somewhat off-topic: baseball myths/misnomers
by brooklynlovesorioles on Jun 9, 2009 11:23 AM EDT
34 comments
Coming to my CC community for a little help. I work for SI Kids and have been assigned to do some research about myths and misnomers in baseball. Some examples: the foul pole is actually fair, the myth of the ground-rule triple at Fenway Park, stuff like that. Just figured that in addition to my work I might toss this out to some other baseball fans and see if your brilliant minds can think of anything I might miss. Suggestions for other sports are also welcome.
Thanks!
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Called shot by Ruth....
Willie Mays purposely wore his hat loose so it would fall off, any number of stories about hitting HRs for sick kids, goat curse at Wrigley….
"I don't have a hit-and-run sign, and I believe it's the worst play in baseball." - Earl Weaver
They Yankees being a "class organization"
"I’m sure glad he didn’t try to bunt." - DD on Melmo's game winning double, 6/17
curt schilling’s bloody sock.
"Your wife told you to play in New York.
Well, my wife told me you look like a dork." Boo Teixeira guys.
Just ask Gary Thorne...
"I don't have a hit-and-run sign, and I believe it's the worst play in baseball." - Earl Weaver
I work for SI Kids and have been assigned to do some research about myths and misnomers in baseball. Some examples: the foul pole is actually fair, the myth of the ground-rule triple at Fenway Park, stuff like that.
Rob Neyer wrote an entire book about baseball myths.
"Your wife told you to play in New York.
Well, my wife told me you look like a dork." Boo Teixeira guys.
'27 Pirates
being “scared” into submission simply by watching Ruth & Gehrig in BP.
You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever.
misnomers
not really a misnomer, i guess, just an interesting fact: there are, IIRC, eight ways to reach first base in baseball:
Base Hit
Fielder’s Choice
BB
HBP
Error
Dropped third strike (aka, “stealing first”)
Catcher interference
Batted ball hits umpire or runner (unintentionally)
Maybe could be a sidebar….?
It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. All the girls look hot. So, the Nationals are Jennifer Lopez to me. —Julian Tavarez
A batted ball hitting a runner is an out even if it’s unintentional, and a batted ball hitting an ump is simply a live ball
You forgot fielders interference though.
by NickMarkaces on Jun 10, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions
depends where the ump or runner is standing.
Rule 6.08
6.08
The batter becomes a runner and is entitled to first base without liability to be put out (provided he advances to and touches first base) when —
.
.
(d) A fair ball touches an umpire or a runner on fair territory before touching a fielder.
If a fair ball touches an umpire after having passed a fielder other than the pitcher, or having touched a fielder, including the pitcher, the ball is in play.
And you’re right about the fielder’s interference, which is listed in the same section:
© The catcher or any fielder interferes with him.
I guess I always think of it as catcher interference, because for a fielder to interfere with the batter would require a ridiculous amount of ineptitude. Like some dude charging for a bunt and somehow arriving before the pitch and not stopping. But I guess maybe the 1B could interfere on the basepath.
It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. All the girls look hot. So, the Nationals are Jennifer Lopez to me. —Julian Tavarez
Definitely check out Neyer's book
It was great.
My favorite is how Thurman Munson allegedly would drop third strikes on purpose so he could throw the runner out at first and get an assist so he could take over the lead from Fisk…which of course did not happen.
Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting.
"ground rule" doubles
What are usually referred to as ground rule doubles ( balls bouncing over the outfield fence into the stands) are actually automatic doubles. A ground rule is specific to a ballpark; the automatic double is just a rule – it is the same regardless of the location.
by wetnap on Jun 10, 2009 5:10 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Ah ha!
I’ve been listening to John Sterling call them “grounds rule” doulbes for 20 years. Now I know why.
You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever.
still wrong.
But at least it makes sense, now, why he adds the “s” to ground.
Jioe Flaacco, Hon!!! "He’s like a live JUGS machine."
My apologies
for having to listen to John Sterling.
by Afghanistan Steve on Jun 21, 2009 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Came back to NY from going to college in MD
And Sterling was the new NYY radio guy.
1st thought was “This buffoon isn’t going to last”. 20 years later…
Also, for 1 season Joe Angel was his partner. More than once I kept looking for the turn off to Route 1- while driving on the Northern State Parkway!
You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever.
- Jackie Robinson being the first black ballplayer.
- If a batter’s wrists crack on a check swing, then it’s an automatic strike.
- When bunting/determining a HBP, the hands ARE a part of the bat.
- A foul ball that hits the screen directly behind home plate was “just missed.”
- Tie goes to the runner.
- Fast balls rise.
My best game plan is to sit on the bench and call out specific instructions like 'C'mon Boog,' 'Get ahold of one, Frank,' or 'Let's go, Brooks.' -Earl Weaver
If a batter’s wrists crack on a check swing, then it’s an automatic strike.
I believe this is the test some umpires use to determine a check swing, there is no actual definition of a check swing in the rule book.
Really?
I thought the bathead had to cross the plate.
My best game plan is to sit on the bench and call out specific instructions like 'C'mon Boog,' 'Get ahold of one, Frank,' or 'Let's go, Brooks.' -Earl Weaver
Search for check(ed) swing in the rule book, you wont find anything.
Its implied by the definition of a strike:
“A STRIKE is a legal pitch when so called by the umpire, which—
(a) Is struck at by the batter and is missed;”
Its entirely a judgment call whether the batter “struck at” the pitch. most people use crossing the plate as the threshold or the wrists breaking as a sign of an intent to follow through, but really its an entirely made up rule.
On that note.....
If the batter breaks his wrists when swinging, it’s a strike.
"I was provided with addtional input that was radically different from the truth. I assisted in furthering that version."
-Colonel Oliver North, from his Iran-Contra testimony
by breweyboy18 on Jun 18, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions
No kidding...
thats why the start of this thread is called – “baseball myths/misnomers” – right?
"I was provided with addtional input that was radically different from the truth. I assisted in furthering that version."
-Colonel Oliver North, from his Iran-Contra testimony
THANK THANKS THANKS
These are great! I knew this was the place to go with this question!
by brooklynlovesorioles on Jun 12, 2009 5:17 PM EDT reply actions
They saying, "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings."
“It ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings.” (-Yogi Berra). The phrase has also been attributed to former Baltimore Orioles’ manager, Earl Weaver. In the 50s Kate Smith, who weighed 235 pounds, performed “God Bless America” after baseball games. Other fave quotes: “Nats suck.”
What sucks more, a mosquito or a nat?
:8^ |
by balt_orioles1954 on Jun 18, 2009 11:21 AM EDT reply actions
Yogi didn't say that.
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” is Yogi.
by Crank White on Jun 20, 2009 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions
You mean OTHER than "Abner Doubleday invented baseball"?
Myths/misnomers:
1. Peter Angelos is a good owner who cares abpout the franchise and its fans.
2. Ferd Manfraud knows how to call a baseball game on the radio. And can tie his own shoes.
3. Bud Selig spelled backwards sounds just as stupid as “Bud Selig.”
4. Bud Selig walking backwards is just as stupid as Bud Selig sitting down— it doesn’t really matter.
5. Major League Baseball has an actual commissioner.
6. The National League has never proposed using the DH (see 1932).
7. Oops, 3 and 4 are true. Also: Cito Cucks.
8. It is possible to listen to Suzyn Wombat doing play-by-play without thinking of a blackboard and fingernails.
9. There is no Russian in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
10. Admission to the Hall of Fame requires a fair vote by objective and knowledgeable people. Ahahahahahahahahahaha.
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Churchill,1942-- a rebuilding year.
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