(#106)
I saw a hitter walk on strike 3. It happens more than you think. Sometimes they strikeout on ball four.
The double play is the pitcher’s best friend. 1 pitch, 2 outs.
The home plate umpire argued balls and strikes with the hitter, the dugout, the first base coach, the third base coach and even turned around to lecture the crowd in the bleachers. Perhaps a little over-reaction or just large, fluffy, sensitive ears for the guy in blue.
Leadoff walks usually score. But then again, the leadoff man usually scores no matter how he gets on. See how quickly you can get the first out. When you do, the inning is half over. (Coach math)
An outfielder for the visiting team dropped a fly ball because he was jogging instead of sprinting and tried to catch it with one hand. Karma. Good for us.
There is nothing better in baseball than timely hitting and dominating pitching.
A shot back up the middle for a sure single was deflected by the glove of a left-handed pitcher while following through, changed the ball’s path and went directly to the shortstop who threw to first for a routine out. Score it one to six to three. Baseball.
I love it when the starting pitcher can consistently pitch deep into the game. You can set your clock by it.
Pitchers need to know when runners are not going to steal. They are either are too slow or the score is too lopsided for them to run. Defensive players need to know this so they can be in position to field routine ground balls.
The job of the pitcher and defense is to simply subtract outs expeditiously; 27 outs in a nine inning game, 21 outs in a seven inning game, or even 15 outs in a five inning game. Getting two outs at a time with multiple double plays is a quicker way to get there.
Know who the first-ball fastball hitters are. Most hitters take the first pitch most of the time. Mix up the first pitch selections when facing “that guy.”
The visiting crowd finally got the call they had been crying for all day long; a called third strike on the outside corner. The bad news… they were hitting. Be careful what you cry for. Karmaisa.
One of the keys in a tight game is having the confidence to throw a breaking ball or changeup on the 3-2 pitch. It will make a huge difference. I saw a home run on a 3-2 fastball, probably because the hitter was sure he was going to get it. It’s fun when the coach can call any pitch and the pitcher simply executes it with great confidence. It’s a work in progress and evolves with time.
I saw the body language of “get me out of here” by more than one pitcher.
On what appeared to be a run scoring single hit sharply into left field, the runner coming from second decided to round third and begin a premature scoring celebration by jogging towards the plate and taunting the opponent’s dugout with words and gestures. However, the left fielder threw a missle to home plate and while the catcher decoyed him and just a step before the runner was going to stomp on the plate and dance, a perfect throw arrived, the catcher became unfrozen, caught the ball and applied it firmly into the chest of the unsuspecting, cocky runner for a big out. Premature exhilaration! His coach took him out of the game. Karmaisa.
Relief pitchers should be given a polygraph in the bullpen to see who really wants to be in the game in a self-perceived pressure situation. If they can’t pass the test, they don’t go in. Attack the strike zone. Put the hitter on the defensive.
On a swinging bunt in front the the mound with the bases loaded, the pitcher made an underhand toss to the catcher for the third out. Don’t see that much. At least the pitcher and catcher knew the bases were loaded.
I saw an ideal offensive inning for the defensive team. A 4-3 capper, a 5-3 jam job, and a fisted pop-up to the first baseman. The half inning lasted just 2 minutes and 15 seconds. That’s a defensive inning made in Heaven.
Throwing zeros (allowing no runs) is a must for the bullpen guys when the game is on the line. Shut the other team down. Confidence, motivation, and determination. And big balls.
Even if it is not a save situation, your job is to subtract the final three outs. You may not get a “save” but your team gets a “W”.
In a lefty-lefty match up, the pitcher walked the hitter on four pitches. Not one was close to being a strike. It would be ideal to have a buzzer in the dugout like in basketball to announce a substitution.
One pitcher threw a slider 9 out of 10 times. The great thing is the hitters started sitting on it and going with it. He was neutralized. The hitters took his best pitch away from him.
I saw a “phantom strike three” in the top of the seventh. The catcher set up outside to a righty, off the plate and the pitch went to his left, right down the middle of the plate. The umpire, who sat up outside, too, missed it. A strike is a strike no matter where the catcher sets up and intends for the pitch to be.
Pitchers must work quickly, attack the zone and force contact. Hitters just don’t like it.
Multiple one-pitch strikeouts were thrown; jam jobs and cappers early in the count. Easy ground balls and infield pop-ups. Saves on the pitch count, too and speeds up the game.
Saw a couple of innings where the starter went into “closer mode” and changed his game plan to get out of a jam; back-to-back-to-back pitches the hitter does not want to see.
We should use the wrist bands and number system to call an audible when a pitcher goes to a pitch other than a fastball as his go to pitch. Maybe: “Omaha! Omaha! Or ‘5-2-7’ “Sit on the breaking ball when ahead (ahead means before two strikes), hit it up-the-middle or away. Find one and don’t miss it.” Or go into two-strike mode to get the contact needed in an RBI situation or hit and run.
The swing needs to stay on the plane of the pitch a lot longer. Some guys cut it off too quickly and decrease the odds for good, solid contact or contact at all. It’s like chopping a tree up with an ax instead of chopping it down. Hitting is timing and timing means getting the barrel of the bat in the right place at the right time. Stay on the flight of the ball longer. Force a violent collision of the bat and ball.
Every now and then, all teams will suffer through “one of those innings” when crazy things happen; bad hops, errors, balls lost in the sun, seeing eye singles, bloopers, etc. I call it “the inning from Hell.” We’ve all been there. Some of us more than others. Minimize the damage, battle through it, and then go put some more runs on the board.
All teams are working to develop chemistry. I’m just an old dumb coach and never took chemistry, but I know two things about it. With good chemistry you can send a rocket ship to the moon. With bad chemistry, that rocket ship will blow up on the launching pad. It’s the same thing with a team. Some teams soar and others implode. Good team chemistry takes all the players, all the coaches…. all the fans and all the helicopter parents. Everybody needs to be a chemist.
That sun we lose fly balls in all the time, has been in that same spot at that certain time of the day for over 6000 years, Biblically speaking. Use the glasses, shield it with the glove or throwing hand, quickly turn and come at it from the side, or create another angle. Call for help from the center fielder if he’s in the neighborhood. (Center fielder, sprint to the neighborhood. You know the sun is up there. That’s why you’re glad you play center). Sometimes nothing will help. I’ve been in right field at Hinds many times during BP and it’s brutal at certain times after we spring forward. It’s the right fielder’s nightmare. But it’s his job and his responsibility to defeat it. Demand fungo work at that time of day every day the sun is out. It will pay off. Let the visiting right-fielder suffer through it unaware and unprepared.
Editor’s note: They now make light adapting contact lenses to help with this. No more excuses.
Until Volume 4.
Rick Clarke's Diary of a Mad Baseball Coach 