# Why are baseball players so reluctant to bare hand the ball? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 1, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377 "2011-05-01T12:10:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [May 2, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/41 "2011-05-02T14:11:38Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > It would just be an easier play than backhanding the ball into the glove. Doubtful. He’s already got to turn his torso toward the bag in order to move that direction quickly, so his bare hand is not automatically closer to the ball anymore. The glove gives Cano an extra 4 inches or so of reach, and a wide target to make a catch, that his bare hand does not. The vast majority of the time, the glove makes for an easier catch, the only times they avoid the glove is when there isn’t enough time to catch, transfer and throw, then they will try barehand instead. Experience shows that the barehand attempt is frequently muffed, on balls that would be trivial to catch with a glove. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/42 "2011-05-02T14:58:51Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Well not really. If I were playing professional sport my aim would be do whatever I can do to help my team win, not do whatever I can do to not get injured. Sit on the bench would be the winner there. It’s true Cano’s fielding technique isn’t very precise. But with the possible exception of a late-inning tie game during game seven of the World Series, Robinson Cano does more to help his team win by staying healthy and playing again tomorrow than by breaking his hand on a routine grounder and missing several weeks. As a general rule baseball players and managers know the season is very long, and that it’s better to lose one game now than to give away a bunch of them later. In most cases there is no advantage to trying to catch a hard-hit ball with your hand. If there are some plays you can’t make with a glove and some you can’t make with a bare hand, I think it’s ultimately going to be advantage glove. Incidentally, Cano came out of yesterday’s game after a pickoff throw bruised his (gloved) hand. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/43 "2011-05-02T15:12:19Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Doubtful. He’s already got to turn his torso toward the bag in order to move that direction quickly, so his bare hand is not automatically closer to the ball anymore. The glove gives Cano an extra 4 inches or so of reach, and a wide target to make a catch, that his bare hand does not. The vast majority of the time, the glove makes for an easier catch, the only times they avoid the glove is when there isn’t enough time to catch, transfer and throw, then they will try barehand instead. Experience shows that the barehand attempt is frequently muffed, on balls that would be trivial to catch with a glove. Especially with balls on the ground. In baseball, for infielders,it is vital to field ground balls cleanly, without bobbling. catching a hard hit ball in the air is much easier than cleanly fielding a hard hit bouncing ball on the ground. In cricket,isn’t it far less important for the near fielders to consistently field balls on the ground cleanly, as opposed to stopping the balls from getting by them? Due to the unpredictable nature of an imperfect bouncing ball on an imperfect surface, the glove maximizes the margin of error to successfully field a ball. With millions of determined players ultimately competing for 700 positions, if being skilled at regularly using bare hands instead of a glove offered any sort of an advantage, it would have been done, by somebody, at least once. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/44 "2011-05-02T16:30:42Z")
Here’s Thomas’s explanation of it in Q and A form: > [@](#): > > 1. You were famous for claiming that you could catch anybody’s hardest throw barehanded. > > It’s true, by happenstance I had created an open-ended challenge that I could catch anybody’s hardest throw bare-handed. Bill Pierro, a teammate of mine with Waco in 1949, was a hard-throwing pitcher. He was popping off one day about how hard he could throw, so I bet him that I could catch his hardest throw bare-handed. I had tough hands from playing fast-pitch sandlot softball without a glove as a kid back in Pittsburgh, so I had no doubt that I could catch Pierro without a glove. He was a typical cocky flamethrower, so he was shocked and embarrassed when I caught his fastball bare-handed. He was even more embarrassed when I caught the next six pitches he threw. Word got around, so before long I had guys lining up to throw me their best. > > 3a) It is said that you always lived up to this claim. Is that true? > > Yes, for the duration of my career I was challenged by players from all over the league. I took all comers and never failed to catch them. > > 3b) At what distance did you catch them? > > The bet was that I would catch them at 60-feet six-inches. Most of the time they would throw off the mound while I would be squatting behind the plate. > > 3c) Who was the hardest thrower you caught barehanded? > > I can’t really pinpoint who was the hardest thrower I ever caught. To be honest, many hard-throwers didn’t want get involved for fear of being embarrassed if I caught them – like Pierro. The toughest to catch, however, was Don Zimmer. He thought he could beat me by playing with the rules of the challenge. He walked off twenty-feet past the mound, then got an outfielder’s running start and threw a spitter to me. I still caught it, though. Zim just threw his glove up in the air and said, “You made a believer out of me!” > > 3d) Did this have anything to do with you breaking your thumb in 1964? > > My bare-handed catching activity, in hindsight, was not the smartest thing I could have done, especially considering the thumb injury I sustained late in the 1958 season. I hurt my thumb when the sharp end of a broken bat stabbed into my hand after getting busted in on the fists by