# Things about baseball you just don't understand **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 12, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969 "2009-01-12T20:35:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/1 "2009-01-12T20:35:17Z")
I don’t understand how the Mariners made Jose Vidro their DH for 69 games last year and kept a straight face. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/2 "2009-01-12T20:46:09Z")
I don’t get why the coaches wear the same uniform as the players. I don’t get why players choose to bunt. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/3 "2009-01-12T20:48:53Z")
I don’t understand why J.P. Ricciardi still has a job. I don’t understand why the Blue Jays haven’t signed Orlando Cabrera. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/4 "2009-01-12T20:52:43Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > I don’t get why players choose to bunt. If they do it right, they can either beat the ball to first base, or advance a runner. You do have to be a fast runner if you’re trying to get on base yourself, though. What I don’t understand is why _David Ortiz_ would choose to bunt. My dead grandmoter runs faster than he does… ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/5 "2009-01-12T20:54:13Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > I don’t get why the coaches wear the same uniform as the players. I can answer this one! The rules state that only players in team uniform (other than doctors and trainers) may appear on the field of play during a game. Hence, the coaches and managers have to wear the team’s uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/6 "2009-01-12T21:00:58Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > What I don’t understand is why _David Ortiz_ would choose to bunt. My dead grandmoter runs faster than he does… Aha. I got this one. Because virtually every team plays the shift on him – second baseman in short right; shortstop at 2nd base; third baseman at short (or even short center) – so usually the third base line is wide open. He could crawl to first on a decent bunt to third. ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/7 "2009-01-12T21:13:05Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > I can answer this one! > > The rules state that only players in team uniform (other than doctors and trainers) may appear on the field of play during a game. Hence, the coaches and managers have to wear the team’s uniforms. They are not required to, but if they dressed in street clothes they could not leave the dugout. Try this article, seems to be a reliable source of information: [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1607/why-do-baseball-coaches-wear-uniforms](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1607/why-do-baseball-coaches-wear-uniforms) ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/8 "2009-01-12T21:22:21Z")
I don’t understand how anyone can call them self a Yankee fan. That whole organization is a farce, and all they do year after year is throw money at their ineptness. What exactly is there to root for? In case you haven’t noticed, signing every top notch free agent doesn’t work. Doesn’t work for the team, and it doesn’t work for the league. But people continue to root for them… ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/9 "2009-01-12T21:28:12Z")
I don’t understand how the universe continues to allow David Glass to own a baseball team. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/10 "2009-01-12T21:34:22Z")
I don’t understand why pitchers don’t just lick the fingers of their pitching hand four times instead of throwing the ball to the catcher on an intentional base on balls. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/11 "2009-01-12T21:50:57Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I don’t understand why pitchers don’t just lick the fingers of their pitching hand four times instead of throwing the ball to the catcher on an intentional base on balls. How often does a team intentionally walk someone with the bases empty? Besides Barry Bonds in his heyday… ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/12 "2009-01-12T21:51:32Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I don’t understand why pitchers don’t just lick the fingers of their pitching hand four times instead of throwing the ball to the catcher on an intentional base on balls. Mmmmm…four shots of the pleasing taste of dirty rosin bag. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/13 "2009-01-12T21:55:35Z")
> [@King\_Friday](#): > > How often does a team intentionally walk someone with the bases empty? Besides Barry Bonds in his heyday… The penalty is not a balk, just a ball. Runners do not advance unless forced to. Rule 8.02. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/14 "2009-01-12T21:55:53Z")
> [@King\_Friday](#): > > I don’t understand how anyone can call them self a Yankee fan. That whole organization is a farce, and all they do year after year is throw money at their ineptness. And yet they made the playoffs every year from 1995 to 2007, won two pennants and four championships in that period. Let me guess - you’re not currently running a major league team. If you were, you’d probably aspire to that level of ineptness. (Throwing money at ineptitude year after year does sound like what Baltimore has been doing, but that’s another story.) I don’t understand why managers continue to kill innings by sacrifice bunting even when the stats show it’s usually a bad move. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/15 "2009-01-12T21:58:48Z")
> [@King\_Friday](#): > > I don’t understand how anyone can call them self a Yankee fan. That whole organization is a farce, and all they do year after year is throw money at their ineptness. What exactly is there to root for? In case you haven’t noticed, signing every top notch free agent doesn’t work. Doesn’t work for the team, and it doesn’t work for the league. If it doesn’t work for the team, why did they make the playoffs thirteen years in a row, and then last year, in an injury-plagued season, the worst year they’d had in a decade and a half, still go 89-73? I wish my team’s strategy worked that badly. Not that I like the Yankees spending over $200 million a year, but you can’t say it doesn’t work for them. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/16 "2009-01-12T22:00:16Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > why managers continue to kill innings by sacrifice bunting even when the stats show it’s usually a bad move. Because it’s not always a bad move. Also because it’s a “book” move sometimes, meaning that the manager isn’t going to get blamed even if it doesn’t work. A lot of managers are looking to avoid blame rather than, you know, winning games. ---
**Author:** ![tds1273](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tds1273](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tds1273)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/17 "2009-01-12T22:05:20Z")
I still don’t understand why the Mariners never drafted hometown-hero, and now Cy Young Winner, Tim Lincecum. I swear Bavasi was just a mole still working for Anaheim ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/18 "2009-01-12T22:05:33Z")
I don’t understand why the Cubs nearly always fold in August, or why, in those rare years where they make it to the playoffs, they collapse almost immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/19 "2009-01-12T22:05:56Z")
I don’t understand why managers save their ace reliever for the ninth inning, even if the heart of the lineup is due to bat in the eighth. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969/20 "2009-01-12T22:06:02Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > The rules state that only players in team uniform (other than doctors and trainers) may appear on the field of play during a game. Hence, the coaches and managers have to wear the team’s uniforms. What I don’t get is why the rules offer an exemption for doctors and trainers (and groundskeepers), but can’t give the same exemption to the coaches and managers. It’s ridiculous watching fat old men walk out onto the field wearing a player’s uniform. I also don’t get why players have such a hard time bunting. It appears to be one of the easier batting tasks you might be given, one you can practice over and over, yet so many players simply can’t manage it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-about-baseball-you-just-dont-understand/480969.md?page=2)