blonde poker forum

Fred looks like getting involved in MLB this Season, but many of us struggle with some of the nuances & especially the Stats, & their relevance.

Stick your questions up here, & some of the Baseball regulars may well enlighten us.

What, & why so named, are the Cactus League & Grapefruit League?

How many games in a season, & what dates does the season start & end on, roughly?

Who are the Man U, Man C, Chelsea & Arsenal of MLB?

And the Leeds & Millwall?

Most famous, most iconic?

What do the following mean?

RBI

OBP

Hits

ERA

Strikeouts

Saves

Holds

What are Batting & Pitching splits?

Top of the xth & bottom of the xth mean.........

What happens if the scores are equal after 9 inning things?

My team won the lot :)


Gooooo Giants..

How does the League system work, as to Promotion, Relegation, Play-Offs etc?

Are many games played at UK-friendly times, i.e, finish before Midnight UK?

Is fried chicken a crucial part of the game?

Someone should fix google.

Behave.......

Raising interest ftw. I know all the answers, obv.........

RBI - Is "run batted in" ie. runs scored when a player is at bat. If there are runners at 2nd and 3rd and a player hits a deep single, the two runners should score meaning the double hitter gets 2 rbis. If he hits a home run all the players on base + the batter score so he gets all those rbis. A solo hr is one rbi. You also get an rbi if you draw a walk (or get hit by a pitch) when the bases are loaded.

OBP - "On Base Percentage" is the amount of time you've reached base compared to total bats. Usually put a batter at the top of the order with ahigh OBP so the power hitters in 3,4,5 spots can hopefully drive them home making home runs more valuable.

Hits - Obvious init

ERA - "Earned Run Average" the amount of runs a pitcher would be expected to concede if his number of pitches was spread over 9 innings. So if a pitcher concedes 2 runs over 6 innings his ERA would be 3.0. This is pro ratad over the whole season and divided by 9.

More to follow

Does the batting order reset each innings?  So like 9 innings of cricket.  Or if the first 3 bods miss out in the first innings does the 4th guy start the second innings?

Do the pitchers have specialisms like bowlers in cricket.  Obviously they all will have slower balls, but are there dedicated curve ball pitchers for example?

Do they have college baseball like basketball and NFL?  If not does this mean that baseball is the working man's sport like football in the UK whereas the university jocks play NFL?

I think I know this one :)  top mean first innings, so bottom of the 6th means the team batting second is in their 6th innings and the team batting first has used up their innings?

Is anyone else worried about getting into watching yet another sport?  I can barely find the spare hours to do productive things as it is!

There is college baseball and there is a draft the same as in basketball, football and hockey but players are more likely to enter the pro game early or from high school because there is an established minor league system a bit more like football where each team trains it younger players and gives them game experience.

162 regular season games.  Starts end of March through the end of September.  Playoffs in October.

162?

Jeez, they must play 5 nights a week!

The travel fatigue must come into the betting prices, presumably?

LOL - you do realise it is played in the United States of corporatism don't you?  The owners would never stand for such things as relegation or promotion.  Winnder of every division and the next few with the best regular season records play off for the penants and World series in October.

The latter.

Pitchers who have the most intense physical toll on them only play every four nights max.  The position players tend to get rested a bit especially the stars but  it isn't a massively physical game in that sense.  Bit like cricket really.

The away team bats first, so they are batting in the top of every inning, home team at the bottom

So if the Yankees are playing at home against the Red Sox, top of the second is Sox batting their second innings, bottom of the 8th is Yankees batting their eighth etc.



They play extra innings until someone scores. If the away team score first (top of the 11th for example) then the home team still get an inning to force further extra innings. There aren't any ties.


Thats as much as I know, mainly posting to plug a very good baseball film to get you in the mood for the upcoming season. Well worth a watch imo

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4QPVo0UIzc

*** reserved ***

a) guide to baseball funding, market sizes, building a roster/teams, TV funding etc

b) statistics in baseball, their meaning and use

c) Minor Leagues

but tomorrow, I need to build up to it

a guide to

fast balls
curver balls
sinkers
change ups
split fingers
knuckle balls

what starters, relievers and closers do


coming tomorrow

Ha!

Tighty Heaven.

By chance, "Moneyball" is about to start, 10pm, on Sky Movies Channel 308.

