:::blushing:::
he he he…forgot that sac fly is not counted towards AB! Thanks Baglady for the assist. Chicks that know baseball, these are God’s special creatures. 
Go Braves!!
Oh yeah, anyone, what’s up with the Canseco trade to the Yanks? How many DHs and outfielders do they really need?
I think Canseco is a little bit over the hill. But look at those pythons, he can still crush that ball. Personally though, I don’t think the Yankees need Jose Canseco.
This is sort of an extension to my reply about a being thrown out at first when the run scores. I gave it a tad more consideration and I still stand with my decision. Has anyone ever heard of a swinging bunt? Well, that’s when the batter hits a little dribbler to 2nd or short (but I guess it really doesn’t matter what fielder). As long as the run scores it is still a sacrifice. Just like if there’s a runner on 2nd and the ball is hit to, say, the 2nd baseman and he can’t make the play at 3rd to get the runner going there and just makes a simple throw to first, it’s a sacrifice and doesn’t count against the batter’s average. However, I think, if the runner is on 1st and the ball is hit to the 2nd baseman (again) and he can’t make a throw to 2nd and goes to 1st, thus the batter being thrown out at 1st and the runner advances to 2nd. But this isn’t a sacrifice because he’s out on a fielder’s choice. This isn’t a sacrifice because the runner had no choice, he had to go to 2nd. But this differs if the ball is bunted with a man on 1st. Say the batter bunts and the man on 1st successfully makes it to 2nd and the batter gets thrown out, it’s a sacrifice and a fielder’s choice I think, nevertheless it doesn’t count against his average. Gosh baseball’s confusing, I love it.
Canseco wasn’t “traded” to the Yankees, they claimed him off waivers.
Why? To prevent other teams (Toronto, Boston, Chicago W.S., etc.) from claiming him later in the season.* Yankees GM Brian Cashman’s said that he had no idea that Tampa let him go, and that no one else wanted him.
In other words, he bluffed, and was called on it. And now the Yankees are stuck with him and his salary.
Oh, and the OP: Baseball’s popular because of its mathematical precision. Nomar Garciappara might be batting .385 now, but no baseball fan’s going to round that to .390, or even, .400. We, as fans, revel in statistics, and the fact that the field is very mathemtical (90 feet, 60 ft. 6 inches, etc.) and full of straight lines adds to the beauty.
And, a baseball field, with grass, is a beautiful thing to look at.
…the only game in which you can be perfect.
…one against nine.
…the only (major) sport not played against the clock.
…a hot dog and Coke in the summer sun sitting with Dad in the left field bleachers.
…the only game with an infinite playing field (alright, one quarter of the globe until the foul lines merge again, or half the globe if you continue them to their beginning points).
…ground rule doubles and double plays.
…listening to Harry Kalas and Ritchie Ashburn on a transistor radio beneath your covers during a West Coast swing.
…chewing gum and cards.
…spitting.
…spikes.
…home stands.
…crowdin’ the plate, huggin’ the bag and toein’ the rubber.
…a lucky fan catching a foul ball.
…the smell of cut grass and leather.
…quirky ball parks.
…records.
…horsehide and lathed ash.
…my childhood.
The other week, I went to a minor league game with some friends. It was great! We ate fresh popcorn and juicy hotdogs, won prizes with raffle tickets, watched some girls do a few dances, laughed at the antics of the mascots, watched as fans were pulled out onto the field a few times to try to win $1000 in various silly–but entertaining–games…and in the midst of all this, a baseball game broke out!
I think we won, too.
I think ChiefSCott has said it best so far. You aren’t going to find one thing that makes baseball popular, it means something different to every fan. Asking a person why they like baseball is the same as asking why a person likes Chinese food better than Italian food - they just do and trying to analyze it is futile, you’ll never come up with an answer.
You can simplify the sport and say it’s a guy hitting a ball with a stick and then people chase it, but you can simplify any sport like that. Football is a bunch of guys beating each other up for a ball that’s not even round. soccer is a bunch of guys just kicking a ball around. You can simplfy anything to make it sound stupid and pointless, but a real fan can tell you it’s really much more complex than that. If you don’t see the attraction, then you don’t see it. People who do see the attraction have difficulty explaining it because it just is. Imagine you see a beautiful woman and you point her out to your buddy. You think she’s gorgeous, he doesn’t see it. How do you explain it to him?
As someone who used to play the game I can tell you it’s much more complex than hitting a ball with a stick. There’s strategy involved: do you bunt, hit and run, try to steal, pinch hit, walk the batter, etc? There’s the feel of the bat in your hands when you connect solidly with a fstball and feel the impact through your body and you watch the ball fly. There’s the adrenaline rush of trying to steal a base, knowing you only have a couple seconds to get there before the catcher tries to throw you out. There’s the feel of the dirt in your face after making a great diving catch.
If you haven’t experienced it, it is difficult to explain the attraction, and even more difficult to explain why you like it.
Sorry, but this isn’t correct.
Actually, in the example you mention with respect to the swinging bunt, it might indeed be scored a sacrifice. But if the ball isn’t bunted, it isn’t counted as a sacrifice (with the exception of a sacrifice fly).
The following is from the official rules of major league baseball, found on this site:
This is the entire section on a sacrifices. There is NO provision for being credited with a sacrifice when you move the runner up on a non bunted ground ball. Note that in the above section, a sacrifice is either a sacrifice fly or a bunted ball.
Also, if you hit into a double play which results in a runner scoring, you don’t even get an RBI.
This is not to say that a batter who hits a groundout “moving runners over” or driving in a runner isn’t accomplishing something positive. He just doesn’t get credited with a sacrifice, and is charged with a time at bat, unless he bunted.
**
Here, you’re right. But the key is, the ball has to be BUNTED to get credit for the sacrifice.
Ruffian, where did you go? Just curious, and, for the record, I’m guessing Rancho Cucamonga or San Bernadino.
Minor league baseball is a whole lot of fun, especially if you don’t mind the fact that all the players aren’t “household names”. The stadium and setting allows for greater intimacy, the regular fans are often at least as knowledgeable about the game and players (if not more so), you actually have a chance to win these raffles (since there are about 5,000 people instead of 30,000), if you’re the type to heckle (I’m not), there’s a far better chance that a player or coach will actually hear you. Finally, it’s a hell of a lot cheaper.
Some people may be put off by the campy attitude, and a downside is that it must suck to have your good players called up to a higher classification. But I love minor league baseball: when I’m in Vegas, I make a point of seeing the Las Vegas Stars.
One final point: it’s a hell of a kick to see a player make it big and be able to tell your friends that you first saw him in the minors.