won’t notice that the rule has been invoked.
So please fire away with more specific questions. Where do you think your knowledge is lacking?
Baseball For Dummies - I know a lot of people are against these “…for Dummies” books, but the baseball one is crammed with useful information and starts slowly, assuming you are new to the sport. It was mostly written by Joe Morgan, if I recall correctly.
Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball by George Will - A great little read where Tony Gwynn talks about hitting, Cal Ripkin about fielding, Orel Hershiser about pitching, and Tony LaRussa about managing. You need a little more than a basic understanding of the game to really enjoy it, but it offers a very interesting perspective on the game from some of the best to have played it. Granted, it was first published 24 years ago, but still more than a little relevant, I think.
Not a baseball fan by any stretch of the imagination, so I only have bits and pieces. You did say you wanted all facets, though, so it should at least get you started.
Right, here goes…
If the batter hits the ball out of the legal field of play with fewer than two strikes, it’s a strike. However, if he does so with two strikes, it’s…nothing; the at-bat continues without any concession on the part of the batter. This gives baseball the distinction of being the only game where players can wildly slam balls hither and yon with almost no harm done. Both have been true from the very first days of the game and nobody finds anything unusual about this.
Instead of throwing a pitch, the pitcher can throw to a base so the infielder can tag out a runner. The success rate of this is somewhere between Wile E. Coyote and the Washington Generals, but nevertheless you’ll see pitchers do it, over and over, as if driven by an inexplicable pathological need.
Under no circumstances are you allowed to call either of the preceding boring, a waste of time, or no fun to watch.
This is one of the few sports that has never permitted a game to end in a draw. Ever. Anywhere. On any level. Despite the relative difficulty of scoring and the parity of most leagues, no matter if it’s a late season game between two bottom-feeders who were knocked out of the playoffs a month ago, it WILL go on for however many innings it takes for one side to come out ahead. Extra-inning games can last for more than five hours; a few have needed an extra day. Which, of course, you are not allowed to call boring, a waste of time, or no fun to watch.
Pitchers, because they need to spend so much time developing the highly specialized skills of pitching, are universally a huge liability on offense. There are two accepted solutions for this. The first is to have a specialized player who bats in place of the pitcher, typically a one-dimensional scrub who got a ridiculously bloated contract despite doing half the work of the rest of the team. The second is to stick your fingers in your ears and say “Problem? What problem?” Advocates of both sides tend to be extremely militant and will violently disagree with you should you say otherwise, so you’d best not bring it up at all. (Oh, and don’t propose another solution like, say, taking the pitcher out of the batting order without having anyone bat in his place. What are you, weird or something?)
Whenever a team completes a game without a hit being made by the other team, the pitcher is said to have “pitched a no-hitter”. This is not meant as an insult to the fielders who contributed as much, if not more, to the no-hitter, it’s just baseball jargon. However, if more than one pitcher played that day, they are said to have “combined for a no-hitter”, and you must avoid using the word “pitched”, because how the hell can anyone pitch a no-hitter if he got freakin’ relieved, for crying out loud.
Managers wearing player uniforms is a throwback to the days when managers were players themselves. It’s not a wisecrack about how physically undemanding this game is or anything.
If a team just had a really dismal season, particularly if if was due mainly to an anemic offense, one remedy you may hear being proposed is to move in the fences. This is not a lame joke, nor is it a reference to a baseball movie or other work of fiction. These people actually, truly, honest-to-god think that moving in the fences is going to help the team win more games. Some of them actually are smart enough to know better, too.
Somewhere along the line you may learn about a team that went 85 years without winning a championship. If you take the time to research the whole story, you’ll discover that this was not only one of the most storied franchises of its league, but it had some of the strongest lineups the sport has ever seen. At some point, you’ll no doubt ask yourself how a franchise so powerful, so rich, so talented, so formidable, could go for such an unbelievably long stretch without a championship, and even more so given the tremendous success they’ve had in the years since. THERE IS NO ANSWER. This is one of the enduring mysteries of baseball, and it will never never ever be solved. If you value your sanity, don’t touch it, don’t even sniff it, just turn around and walk away. You thought the JFK conspiracy buffs went nuts, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.
There is no “asterisk”, there never was any “asterisk”, and there never will be any “asterisk”. It’s an old joke that has long since ceased to have any relevance. Kinda like that “arrow in the knee” thing. Or “Chuck Norris”.
Also, there’s no such thing as a “belly itcher”. They’re just trying to be annoying.
No matter how many times the crowd yells “charge”, do not, under any circumstances, actually charge the field. Trust me, nothing good ever comes of this.
No, that’s quite incorrect. The no tie rule remains a thing particular to the highest levels of American pro ball. Ties are accepted in other countries and at lower levels, and of course in exhibition play, such as spring training.
The OP seems to be honestly looking for truth, not inaccurate snark.
Somewhere along the line, someone will tell you that baseball is too slow/boring etc. (ETA: I see it’s already been done by some poor soul), or if they want to make baseball better, they should (insert inane idea of your choice).
Feel free to pity them, then ignore them. They have no idea what they’re talking about.
There are changes that could and probably should be made behind the scenes, or to the business of baseball.
But there is NOTHING wrong with the game being played on the field. NOTHING.
The only possible change I could see making is allowing both teams to use the designated hitter in interleague and World Series games, regardless of where they’re played. (The National League is at a decided advantage, the American League at a decided disadvantage, under the present system.)
Otherwise, don’t mess with the DH rule at all. The AL is not going to turn back the clock, and the old style of play should be preserved in the NL.
Sorry to thread hijack, and sorry if this makes no sense to the OP. Just concentrate on the first four paragraphs!
The first is much more true of cricket. One batter can stand there for hours and hit the ball anywhere on the field (there is no foul territory; it’s all in play) and choose not to run). In fact if the batsman hits a six (the baseball equivalent of a home run) they don’t even make him trot out the six as they do in baseball.
The second is not true. Most notably the 2002 All Star game ended in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings (by agreement and act of the commissioner) when neither team had pitchers. Of course that game didn’t count for anything (and it’s now the reason that the league winning the All Star game has home field advantage in the World Series). The second 1961 All Star Game also ended in a tie for the more common reason of rain not allowing a completion.
But ties also have occurred in regular season games. If a game is rained-out, the score is tied, and 5 or more innings are played, it is a complete tied game.
Ties are permitted at other levels of play in the normal course of things. For example in Japan if the game is tied after 12 innings, it’s just a tie.
From Duffless [the episode where Homer quits drinking for a month]:
Announcer:Here’s the windup and a 2-2 pitch… Oh, no, wait a minute, the batter is calling for time. Looks like he’s going to get himself a new bat… And now there’s a beach ball on the field, and the balls boys are discussing which one of them’s going to go get it… Homer Simpson: I never realized how boring this game is.