2 seams and sliders as well, please, Tighty.

 The Cactus League and Grapefruit League are basically where teams carry out their pre season or Spring Training as they call it. They are named after plants found in the areas that the leagues are held. Cactus League based in Arizona, Grapefruit League in Florida.

This year there is an even split between the two with 15 teams in each league but both leagues have mixture of American and National league teams. Most teams have their own complex that they will use for Spring Training but a couple of teams share facilities. My team, the Seattle Mariners (American League ) share their complex with the San Diego Padres ( National League)

Teams can start with upwards of 80 - 90 players invited to the start of Spring Training but will eventually whittle it down the 25 players that they allowed on the playing roster come opening day of the season.

My favourite baseball statistic:

Cal Ripken (Jr) played 2,632 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles.

Took him just under 2 years.

I want to like it but I went to see Tampa Bay Rays v New York Yankees when I was last in Florida and it ended up 3-0 to Tampa after about 4 hours of play and all the fans seemed more interested in their snacks than the match.

I used to really enjoy the minor league stuff in terms of live Baseball - Sarasota Red Sox.

Small crowd, sending my boy hurtling after the ball in the stands...knocking him over and getting it just before him...good times

What?

So he played EVERY game for around 15 years?

I'm going to have to google him.

Thanks Mere. You into Baseball?

Thanks Scott.

So the Squad is 25. How many in the Team? How many on the bench?

2012 Team Payrolls
No.   Team   Payroll   Average
1.   New York Yankees   $197,962,289   $ 6,186,321
2.   Philadelphia Phillies   $174,538,938   $5,817,964
3.   Boston Red Sox   $173,186,617   $5,093,724
4.   Los Angeles Angels   $154,485,166   $5,327,074
5.   Detroit Tigers   $132,300,000   $4,562,068
6.   Texas Rangers   $120,510,974   $4,635,037
7.   Miami Marlins   $118,078,000   $4,373,259
8.   San Francisco Giants   $117,620,683   $3,920,689
9.   St. Louis Cardinals   $110,300,862   $3,939,316
10.   Milwaukee Brewers   $97,653,944   $3,755,920
11.   Chicago White Sox   $96,919,500   $3,876,780
12.   Los Angeles Dodgers   $95,143,575   $3,171,452
13.   Minnesota Twins   $94,085,000   $3,484,629
14.   New York Mets    $93,353,983   $3,457,554
15.   Chicago Cubs   $88,197,033   $3,392,193
16.   Atlanta Braves   $83,309,942   $2,776,998
17.   Cincinnati Reds   $83,309,942   $2,776,998
18.   Seattle Mariners   $81,978,100   $2,927,789
19.   Baltimore Orioles   $81,428,999   $2,807,896
20.   Washington Nationals   $81,336,143   $2,623,746
21.   Cleveland Indians   $78,430,300   $2,704,493
22.   Colorado Rockies   $78,069,571   $2,692,054
23.   Toronto Blue Jays   $75,489,200   $2,696,042
24.   Arizona Diamondbacks   $74,284,833   $2,653,029
25.   Tampa Bay Rays   $64,173,500   $2,291,910
26.   Pittsburgh Pirates   $63,431,999   $2,187,310
27.   Kansas City Royals   $60,916,225   $2,030,540
28.   Houston Astros    $60,651,000   $2,332,730
29.   Oakland Athletics   $55,372,500   $1,845,750
30.   San Diego Padres   $55,244,700   $1,973,025

So, unlike the NFL, this is not a level playing field with A Salary cap.

The clubs negotiate individual TV deals with local affiliates for Fox, ESPN etc which then carry all of the games on cable in the catchment area for that team

The Yankees have YES, their own TV network

So we can see that by and large the clubs that spend the most moeny are those in the biggest markets on the East and West coast

We can also see what a phenomenal achievement it is for a small market team like Oakland to make the play-offs

Oakland and San Diego being small markets where LA and San Fran dominate California TV funding

The typical 25 man MLB roster is made up of position players and Pitchers

A point to note for starters is that the AL and NL have different playing conditions

in the AL you play 9 position players and a pitcher who does not bat, and a Designated hitter that does not field

in the NL 8 players and the pitcher bats. No designated hitter

When the AL plays the NL in intra-league games in mid season, you play under the rules of the home team

