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Post by inger on May 7, 2024 14:15:47 GMT -5
Wasn't it Samuel Clemons who said "everyone complains about the Umps, but no one does anything about it"?  I'm still trying to figure out who was the better writer, Samuel Clemens or Mark Twain.  Was he the first one to paint graffiti on twains?… |
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Post by azbob643 on May 7, 2024 16:06:36 GMT -5
The pitch challenge has been used during some AZFL & minor leagues, and apparently hasn't slowed the game down...much. The challenge has to be called for within 2 seconds of the pitch, and the process takes approx. 30 seconds. Each team starts the game with 3 challenges, and just like challenges on safe/out calls a team keeps its challenges if successful, loses if unsuccessful. Still...I'm not thrilled with the way it interrupts the flow of the game. I'd much rather see robo-umps. As for the strike zone box we see on TV...I think we can accept its accuracy as to the width of the plate, but how accurate is it top to bottom, which obviously changes with each batter? Is that something that's pre-programmed for every hitter, or automatically adjusts when the hitter gets into the box? I don’t think it adjusts, but I have wondered the same… There has to be some sort of adjustment. Even two hitters of identical height won't necessarily have the same strike zone, especially when factoring in individual batting stances. |
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Post by inger on May 7, 2024 16:09:10 GMT -5
I don’t think it adjusts, but I have wondered the same… There has to be some sort of adjustment. Even two hitters of identical height won't necessarily have the same strike zone, especially when factoring in individual batting stances. Going to run to the TV when Altuve and Judge bat, tape measure in hand… hope I don’t get struck by a batted ball… ⚾️… |
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Post by azbob643 on May 7, 2024 16:13:05 GMT -5
There has to be some sort of adjustment. Even two hitters of identical height won't necessarily have the same strike zone, especially when factoring in individual batting stances. Going to run to the TV when Altuve and Judge bat, tape measure in hand… hope I don’t get struck by a batted ball… ⚾️… LOL. I'm sure it adjusts for individual hitters...if not, Altuve's strike zone would be from his waist to above his head. |
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Post by pippsheadache on May 7, 2024 16:42:02 GMT -5
Wasn't it Samuel Clemons who said "everyone complains about the Umps, but no one does anything about it"? Hey 55, I have been a lifelong devotee of the aforementioned Samuel Langhorne Clemens, and he actually did make some commentary on umpires in an essay published over 50 years after his death in 1910. The only reason I know about it was because on my most recent of multiple visits last year to his home in Hartford, there was a small exhibit on "Mark Twain and Baseball." He was a fairly serious fan of the Hartford Deep Blues, whose existence only extended from 1874-1876, first in the National Association and then in the National League. In "A Later Extract From Methuselah's Diary" Twain described the home plate umpire as "clothed in the common fashion of the time, who marked upon the ground with a stick, yet accomplished nothing by it that I could make out." I take this to mean that before the ball-strike clicker, the ump kept the count by marking in the dirt. Twain goes on "Saith this one, Low Ball." "At once did all that are called fielders spit upon their hands and stoop and watch again." Eventually, Twain has the batter "endeavoring to destroy the umpire with his bludgeon," which proves that bad umpiring did not begin with Angel Hernandez. Twain's home in Hartford -- a must visit for anyone who is interested in him -- was not far from the Hartford Baseball Grounds. He apparently was fairly regular in attendance. During this time, the manager of the Deep Blues was the semi-legendary Bob "Death To Flying Things" Ferguson. Given the celebrity status of both Twain and DTFT, I have to believe that at some point they must have met. |
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Post by inger on May 7, 2024 17:27:26 GMT -5
Wasn't it Samuel Clemons who said "everyone complains about the Umps, but no one does anything about it"? Hey 55, I have been a lifelong devotee of the aforementioned Samuel Langhorne Clemens, and he actually did make some commentary on umpires in an essay published over 50 years after his death in 1910. The only reason I know about it was because on my most recent of multiple visits last year to his home in Hartford, there was a small exhibit on "Mark Twain and Baseball." He was a fairly serious fan of the Hartford Deep Blues, whose existence only extended from 1874-1876, first in the National Association and then in the National League. In "A Later Extract From Methuselah's Diary" Twain described the home plate umpire as "clothed in the common fashion of the time, who marked upon the ground with a stick, yet accomplished nothing by it that I could make out." I take this to mean that before the ball-strike clicker, the ump kept the count by marking in the dirt. Twain goes on "Saith this one, Low Ball." "At once did all that are called fielders spit upon their hands and stoop and watch again." Eventually, Twain has the batter "endeavoring to destroy the umpire with his bludgeon," which proves that bad umpiring did not begin with Angel Hernandez. Twain's home in Hartford -- a must visit for anyone who is interested in him -- was not far from the Hartford Baseball Grounds. He apparently was fairly regular in attendance. During this time, the manager of the Deep Blues was the semi-legendary Bob "Death To Flying Things" Ferguson. Given the celebrity status of both Twain and DTFT, I have to believe that at some point they must have met. Mark “LTWW” (life to written word) Twain. Samuel or Mark, never the twain shall meet… |
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Post by Max on May 8, 2024 12:40:35 GMT -5
I'm still trying to figure out who was the better writer, Samuel Clemens or Mark Twain. Was he the first one to paint graffiti on twains?… Is he related to Lionel Twain? |
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