Why is it, in baseball,.....

[Guest]

....when a batter has a 3-0 count against him he is always told to take the next pitch? When he knows this will be the absolute best meat pitch that there can ever be to him?


I umpired college ball for a year, back when I had knees, and I still don't understand.

 

[vping]

He's got a 50-50 shot at hittin it and then he is still ahead in the count is the way I alway looked at it.

 

[coldplugs]

He's got a 50-50 shot at hittin it and then he is still ahead in the count is the way I alway looked at it.

I look at it pretty much the same way. Plus, he's likely to get as good a pitch on a 3-1 count which is what he'll have if the 3-0 pitch is a strike.

 

[roofman]

Ball four, is as good as a base hit.

 

[anthony7777]

tr6bill, when i played we had a great coach mr. perry he tought us if it looks good to you hit it no matter what the count was, maybe its just me but did you ever notice that derek jeter lets all the good pitches go by and is then forced to swing at the garbage?

 

[vping]

tr6bill, when i played we had a great coach mr. perry he tought us if it looks good to you hit it no matter what the count was, maybe its just me but did you ever notice that derek jeter lets all the good pitches go by and is then forced to swing at the garbage?

Must look good to him.

 

[Steve]

Just as in the occasional geek-related computer threads, I did not understand a word of that! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

 

[rick_ingram]

Just as in the occasional geek-related computer threads, I did not understand a word of that! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

OK...you're benched.

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

 

[Steve]

I always believed that any delivery that did not hit either you or the wicket was a good one. If you were able to hit one from time to time that was a bonus.

 

[anthony7777]

tr6bill, when i played we had a great coach mr. perry he tought us if it looks good to you hit it no matter what the count was, maybe its just me but did you ever notice that derek jeter lets all the good pitches go by and is then forced to swing at the garbage?

Must look good to him.

vping they probably do perhaps i should have said he allows himself to get well behind in the count then swings at the poo-poo! we all know theres is no such thing as a perfect pitch, but watch the slow-mo footage of the pitches he lets go then watch what he swings at, if you ever told my coach your not hitting because the pitchers not putting them where you like em coach would have become very inventive about your bats placement--,

 

[Guest]

Plus, there is an unwritten rule in umpiring that if the pitcher is struggling and gets behind 3-0 in the count, the chance of that fourth pitch being a ball is not 50/50, blue is gonna give the next pitch to the pitcher. It will be a strike, anywhere close.

 

[Guest]

War story, when I was calling my first LSU game, the next pitch was a fork ball. Having never seen one of these thrown, it comes in as a fastball and then disappears straight down over the plate. I reached around to the catcher and asked him, "What the .... was that?!", at which he calmly told me, "It's a strike, blue." I quickly shot my right arm straight out. I was humiliated.

That pitcher is throwing somewhere in the Bigs now, and I am still filling teeth.

 

[anthony7777]

tr6bill, ah dont worry when his shoulder/elbow/wrist what ever fails you still be working without the jock itch. there's a place in n.y.c. that has batters cages that tout 90+ m.p.h. fast balls, while with my wife and son i approached said cage, there happened to be about ten guys standing around true jocks big guys all 6 foot plus with special gloves custom bats wrist bands etc standing around, i asked why none of them would go in they told me they were waiting for someone to adjust the machine it was throwing kinda wild high inside no one can hit any of the pitches, i just grabbed a bat out of the bin put my tokens in the machine and yup the first pitch grazed my left eyebrow, i was able to get a good piece of the following 9 pitches, as i turned to get out of the cage all those guys had been watching me, what does my wife say? "how come ya didnt hit them all" my reply "because the stitches from my shoulder operation havnt healed yet" ya had to see the look on their faces. im a giant 5 foot 6 and a half inches and 55 years old at that time, true story. when i see the money these "pros" get for striking out it makes me sick, only time i watch any part of a game any more is cuz my wife has possession of the remote.