WARNING!! Annual OT Baseball Thread 2011!! Open at Your Own Risk!

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by mbyron

The balk rule ain't that hard! Once the pitcher has come set, he can legally do just 3 things: pitch to the batter, step and throw/feint to a base, or step off.

If I remember correctly from my playing days back in the Doubleday era, a pitcher can't feint to 1st base. That's a balk. Correct?

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

If I remember correctly from my playing days back in the Doubleday era, a pitcher can't feint to 1st base. That's a balk. Correct?

Yes, 1B is special that way. It's actually legal to throw the ball to the base if the fielder is not covering it, but you must throw the ball.

[grunewar]

Livan Hernandez (P, Nats) extended a remarkable streak yesterday. By grounding out in each of his two trips to the plate, Hernandez now has not struck out in his last 42 plate appearances, which is actually the second-longest current streak by any player in the majors (Atlanta's Martin Prado has not struck out in his last 45 trips to the plate). Forty-one of the trips to the plate during Hernandez's streak have come in games in which he was pitching, the longest single-season streak of plate appearances without a strikeout by a big-league pitcher since Orel Hershiser failed to strike out in his last 46 plate appearances of the 1993 season.

So, we got that going for us.......which is nice!

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Livan Hernandez (P, Nats) extended a remarkable streak yesterday. By grounding out in each of his two trips to the plate, Hernandez now has not struck out in his last 42 plate appearances, which is actually the second-longest current streak by any player in the majors (Atlanta's Martin Prado has not struck out in his last 45 trips to the plate). Forty-one of the trips to the plate during Hernandez's streak have come in games in which he was pitching, the longest single-season streak of plate appearances without a strikeout by a big-league pitcher since Orel Hershiser failed to strike out in his last 46 plate appearances of the 1993 season.

So, we got that going for us.......which is nice!

Pyrrhic victory?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Forty-one of the trips to the plate during Hernandez's streak have come in games in which he was pitching, the longest single-season streak of plate appearances without a strikeout by a big-league pitcher since Orel Hershiser failed to strike out in his last 46 plate appearances of the 1993 season.

I love it when pitchers in the National League do well, relatively speaking, at the plate. I also love it when they are occasionally asked to pinch hit, or pinch run, or are even asked to play a field position for a few innings. In my opinion, this is a lot more exciting than the American League with their pitching-only pitchers, and hitting-only designated hitters.

Hall of Famer Walter "Big Train" Johnson won over 400 games, had over 100 shutouts, and also hit 24 career home runs, had 255 career RBI's and had a career batting average of .235. Middle infielders today, with those hitting statistics, would be making millions of dollars a year. In 1968, Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, another good hitting pitcher, hit for almost as high an average (.170) as opposing batters hit off him (.184). Don Newcombe, and Don Drysdale, were also pretty good hitting pitchers.

[26 Year Gap]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I love it when pitchers in the National League do well, relatively speaking, at the plate. I also love it when they are occasionally asked to pinch hit, or pinch run, or are even asked to play a field position for a few innings. In my opinion, this is a lot more exciting than the American League with their pitching-only pitchers, and hitting-only designated hitters.

Hall of Famer Walter "Big Train" Johnson won over 400 games, had over 100 shutouts, and also hit 24 career home runs, had 255 career RBI's and had a career batting average of .235. Middle infielders today, with those hitting statistics, would be making millions of dollars a year. In 1968, Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, another good hitting pitcher, hit for almost as high an average (.170) as opposing batters hit off him (.184). Don Newcombe, and Don Drysdale, were also pretty good hitting pitchers.

And Sonny Siebert.

[Zoochy]

Why can't the Yankees beat the Red Sox this year? I hope they break this trend when the face each other in the post season. Or better yet. Some onter team will beat Boston in the 1st round of the playoffs.

[26 Year Gap]

Originally Posted by Zoochy

Why can't the Yankees beat the Red Sox this year? I hope they break this trend when the face each other in the post season. Or better yet. Some onter team will beat Boston in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Or better still: The AL Central & AL West winners will play in the ALCS.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by 26 Year Gap

And Sonny Siebert.

Career hitting statistics (12 years): 12 home runs, 57 RBI's, .173 batting average. He threw a no-hitter on June 10, 1966 against the Washington Senators. He was originally drafted simultaneously by the Cleveland Indians and the St. Louis Hawks of the NBA. Siebert is the last American League pitcher to hit two home runs in one game, accomplishing the feat as a member of the Boston Red Sox on September 2, 1971 against the Baltimore Orioles.