Many of you know that baseball is my passion. It is what I love. Some watch baseball on tv or go to games, but about 90 percent of fans don’t really understand the game of baseball. They think a pitcher stands up there, throws a ball, the guy tries to hit it; and if he fails it’s the other teams turn. Sadly this is why some people say baseball is “boring” but if you understand the game, you’ll agree with me when I say that they couldn’t be more wrong.
Baseball is a form of art, a beautiful painting that can not be described, a song that moves you and a poem that brings you to tears.
Some of you may think I’m going overboard with my feelings of baseball, but before you reject my words, please read the reasons why I have come to such a decision about this game.
Next time you’re watching a baseball game I want you to start looking INSIDE the game, not at the game. Look to WHY things happen and not WHAT just happened. See… in baseball, there are MANY reasons why we do what we do. Pitch by pitch, pick by pick, out by out, swing by swing and inning by inning. Every situation calls for a decision. No decision is going to be set in stone. In baseball, you can’t say “if this happens, we will do this” because EVERY situation is different.
To help you more understand what I’m trying to explain, please allow me to take you through the game through my eyes.
First, before every game, everyone is given a “scouting report.” These reports given to us contain numbers, the numbers are averages, not batting averages or earned run averages; they consist of “how many times this guy swings at the first pitch” or “how likely this guy is to throw a 2-0 change up” or “if this guy comes out of the pen, what does he like to throw first pitch with a runner on first, second, third, one out, two outs”
K.. now you have a very small idea about how in depth these reports go. If you’ve done it in the past, we have it on paper, and not only do we have it, but we know it before the first pitch is thrown.
During an at bat, (when I’m catching) I have to ask myself many questions and I have to know the answer right away and make a decision on how the game is going to proceed and what my “strategy” is going to be as the game progresses.
Some of these questions include:
How many outs?
Who’s up to bat?
What did I throw him last time?
What did I throw to the two guys before him?
What has he not seen that this pitcher has?
What are his weaknesses as a hitter?
His strengths?
Who are the two people hitting behind him?
Does he free swing?
Is he disciplined?
What is the count?
What has the pitcher thrown in this count all day?
What is the score?
How many outs?
Who’s on?
Does the person on base run well?
Does the hitter run well?
What are the managers tendencies in these situations?
Honestly, I could list about 40 more questions, and I have to ask myself these questions after every pitch, and before or after every pitch I have to either keep going with my strategy or I have to change it according to what I believe will help my team win. Regardless if it’s the 2nd pitch of the game or possibly the last pitch, every pitch I call has some thought behind it and every pitch has a purpose. But it’s not just my thoughts, my pitcher, infielders and manager all have thoughts about how things should run… and even though you might not see us or hear us talking, we communicate every pitch. Whether it be by signal or even just a look, we communicate with everything we do. When I put down a sign, the pitcher isn’t the only one who sees it, the middle infielders will tip what I’m throwing to the rest of the field so they know what to expect when the batter swings.
So now I ask you a question…
Have you ever played chess?
Seems like a simple game right?
It’s just a simple board game, equipped with some squares and 7 different kinds of pieces that are all trying to push forward to kill the opponent and protect itself at the same time.
Baseball is a giant game of chess played in between each pitch. The pitch and swing and everything that you see that moves, is only a result of the chess pieces moving across the board. And just like chess, you can’t teach someone how to play. You can teach them what the pieces do, and that is where it stops. You can’t teach someone how to play because every situation is different, there are thousands of attacks, thousands of outs, thousands of set ups, thousands of ways to win and thousands of ways to lose. All of which make MILLIONS of ways to play.
This is why I love baseball… it’s just like life, it teaches you something new everyday. Even when a situation “seems” the same, it isn’t, there is always another way to approach it. And going outside your boundaries of what you “normally” do, can be a good thing.
So whenever you see a baseball player in your class or walkin’ down the street, just realize that he isn’t some “dumb jock”, a lot of them, just like me, love the game INSIDE the game. Hitting, striking someone out, throwing someone out, sliding under a close play; all these things can be fun and seem fun to the untrained eye in the stands. But I promise you that baseball is 10% what you can see and 90% what you can not. You may not see us talking, but we are, every play. We are constantly thinking, communicating and pushing to out smart our opponents pitch by pitch, out by out and inning by inning.
So next time you’re sitting in the stands on a hot summer night, hot dog in hand and a baseball glove on the other, try to pay attention to the beautiful art and strategic game of chess that is taking place right before your eyes.
