Roger Bernadina, of the Nationals (and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it should be noted), underneath a fly ball.
Photo by “Afagen”, used under a Creative Commons license.
Picture of the day: I got it!
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Tag Archives: baseball
Games aren’t played on paper
With Team USA’s 4-3 loss to Puerto Rico and elimination from the World Baseball Classic, there are certain to be many theories as to why, once again, the Americans failed. Some are legitimate (lack of conditioning compared to teams from Asia and Latin America, the various dropouts from the event), some aren’t (the claim that the American players “didn’t care” about the games or their outcomes is easily disproved by Vinnie Pestano‘s post-game Tweet), and some are probably somewhere in between. But, ultimately, the fact that Team USA fell can be brought down to this:
It’s baseball, and in baseball, games aren’t played on paper. And that means weird things can happen, and even small mistakes can doom giants, especially in settings such as tournaments where the margin of error is small.
Consider: Who could have expected that the Team USA lineup would be so anemic (sans David Wright, now resting from his wounds in a S.H.I.E.L.D. Heli-Carrier until he is needed in 2017, and Joe Mauer, who reminded the world about how beautiful a swing he has) for much of the tournament? On paper, you wouldn’t have expected it, but the games aren’t played on paper.
Or consider Nelson Figueroa, who hadn’t thrown a pitch in the Majors since 2011. Who could have expected him to have the night of his life? Or that the umpiring would have had such a… unusual strike zone? Nobody. There are countless other variables that determine this tournament and any given game. And tonight, those variables helped put Puerto Rico on top.
So, before you go ripping into Team USA, or calling for the WBC to be cancelled (it won’t be), just remember: this is baseball. The best team doesn’t always win. Some of the greatest teams in baseball history* haven’t won. It’s what makes the sport great. It’s why we watch. And sometimes, it can be very cruel and fickle game.
So enjoy the rest of the World Baseball Classic, people, because, like all baseball, we have no idea what’s going to happen.
*The 1906 Cubs, the 1954 Indians, the 1969 Orioles, the 2001 Mariners…
Picture of the day: Erick Aybar, Hero of the Dominican
After his go-ahead hit last night in the instant-classic game between the Dominican Republic and Team USA, it’s unlikely that Erick Aybar will ever have to pay for a drink in the Dominican again.
This photo was taken by Keith Allison and is used under a creative commons license.
Famous for Something Else: Danny Ainge
Danny Ainge was an All-Star with the Boston Celtics, and later would become an award-winning executive for them after he hung up the uniform. But before he started his professional basketball career, the BYU grad had a short career with the Blue Jays. Go below the jump to see his major league and minor league stats:
Coming up on the Baseball Continuum (March edition)…
As the WBC continues and Opening Day draws near (Thank the Baseball Gods!), here’s a look at what you can expect from the Continuum by the end of the month:
- Perhaps the most out-of-left-field (pun intended) “Bizarre Baseball Culture” since Rockets Rigby. And considering that series has had Martians, exploding baseballs, and Atomic Super-Wood, that is saying something.
- A list of 162 things I think will happen in the 2013 season, both honest and facetious.
- A few ideas on things that would make good baseball movies (I’ve done similar things in the past, but this will be more in depth).
- More of the usual features of the Continuum, such as “Famous for Something Else”, “Cool Baseball Links”, “Picture of the Day” and “Video of the Undetermined Amount of Time”.
- And, of course, the latest WBC coverage and overall coverage of baseball in general.
The WBC-is-fine Update
A few days ago, I wrote about why the World Baseball Classic probably isn’t going anywhere, despite the doom-sayers. So, here are some things that further back up my that the World Baseball Classic is going to continue:
The ratings for MLB Network have been very good
The USA-Canada game was the most watched non-postseason game ever shown on MLB Network, and last weekend was the most watched weekend in MLB Network’s history. While the TV audience is down from previous WBCs that had games on ESPN, this was almost certainly expected when they moved the games to MLB Network, which, of course, isn’t on as many TVs as ESPN.