Generally, very generally, the AL is the glamour league with money and more hitting stats, because as we can see the pitchers do not bat


Positions

Catcher - 2 on a 25man roster
1st base - generally the weakest fielder, as they have to move little
2nd base - generally extremely athletic as they have to move side to side and throw plays out to 1st or 3rd
3rd base - a crucial defensive position as, against batting right handers, the fielder has less time to react (think short leg in cricket)
shortstop - needs to be rangy,postioned between infield and outfield

outfield

right field
left field
centre field

these guys need to be able to cover big distances, always with great throwing arms


pitchers

starters
relievers
closers

the relievers and closers form the bullpen

the starters, normally 5 on a roster, the Ace being 1, the most marginal starter being 5 play in rotation
they have to get through the majority of the innings in the game, but an be pulled by thr manaer at any time
the relievers try and eat up the mid innigns and can often be specialists..ie left handers, or good at getting left handers out
they can be called upon to get rid of one batsman, and then get replaced

closers, as the name implies..for the last innings. usually the toughest pitchers, and a really well paid role to "save" games if a team is leading

most storied closer is Mariano Riveira of the Ynakees, now in his 40s but virtually unhittable for two decades

behind the 25 names are a variety of minor league teams, all Incorporated companies in their own right but all associated with a MLB team in a series of leagues

as one example

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (INT)
Stats | Schedule | Roster | Tickets
Trenton Thunder (EAS)
Stats | Schedule | Roster | Tickets
Tampa Yankees (FSL)
Stats | Schedule | Roster | Tickets
Charleston RiverDogs (SAL)
Stats | Schedule | Roster | Tickets
Staten Island Yankees (NYP)
Stats | Schedule | Roster | Tickets
GCL Yankees1 (GCL)
Stats | Schedule | Roster
GCL Yankees2 (GCL)
Stats | Schedule | Roster
DSL Yankees1 (DSL)
Stats | Schedule | Roster
DSL Yankees2 (DSL)
Stats | Schedule | Roster

are the minors for the Yankees

Players are drafted out of High school or college and get put, usually, into minor leagues and work their way up to the majors

players get dropped from the majors, promoted into the majors etc etc


the MLB has two drafts...Amateur draft and the main draft with masses of rounds where young players are picked

worst team the year before gets the top pick etc, but in this system the player has more power than in the nfl, with young players frequently refusing to sign for poor teams

High school players can get drafted and decide to go to college...its all pretty fraught for the MLB teams

This is one of the reasons why trades, within season and blockbuster off-season trades are very important in baseball

a) the draft is a crapshoot
b) every team has many many players in the minors that can be scouted
c) when a team falls out of contention in a season, they can dump salary and often trade stars to teams in contention in exchange for prospects....

The Chicago Cubs have not won the World series since 1904 many people attribute this to being cursed by a billy goat after he was ejected from a championship game for smelling bad(he had a ticket).Despite being one of the richest and well supported teams,success has elluded them you could call them the Newcastle United of baseball.These are my teams.

In the AL and the NL there are 3 divisions each

East
West
Central


For the playoffs the winners of each advance
the two best runners up get in as wild cards, play each other then play the best divisional winner


so, with 30 MLB teams only 10, 5 in each conf, get to the playoffs

with each team playing 162 games each april-oct, many many teams are out of contention by the mid summer all star team break

this means that attendances in some markets have been decline for a long time..for the Colorado Rockies, for example, in a small market and trading away talent..how do they achieve success?

rivalires and comparisons

the Yankees are the richest, in the biggst market with huge stars like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodrigues etc. Think Man Utd

The Texas Rangers, big market, lots of money...Man City....acquire a lot of stars

The Anaheim Angels, big market, big trade players...Chelsea.

Boston Red Sox...huge club, very traditional and family run, lots of history. underperforming..Arsenal maybe

Miami Marlins - current joke club, think Blackburn, constantly churnign the roster, spending fortunes

Teams like St Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves etc much more conservative, but well managed and consistently competitive 

Oakland A's..shouldn't be competitive but are  WBA

San Diego Padres, Wigan

etc
etc


Red Sox and Yankees is probably the biggest rivalry.....
obvoiusly teams in the same town like the Cubs and the White Sox

Two really iconic stadia

Boston's Fenway Park

Here's the big green monster in right field

(http://www.dailyfantasysports.net/baseball/park-factors/66.jpg)

the stadium is very green

(http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/fenway-park-juergen-roth.jpg)

Cubs Wrigley field. A hedge forms the boundary.