Tom Acker. Two surgeries later, I was cured. I resumed my bare-handed challenge when I recovered, and it really could have got me hurt, but it played no role in my injury with the Phillies during the stretch run of 1964. In that case I broke my thumb while diving into second base. My hand slipped under the bag and slammed into the anchoring pin. I was swinging a hot bat at the time, and we had built a large lead in the pennant race in the one month that I had been with the club since coming over in my trade from the Mets. But as everyone now knows, I went on the shelf with my busted thumb and we embarked on a now-legendary collapse that saw us lose the pennant. I’ve never been so bold as to say one man could lose a pennant, but I know my thumb injury really hurt us. Gene Mauch, our manager that season, did, however, go as far as to say that my injury cost us the pennant. He pointed to me at the 25-year anniversary of the 1964 Phillies and said,There’s the reason we lost the pennant! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/45 "2011-05-02T17:56:10Z")
I would like to correct an erroneous assumption here. Most cricket catches are taken within 15 yards of the bat after a pretty powerful drive. The biggest cause of catches going down is the fielder being unable to control the ball due to having insufficient time to react. Whats the closet distance is Baseball? Secondly the proper way to catch in cricket is two handed, you form a cup with you hands and let the ball fall grabbing is discouraged. I suppose that is not the case in baseball. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/46 "2011-05-02T19:15:40Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I would like to correct an erroneous assumption here. Most cricket catches are taken within 15 yards of the bat after a pretty powerful drive. The biggest cause of catches going down is the fielder being unable to control the ball due to having insufficient time to react. Whats the closet distance is Baseball? > > Secondly the proper way to catch in cricket is two handed, you form a cup with you hands and let the ball fall grabbing is discouraged. I suppose that is not the case in baseball. hmmmmmm, cricket fan though I am, I’m not sure I’d go with you there AK. I’d suspect slip catches are more prevalent. Though to be fair, they are still being taken 10-15 yards from the batsmen and at a similar speed. (and the above is merely a gut reaction and I stand to be corrected) I think the general point is that for baseball, to try and catch, barehanded, at “cricketing” distances would be silly. The ball will fly faster because most hits are full slogs. And coming off a narrow bat, a sweet hit will certainly fly faster than in cricket. I suspect the relative distances of cricket vs baseball fielders reflects this. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/47 "2011-05-02T19:32:47Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > hmmmmmm, cricket fan though I am, I’m not sure I’d go with you there AK. > I’d suspect slip catches are more prevalent. Though to be fair, they are still being taken 10-15 yards from the batsmen and at a similar speed. (and the above is merely a gut reaction and I stand to be corrected) > > I think the general point is that for baseball, to try and catch, barehanded, at “cricketing” distances would be silly. The ball will fly faster because most hits are full slogs. And coming off a narrow bat, a sweet hit will certainly fly faster than in cricket. I suspect the relative distances of cricket vs baseball fielders reflects this. I am actually not counting slips, I am counting the places such as point, short mid on etc. Where the majority of catches go. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/48 "2011-05-02T19:38:55Z")
FWIW the all time career record for cricket catches is in the hundreds, while in baseball the putout record for any given position is in the high thousands. A baseball player must handle balls hit and thrown at extremely high velocity far, far more frequently and on an every day basis. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/49 "2011-05-02T19:45:06Z")
^ Cite? International records are in the hundreds, First Class records are in the thousands. Furthermore there are 10 ways to get an out in cricket and about 2 in baseball. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/50 "2011-05-02T19:56:31Z")
[First Class Cricket Records](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first-class_cricket_records) …I guess the most catches record did just crack 1000. but still, there are dozens of baseball players with over 5000 not sure why the number of ways to get an out is significant, but [here is a list of the many ways to get an out in baseball](http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art27859.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/51 "2011-05-02T20:34:56Z")
I’ve watched a good amount of cricket in my life, including the WC final this year. I also watched many of the highlights and lowlights of the other games. There is simply no way that you can field better without a glove. The misses, bobbles and bad throws from the world’s top cricket players tells me that fielding errors are far more acceptable in cricket. You wouldn’t see high school baseball players make the types of errors that you see in the top levels of cricket. There are certainly many spectacular fielding plays as well, but if there was a way to appropriately compare fielding error rates, I’d bet that cricket’s are much higher. The OP’s question is similar to a baseball fan asking why cricketers are so reluctant to use rounded bats instead of flattened ones. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/52 "2011-05-03T01:40:05Z")
