There is some irony in the current brouhaha about the Astro's sign sealing saga.
The Astro's broke the rules, which presumably helped them to win the World Series in 2017 (although their road record was better than their home record that year), but surprisingly to some, stealing signs was NOT the rules violation. The rules violation was using electronic "help" to steal the signs. had they done so with...I don't know...binoculars and hand signals, all would have been cool.
Now it comes out that Tony LaRussa, long-time baseball "god" and sage, had a sign stealing program (using electronic cameras, not binoculars) going on at Comiskey Park when he was with the ChiSox. And it would be fatuous to presume that this was the only place where he did it, if he got away with it in Chicago.
Having played a bit of BB as a kid, I have the definite impression that knowing whether a fastball or an off-speed pitch is coming would be a tremendous advantage to a batter. For normal humans, the batter must be ready for - and expect - a fastball on every pitch, because if you are expecting or looking for an off-speed pitch, the FB will be past you before you can react. It's all about the timing.
As for actually putting the bat on the ball (knowing what's coming) that's another matter. There have been pitchers who were effective despite throwing their best pitch so often that the batter would pretty much know it's coming every time. If you expect a fastball every time with this Chapman fellow, you will be right 90% of the time, but that don't mean you will hit the damn thing.
But still, knowing what's coming is a tremendous advantage to the batter, and when this particular impropriety is in play, it takes away from the integrity of that particular game, at least.
I have personally watched games (involving the Pirates) where it was clear to me that the batters knew what was coming on every pitch, for at least an inning or two, before something was done to rectify the situation. And commentators are careful not to mention that possibility, just as they almost never point out when an umpire makes an obviously bad call.
I think that sign-stealing is cheating the fans out of the contest that they paid to see: a fair competition based on the players' skills and execution. A pox on the players who participate.
The Astro's broke the rules, which presumably helped them to win the World Series in 2017 (although their road record was better than their home record that year), but surprisingly to some, stealing signs was NOT the rules violation. The rules violation was using electronic "help" to steal the signs. had they done so with...I don't know...binoculars and hand signals, all would have been cool.
Now it comes out that Tony LaRussa, long-time baseball "god" and sage, had a sign stealing program (using electronic cameras, not binoculars) going on at Comiskey Park when he was with the ChiSox. And it would be fatuous to presume that this was the only place where he did it, if he got away with it in Chicago.
Having played a bit of BB as a kid, I have the definite impression that knowing whether a fastball or an off-speed pitch is coming would be a tremendous advantage to a batter. For normal humans, the batter must be ready for - and expect - a fastball on every pitch, because if you are expecting or looking for an off-speed pitch, the FB will be past you before you can react. It's all about the timing.
As for actually putting the bat on the ball (knowing what's coming) that's another matter. There have been pitchers who were effective despite throwing their best pitch so often that the batter would pretty much know it's coming every time. If you expect a fastball every time with this Chapman fellow, you will be right 90% of the time, but that don't mean you will hit the damn thing.
But still, knowing what's coming is a tremendous advantage to the batter, and when this particular impropriety is in play, it takes away from the integrity of that particular game, at least.
I have personally watched games (involving the Pirates) where it was clear to me that the batters knew what was coming on every pitch, for at least an inning or two, before something was done to rectify the situation. And commentators are careful not to mention that possibility, just as they almost never point out when an umpire makes an obviously bad call.
I think that sign-stealing is cheating the fans out of the contest that they paid to see: a fair competition based on the players' skills and execution. A pox on the players who participate.