(http://www.mywrigleyville.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/wrigley-field.jpg)

(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRNxrNSQLHVlkTT7Jp0dcHw-6ow3dA6yOTA1dhRHEr3nuYICBD04A)


both the oldest, most evocative stadia...both would be torn down and replaced with more modern facilities but both are much loved

Pitchers

Fastballs

As the name implies..up to 102mph rockets

Curveballs

As the name implies....piches that swing in or out...usually 75-90mph

Sliders or sinkers

As the name implies..pitches start on one plane and drop down towards the ground as they rach the batter

Change Ups

looks like a fastball, but much slower. used for deception. the best ones move



each at bat is a battle of wits between the pitcher and the batter

the pitcher has an arsenal of pitches with different grips. some have every pitch, some only a few pitches

the batter is trying to guess the pitch, look at the trip, look at the pitchers tendencies with a view to


a) hitting a home run, ideally

b) hitting it infield and getting on base

c) drawing a walk


drawing a walk?

a batter is out if he has three strikes against him

but gets a walk if the pitcher throws him four balls


balls?

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Strike_zone_en.JPG/325px-Strike_zone_en.JPG)

the umpire behind the catcher ooks to see where the ball crosses the sstrike zone. inside the imaginary box, and he misses...STRIKE

Outside? BALL...but only if the batter does not try to hit it..if he swings and misses its still a strike

So this is where the strategy comes i n

How does the batting side set its line up?

when does the pitching side change pitchers?


does the batter go for a home run, a hit? draw a walk

does he bunt (think rounders a little bunt in front of him) to try to advance a payer round a base....


as you can image, the science of this strategy is immensely complicated

No sport in the workld uses stats like baseball....

Pick the bones out of this lot

Batting statistics

    1B - Single - hits on which the batter reached first base safely without the contribution of a fielding error.
    2B - Double - hits on which the batter reached second base safely without the contribution of a fielding error.
    3B - Triple - hits on which the batter reached third base safely without the contribution of a fielding error.
    AB - At bat - Batting appearances, not including bases on balls, hit by pitch, sacrifices, interference, or obstruction
    AB/HR At bats per home run - at bats divided by home runs
    BA - Batting average (also abbreviated AVG) - hits divided by at bats
    BB - Base on balls (also called a "walk") - times receiving four balls and advancing to first base
    BB/K - Walk-to-strikeout ratio - number of base on balls divided by number of strikeouts
    XBH - Extra base hits - doubles plus triples plus home runs
    FC - Fielder's choice - times reaching base when a fielder chose to try for an out on another runner
    AO/GO - Ground ball fly ball ratio - number of ground ball outs divided by number of fly ball outs
    GDP or GiDP - Grounded into double play - number of ground balls hit that became double plays
    GS - Grand Slam - a home run with the bases loaded, resulting in four runs scoring, and four RBI credited to the batter.
    H - Hits - times reached base because of a batted, fair ball without error by the defense
    HBP - Hit by pitch - times touched by a pitch and awarded first base as a result
    HR - Home runs - hits on which the batter successfully touched all four bases, without the contribution of a fielding error.
    IBB - Intentional base on balls A base on balls (see BB above) deliberately thrown by the pitcher. Also known as IW (intentional walk).
    K - Strike out - number of times that strike three is taken or swung at and missed, or bunted foul
    LOB - Left on base - number of runners not out nor scored at the end of an inning.
    OBP - On base percentage - times reached base (H + BB + HBP) divided by at bats plus walks plus hit by pitch plus sacrifice flies (AB + BB + HBP + SF).
    OPS - On-base plus slugging - on-base percentage plus slugging average
    PA - Plate appearance - number of completed batting appearances
    RC - Runs created - statistic that attempts to measure how many runs a player has contributed to his team
    RBI - Run batted in - number of runners who scored due to a batters's action, except when batter grounded into double play or reached on an error
    SF - Sacrifice fly - number of fly ball outs which allow another runner to advance on the basepaths or score
    SH - Sacrifice hit - number of sacrifice bunts which allows another runner to advance on the basepaths or score
    SLG - Slugging average - total bases divided by at-bats
    TA - Total average - total bases, plus walks, plus steals, divided by plate appearances plus caught stealing
    TB - Total bases - one for each single, two for each double, three for each triple, and four for each home run
    TOB - Times on base - times reaching base as a result of hits, walks, and hit-by-pitches