“fielding errors are far more acceptable in cricket” The difference is in the game dynamics of risk and reward. Like many cricket followers, one of the fascinations of baseball is the serene/clinical/nonchalent way the baseball infield gathers a hit and then throws the runner out at first. The quintessential baseball play that completed succesfully what upward of a dozen time during a typical game? Contrast that with the frantic, low percentage equivalent in cricket, running out the batter at the non-strikers end. But now consider the dimensions involved. To make his ground in cricket the batsman needs to get his bat/person behind the popping crease 62’ away, and if he slides the bat properly he probably only has to run about 55’. And the target for the throw is an order of magnitude smaller. Were that play required in baseball, you couldn’t have fielder around 120’ from the bat, that would be a single anytime the ball was hit to him. You couldn’t afford the time to transfer the ball, you’d need to field the ball with your throwing hand. In baseball the ground out at first is near 100%, getting it wrong a significant blunder and so you minimise the chance of getting it wrong. In cricket the success rate would be much less than 5%. The reward in cricket would be roughly the baseball equivalent of “side out”. As there is little downside to attempting it and a whole lot of reward for success, the fumbles and misfields are accepted. It’s the nature of the game, not the skills of the players. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/53 "2011-05-03T01:57:07Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Most cricket catches are taken within 15 yards of the bat after a pretty powerful drive. The biggest cause of catches going down is the fielder being unable to control the ball due to having insufficient time to react. Whats the closet distance is Baseball? On a bunt or a “slow roller” the fielder will often grab the ball within that distance. However, the ball is usually rolling on the ground at that point, the fielder is running at full speed, trying to reach down and pick up the ball with his bare hand. Even if he picks it up cleanly, the fielder is likely to be off-balance and may not successfully throw to the base to retire the runner. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/54 "2011-05-03T03:35:05Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > [not sure why the number of ways to get an out is significant, but [URL=“http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art27859.asp”]here is a list of the many ways to get an out in baseball](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first-class_cricket_records) I’m amazed anyone familiar with baseball could make the error this man does: “The batter hits a ball and it is caught by a fielder in fair territory before it touches the ground.” A ball caught on the fly in foul territory (except a foul tip) is also an out. It’s strange he’d add such a qualification – and make it incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/55 "2011-05-03T12:35:39Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > I’m amazed anyone familiar with baseball could make the error this man does: “The batter hits a ball and it is caught by a fielder in fair territory before it touches the ground.” A ball caught on the fly in foul territory (except a foul tip) is also an out. It’s strange he’d add such a qualification – and make it incorrect. Yeah, it’ kind of a messed up article. He’s flat out wrong about another one: two runners on the same base are not automatically out, one of them needs to be tagged (the lead runner is entitled to the bag). He also missed a couple, like passing a leading runner on the base path and missing a base while running. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/56 "2011-05-03T13:59:05Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > “fielding errors are far more acceptable in cricket” > The difference is in the game dynamics of risk and reward… I agree completely about the penalty for not making a play being much higher in baseball. If your error in baseball causes just one additional run, it could mean the difference between winning and losing. In cricket, a couple of extra runs doesn’t mean nearly as much. It’s much better to try a risky throw for the small chance of getting an out. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/57 "2011-05-03T18:43:16Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Yeah, it’ kind of a messed up article. He’s flat out wrong about another one: two runners on the same base are not automatically out, one of them needs to be tagged (the lead runner is entitled to the bag). He also missed a couple, like passing a leading runner on the base path and missing a base while running. He also got the infield fly rule wrong, though, in fairness, that’s one people get wrong a lot. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/58 "2011-05-03T22:43:49Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > He also got the infield fly rule wrong, though, in fairness, that’s one people get wrong a lot. Yeah, I hadn’t noticed that. I’m not inclined to fairness, though, since the guy claims to be a “baseball editor” and should know what the hell he’s talking about, and honestly the infield fly rule isn’t that hard to figure out. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/59 "2011-05-04T00:56:33Z")
> [@These are my own pants](#): > > …As I’m sure your aware a softball is harder than a baseball… Not sure how to technically define hard, but a baseball is more dense than a softball and softballs get misshapen much easier than a baseball which to me implies that the baseball is harder. Although a softball is absolutely not soft, I’ve played both and I’ve been hit by both and I would choose getting hit by the softball over the baseball. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377/60 "2011-05-04T07:31:41Z")
> [@These are my own pants](#): > > As I’m sure your aware a softball is harder than a baseball and also heavier than both a cricketball and a baseball. A softball is not harder than a baseball. The opposite is true - a baseball is considerably harder. Why do you think they call it a softball? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-baseball-players-so-reluctant-to-bare-hand-the-ball/580377.md?page=4)