I know none of you care but ........ (the Baseball thread)

[UK Redsox]

Watched it live on the telly last night. Less than no clue what was going on!

It's not very complicated Risso

Have you never played Rounders or Softball ?

[Risso]

Watched it live on the telly last night. Less than no clue what was going on!

It's not very complicated Risso

Have you never played Rounders or Softball ?

Of course! I understand the basics, as far as hit the ball and run round the bases goes. We were just watching it, and couldn't make any sense of what was going on with the pitcher and the on screen graphics.  How many no balls can a pitcher throw?  How do they decide if it's a legal pitch? And so on.

[PeterWithesShin]

The box they show on screen by the batter is the strike zone. A pitch outside that, that the batter doesn't swing at, is a ball. 4 balls is a walk, which means the batter gets to go to first base.

[usav]

There's different types of pitching. Baseball is a very skillful game but it takes quite a while to start picking it up.

Yup.  Curve ball, fast ball, slider, sinker, knuckle ball, off-speed........and that can be all from one pitcher as well!   

Risso - there are a lot of nuances and 'game within the game' type situations that really make the game what it is, especially at this level.   For example, the Dodgers started all-right handed line-up last night because of the starting pitcher for the Red Sox was a lefty.  That mean leaving two of their best players on the bench.   Apparently, that was the first time it had been done in a world series game.

[UK Redsox]

[UK Redsox]

Lefty v Lefty

[Risso]

Thanks all.  We sat through it all anyway. More enjoyable than the Villa game on ESPN!  I've picked Boston as my MLB team, does that make me the baseball equivalent of a Man U fan?

[usav]

Thanks all.  We sat through it all anyway. More enjoyable than the Villa game on ESPN!  I've picked Boston as my MLB team, does that make me the baseball equivalent of a Man U fan?

Nah, that would be Yankees.   I chose Boston as well when I first moved to the US as Washington didn't have a team and Boston hadn't won anything for 90 years.  They've won 3 since then.   

[PeterWithesShin]

Nope, Yankees would be Man Utd. It is glory hunting though! When I chose the Red Sox we were shit. Probably only Red Sox will get this but it was the Toddmeister talking about how the Red Sox always seemed to manage to grab defeat from the jaws of victory that convinced me they should be my team as they reminded me of the Villa.

[UK Redsox]

Welcome to Red Sox Nation Risso

You'll soon be obsessed with the sport. I've now attended 318 games, including 61 at Fenway Park


Ah... the Toddmeister, there's a name from the past.

[PeterWithesShin]

You'll be joining us next year for the Red Sox v Yankees games in that there London!

[PeterWithesShin]

If you get chance Riss go to a batting cage, everyone I know that's done it has realised just how skilled a batter is. Especially once it's cranked up to 90+mph.

[UK Redsox]

If you get chance Riss go to a batting cage, everyone I know that's done it has realised just how skilled a batter is. Especially once it's cranked up to 90+mph.

Anything over 70mph or with any movement and I was struggling to lay a bat on the ball

[usav]

If you get chance Riss go to a batting cage, everyone I know that's done it has realised just how skilled a batter is. Especially once it's cranked up to 90+mph.

"They" say it's one of the hardest things to do in any sport.

I've been in a batting cage, and tried hitting 60-70mph balls.   I missed most of them, and the few I did hit hurt like hell.

[Risso]

The throwing to the bases is like nothing I've seen before.  Always straight as a bullet and almost as fast.