[edit] Baserunning statistics

    CS - Caught stealing - times tagged out when attempting to steal
    SB - Stolen base - number of bases advanced other than on batted balls, walks, or hits by pitch
    R - Runs scored - times reached home base legally and safely

[edit] Pitching statistics

    BABIP - Batting average on balls in play - batting average against a pitcher on batted balls ending a plate appearance, excluding home runs
    BB - Base on balls (also called a "walk") - times pitching four balls, allowing the batter-runner to advance to first base
    BB/9 - Base on balls times nine divided by innings pitched (Bases on balls per 9 innings pitched)
    BF - Total batters faced - opponent's total plate appearances
    BK - Balk - number of times pitcher commits an illegal pitching action or other illegal action while in contact with the pitching rubber, thus allowing baserunners to advance
    BS - Blown save - number of times entering the game in a save situation, and being charged the run which ties the game.
    CERA - Component ERA - an estimate of a pitcher's ERA based upon the individual components of his statistical line (K, H, 2B, 3B, HR, BB, HBP)
    CG - Complete game - number of games where player was the only pitcher for his team
    DICE - Defense-Independent Component ERA - an estimate of a pitcher's ERA based upon the defense-independent components of his statistical line (K, HR, BB, HBP)
    ER - Earned run - number of runs that did not occur as a result of errors or passed balls
    ERA - Earned run average - earned runs times innings in a game (usually nine) divided by innings pitched
    G - Games pitched (aka 'Appearances') - number of times a pitcher pitches in a season
    GF - Games finished - number of games pitched where player was the final pitcher for his team
    G/F - Ground ball fly ball ratio - ground balls allowed divided by fly balls allowed
    GS - Starts - number of games pitched where player was the first pitcher for his team
    H/9 - Hits per nine innings - hits allowed times nine divided by innings pitched (also known as H/9IP - Hits allowed per 9 innings pitched)
    H - Hits Allowed - total hits allowed
    HB - Hit batsman - times hit a batter with pitch, allowing runner to advance to first base
    HLD (or H) - Hold - number of games entered in a save situation, left in save situation, recorded at least one out, and not having surrendered the lead
    HR - Home runs allowed - total home runs allowed
    IBB - Intentional base on balls allowed
    IR - Inherited runners - number of runners on base when the pitcher enters the game
    IRA - Inherited runs allowed - number of inherited runners allowed to score
    IP - Innings pitched - number of outs recorded while pitching divided by three
    IP/GS - Average number of innings pitched per game
    K - Strikeout - number of batters who received strike three
    K/9 - Strikeouts per nine innings - strikeouts times nine divided by innings pitched (Strikeouts per 9 innings pitched)
    K/BB - Strikeout-to-walk ratio - number of strikeouts divided by number of base on balls
    L - Loss - number of games where pitcher was pitching while the opposing team took the lead, never lost the lead, and went on to win
    OBA - Opponents batting average - hits allowed divided by at-bats faced
    PIT - Pitches thrown (Pitch count)
    RA - Run average - number of runs allowed times nine divided by innings pitched
    RAA - Runs Against Average - a sabermetric statistic to predict win-percentage.
    SO - Shutout - number of complete games pitched with no runs allowed
    SV - Save - number of games where the pitcher enters a game led by the pitcher's team, finishes the game without surrendering the lead, is not the winning pitcher, and either (a) the lead was three runs or less when the pitcher entered the game; (b) the potential tying run was on base, at bat, or on deck; or (c) the pitcher pitched three or more innings
    W - Win - number of games where pitcher was pitching while his team took the lead and went on to win (also related: winning percentage)
    WP - Wild pitches - charged when a pitch is too high, low, or wide of home plate for the catcher to field, thereby allowing one or more runners to advance or score