Attendance broke the previous record for the first round
463,017 people attended WBC games in round one, almost 10 thousand more than the previous record in 2009.
The ratings elsewhere in the world have continued to be high
As I and others elsewhere have pointed out, this event isn’t really about the United States, it’s about the rest of the world and how MLB can spread baseball in it, leading to more players and, even more importantly, more profit. And, guess what? The WBC still is getting record ratings in other parts of the world.
Add that to the big social media buzz (“#WBC” and similar things are trending during nearly every game, it seems), and the picture is becoming further clear: The WBC is here to stay.
Picture of the day: Captain America
David Wright had five RBIs in Team USA’s victory over Puerto Rico last night, and now has 10 RBIs in the tournament overall. Adding that to his stellar performance back in 2009, and he has been dubbed by Matt Vasgersian of MLB Network- along with parts of the internet- as “Captain America”.
Sadly/thankfully, there are no images of David Wright in a Captain America costume that are in either the public domain or Creative Commons (or, indeed, anywhere), so this picture will have to do:
This image is under a creative commons license, and was taken by Paul Hadsall.
Baseball Streaks that nobody would want
The Baseball Reference Play Index is having a free trial until April 15, allowing people to look at some parts of B-Ref normally not open to unpaying eyes. And while you could use this to find things like the most home runs hit in a post-integration season by a left-hander who was never an All-Star (Travis Hafner‘s 42 in 2006) or the best June team batting average since 1916 (the 1930 Yankees, who hit .366), I instead have decided to look at some more… inglorious streaks.
Like, for example, do you know who holds the record for consecutive games grounded into a double play? Well, post 1916 (1916 is the earliest point where the Play Index is available), it’s a tie between Sid Gordon of the 1943 Giants and Greg Norton of the 1998 White Sox both grounded into double plays in six straight games they had an AB or Sac Fly in.
Okay, now what about the anti-Dimaggio, what everyday player (no P or replacement appearances allowed) has had the longest post-1916 non-hitting streak (again, in games in which they had an AB or sacrifice fly)? Well, again it is a tie: Tommy Dean went 15 games between 1970 and 1971 without a hit during any of the games where he started and had at least one AB or sac-fly, and Mick Kelleher– normally a defensive replacement (and in fact he DID get a hit during some of his defensive replacement games) went the same amount of games over 1981 and 1982 without a record. If you are curious as to what it would be like if I included replacements (but still kept out pitchers and the rare pitcher-used-as-PH), well, Eugenio Velez has that inglorious distinction, having gone 30 games and over a calendar year between 2010 and 2011 without a hit:
| Rk | Strk Start | End | Games | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SO | BB | SB | CS | Tm | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eugenio Velez | 2010-09-14 | 2011-09-28 | 30 | 46 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .042 | .000 | .042 | SFG-LAD |
What about all in one season? That goes to Phil Stephenson, who went 25 games without a hit in 1992.
Now, let it not be said that just because you have a streak that nobody wants that you must be horrible. After all, just ask the pitcher who has the record for consecutive games in which they gave up a home run: Bert Blyleven, who had 20 straight games between 1986 and 1987 in which he gave up a homer.
Link of the day: Dutch baseball words
After a shocking 7-6 upset over Cuba, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, AKA “Honkbal”, is headed to San Francisco for the WBC semi-finals, with only a relatively meaningless game for seeding remaining against Japan before they head to America, and, no doubt, total world domination.
So, with that in mind, it may be a good idea to check out this link, which serves as a English-to-Dutch dictionary for baseball/honkbal terms.
Picture of the day: Fernando-Mania never died
Mexico may not have advanced in the WBC, but they certainly were popular with the fans during their time there. Just look at the crowd trying to get pitching coach and Mexican baseball legend Fernando Valenzuela to sign for them before a exhibition game against the Dodgers:
This picture, taken by “rwarrin”, is under a creative commons license.
The Baseball Continuum 