[edit] Fielding statistics

    A - Assists - number of outs recorded on a play where a fielder touched the ball, except if such touching is the putout
    DP - Double plays - one for each double play during which the fielder recorded a putout or an assist.
    E - Errors - number of times a fielder fails to make a play he should have made with common effort, and the offense benefits as a result
    FP - Fielding percentage - total plays (chances minus errors) divided by the number of total chances
    INN - Innings - number of innings that a player is at one certain position
    PB - Passed ball - charged to the catcher when the ball is dropped and one or more runners advance
    PO - Putout - number of times the fielder tags, forces, or appeals a runner and he is called out as a result
    RF - Range factor - ([putouts + assists]*9)/innings played. Used to determine the amount of field that the player can cover
    SB - Stolen bases - number of times a runner advanced on the pitch without being thrown out by the catcher
    TC - Total chances - assists plus putouts plus errors
    TP - Triple play - one for each triple play during which the fielder recorded a putout or an assist

That really helps, thanks Rich, it is all starting to make sense now.

what you need to get by

A batting average

A player is hitting 0.321...ie he hits 32.1% of the time to get on base, hit a run when he is at bat
Higher the number the better

RBI...Runs batted in..how many of his hits take another teammate home for a run

HR Home runs


So, as an example Derek Jeter of the Yankeees inhis career

Batting average     .313
Hits        3,304
Runs        1,868
Doubles        524
Home runs        255
Runs batted in        1,254

hopefully that is clear


For a pitcher, Justin Verlander of the Tigers

Career statistics
(through 2012 season)
Win–loss record        124–65
Earned run average        3.40
Strikeouts        1,454

win loss record should be clear but the win or loss doesn't necessarily go to the starter

ERA is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine. Runs resulting from defensive errors (including pitchers' defensive errors) are recorded as unearned runs and are not used to determine ERA.

The lower the figure the better



really that is all you need to get by

the notation in game boxes


away team bats first

Yankees 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 so the Yankees score 8 runs in their 9 innings
Red Sox 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 Boston 6

8-6 Yankees, they win

extra innings if it is tied after 9. Baseball does not do draws

If the Yankees score 1 in innings 10 Boston get the next innigns to at least equalise

If the Yankess score 0 in innings 10 and Boston then score 1, Boston have scored a walk off fun, or more excitingly a walk off home run to won

 

have to get on now

anything I have missed, please ask......

Brilliant stuff Tighty, thank you.

Think I touched another of your OCD nerves.....

So you just follow, to this degree, Football, NFL, Baseball, Cricket, Rugby Union......

one more thing

the line up

1 player batting first generally not a power player...aim is to get on base. Usualy very very quick between the bases
2 as above, but more power
3-4-5 the engine room..hoping to use power to get 1,2 home as RBIs. Usually find the stars at 3-4-5
6-8-9 weakest batsmen, bottom of the line up

in the NL, 9 batting spot is the pitcher

ESPN America is the best way I can get to watch this?

yes they take a daily feed every day of several games from the local TV stations (with home team commentary that re-defines the word bias)

and, I think, the nationally televised weekly biggies (think monday night football, for baseball) from ESPN

Curveball is a pitch that dives downwards as it approaches the plate due to a lot of forward spin.

Knuckleball is a specialised pitch where the ball is gripped is the knuckles and when thrown does not spin at all ,it seems to flutter towards the batter at a much slower speed(60mph rather than 90mph for a fast ball).Many batters struggle to hit this pitch as they are used to the faster pitches.On a good day a knucleball pitcher is unhittable on a bad day when the ball is not fluttering about they get spanked all over the place.

Great stuff Tighty, tyty

The "catcher" (the wicketkeeper equivelant) who wears all that cool protective backwards headgear & stuff - how important are they to a team?  

Roughly the same importance as a Goalkeeper, more, less?

What are all those signals they do with their fingers before the pitcher bloke pitches? I know it means "curveball, low" or whatever, but does each Team have it's own "finger code"?

For example, what might this mean?

Yes, I believe each has its own. Coarches will have signals for the pitcher and the catcher, too. They'll stand and pull their ear and spit or whatever to call or uncall a play.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62oQTFbHzUM


YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmH_hz-NcRo

^^^

First video is relevant to my point.

Second one is just blooming funny.

Tighty pretty much covered it all  :D

Only detail to add is that although the active roster is 25, clubs actually have a 40 man roster.  The 40 man roster includes all players that have a major-league contract who can be called into the 25 man active roster at any time. If they aren't on the 25 man roster for the major-league they would be playing for the clubs minor-league or  AAA team

Players with minor injuries are also included on the 40 man roster in the form of the 15 day "disabled list" or D/L as its known. Any player with a longer term injury can be put on the 60 day D/L but players on this list are not included in the 40 man roster so no team will be disadvantaged by having players unavailable through injury.

On the 1st September each season the 25 man active squad expands to the full 40 man roster. Any player on the 40 man can now play for the team in the run to the post-season.

 

In the Results of a Baseball Game, there are 3 headings....

R   H   E

R = Runs.

What are the other two, & their relevance to a result?

If one Team is losing by (say) 3 after the Eighth Innings, then Bats first in the Ninth & fails to score, do the other Team still bat, or is that it, game over?

On a baseball scoreboard, it's Runs, Hits, Errors, and Left on Base

The usual abbreviation for Left On Base is LOB but they shorten it on scoreboards.

team batting second gets the usual three outs to at least tie the gamer in the 9th and take it to extra innings or win

this is where the closer, the winning team's ace pitcher in the bullpenl earns his money..needs to get three outs to win the game

I think Tony means if the away team is behind at the end of the eighth and fail to score at the top of the ninth, do they still play the bottom of the ninth or do they pack up their troubles?

They end there and then

Thanks Dan, that was what I meant.

Have watched a lot of Baseball whilst in the States over the years, love it even though I have never understood the nuances. Tremendous theatre.

ThanksTighty, too.

Baseball is just excellent fun. Like cricket on large, statistics driven American steroids.

I'm a redsox fan and pretty sure I was responsible for ending the babe ruth curse in 2004.

Game 6's

1975
1986
2011

Did not see the first one
Second was one of the most dramatic sporting finishers ever, was not really into Baseball until I saw that game, the Mets were amazing that year and a team full of characters
Hadn't watched a game for a while and got lucky watching that one

Im gonna be one of those annoying guys that answers questions from the 1st page without checking if they have been answered yet

H=hits
E=Errors

It doesnt change the result at all but it does tell a basic story of the game like how many hits it took for a team to score a run and how many errors a team committed during a game (which will mostly lead to runs)

Thanks Boba.

Have never understood all those abbreviations and stats, but I am all revved up now, and have even upgraded to ESPN.

First live game is late Sunday night (1am Monday) then there are 4 televised live games on Monday. Be like being in Vegas.

Do you have a Team you follow?

I watched every game when Channel 5 1st started up and had Baseball but the last couple of years I havent even watched the World Series.  My favourite teams when I got into it were the Atlanta Braves, partly because they were really good but also theyre main strength was that they had the best starting pitchers in the league, and none of them were big power pitchers they were all finesse pitchers which meant they just broke teams down by not letting them gets hits or get on base or score.  I also liked the indians because I loved the film major league  :P

All the stats are a dream for the numbers geeks as there are loads of formula being churned out combining stats to try to show things that couldn't previously be quantified by an individual stat and its changing the way people look at players/teams/the game overall

I worked with Johnny Gould for several years, at both Willliam Hill TV & Sky Poker, & he was Baseball nuts, his life revolved around his Fantasy Baseball Teams, he usually had 6 or 7 on the go.

He was mortified when the Baseball Show got pulled, which was an odd decision, because it cost very little, they just took a feed from the USA & did punditry in the breaks.

He then started doing Charity Auctions, he was (so he told me) very good at being the Auctioneer, & could cajole "whales" into paying huge sums for items in the Auction. He was being paid a fortune per gig for that, couple of grand per night, but he had a messy divorce which probably soaked up most of it. Fun guy, bundles of enthusiasm, & a joy to work with, & he was very kind & helpful to me.

Think he did an NFL Show, too.

Here we go.

Watched Astros v Texas Rangers last night, made much more sense. Well a bit much more.

Tonight, FOUR live games back to back on ESPN.

6.05 - Red Sox v Yankees

9.10 - Giants v Dodgers

00.10 - Phillies v Braves

0310 - Cardinals v Diamondbacks.

Baseball overload here we come.

Went to a Dodgers vs Giants game a few years back. Most probs the only American sporting fixture that came close to bitter/hatred/violence i have seen between fans that reminded me of footy here. Not pleasent.

Red Sox lead, top of the second, bases loaded.

Like.

Make that 3-0.

Go Sox!

4-0!

you've adopted the Red Sox as your team? or this is a betting sweat?

The Yankees are not in a great spot at the mo. Jeter and Rodriguez are out which removes a lot of runs from the middle of their line up

The Red Sox have "re-tooled" which sounds a very American term for let a lot go, and got a lot in...but I don't think either will challenge Tampa/Toronto in this division

this is very much the glamour division in baseball, big money east coast teams

interesting article from this morning

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/breaking-al-east-yanks-sox-hit-bottom-article-1.1304242

No, not adopted them, or not yet, but I had a good look through all the Baseball sites & Forums, & it seemed that the Yankees have a ton of problems right now, injuries & stuff,  so there could be value with Red Sox. I also guessed (probably wrongly) that a  lot of ice-cream money would be on the Yankees. (Yes, I'm an ice-cream, but I'm a contrarian ice-cream).



Useful for me to get to grips with trading on Betty, too.

Only had £20 on Betty @ 2.04. They are now 1.14 now, so I'll probably close it out. ;)

I saw that described as a "retread"!

I might have to split the handle, too.

I like it when its the bottom of the ninth, the teams are tied, and the home team lead off man hits a "walk-off" homerun. So called because they win there and then with no need to finish the inning.

For Baseball geeks, Houston v Texas is Live on ESPN America right now.

0-0 top of the 3rd. Or bottom of the 2nd. Can't quite remember what is what right now......

and the Giants are off... beating the Dodgers 3-0 :) 1-1 for the series...

Indians v Blue Jays later tonight.  Who do ya reckon for the win Tighty?

No idea tbh. Haven't had a lot of time to look at teams this year

The Indians were horrific last year, so anything better this year is good. Thety have "retooled" and spent money

The Blue Jays could well win the AL East

Brilliant thread.Off to New York in April and attending a game on Saturday 27th. Once I know who I am going to see Tighty can give me the inside track. As Tikay asked,Richard are you like this with all sports? Do you love Wisden for example?

Ooh, Wisden!

I bet Tighty can recite the contents blind.

I got Alec Bedser to sign a copy of Wisden for me, at the time he was the greatest, think he had a "tenfor" in a Test match. I was just a kid at the time, in hossie after a bit of a bad accident, and they both visited the sick kids every week without fail. My memory may be playing tricks, but the ward had a monochrome TV, and I'm pretty sure Eric and Alec sat with me watching Fred Trueman doing his thing in a Test Match one week.

He had a twin, Eric, they were inseperable, lived together all their life, and never married.

After they retired from Cricket, they started a stationery business which they later sold to a big corporate chain.

Think they lived in Woking.

What an excellent thread.
Amazing contributions - thankyou all.

Albert Pujols is first player in AL history to hit two homers and receive 3 intentional walks in same game, and 3rd in AL history.

Pujols a massive star for the Cardinals in the NL for years until the Anaheim Angels broke the bank to offer him a contract last season

Huge designated hitter

the opponent here chose, once he had homered twice to walk him onto base three times (each time throw four unhittable balls) rather than risk another home run

very rare, clearly

Ironically, the guy who came up to bat after the intentional walks was the oppo's (Texas Rangers) former star Josh Hamilton. They made a wise decision as he went 0-4.

Spme good games on ESPN today, starting with NY Yankees @ Detroit Tigers just after 6pm.

Live Baseball all evening on ESPN tonight, happy days.

Yesterday was the first time in MLB history that the two reigning CY Young award (given to the best pitcher in the American and National leagues) winners both gave up 8+ runs on the same day.

These are the sorts of stats they love in the US!

I have got the San Diego @ LA Dodgers game on ESPN, Live.

ALL the players are wearing # 42, even the Umpires.

Why?

Jackie Robinson day 15 April but teams who didn't play Monday wearing #42 today. End of the colour bar on black players playing in MLB teams

oooh, I see.

Thanks.

Quite a life he lived, it seems.

He began playing in the Negro League.

Times chave changed so much, praise be.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson