Monthly Archives: July 2011

Let’s All Be Deadpan Pitchers

Posted on July 28, 2011 | 3 Comments

The Dictionary.com Word of the Day for July 28 is deadpan. Deadpan, an adjective, is defined as “displaying no emotional or personal involvement.” That was my, and can be your, vocabulary lesson for the day. Now, on to baseball.

With all else equal, it is my humble opinion that a deadpan pitcher will always be better than a pitcher who displays emotion. To see what I mean, put yourself in the shoes of a hitter as he steps to the plate. There is one out, and the previous batter just laced  a single to right field. You are feeling comfortable as you walk toward the plate, realizing that a hit from you could start a rally. This is a big moment in the game, and you are feeling good. Then you glance up at the pitcher.

(I’ll present two scenarios, and you decide which one will lead you to feeling even more confident than you already feel) Scenario 1: the pitcher snaps the ball back from the shortstop, cusses into his glove, trudges to the mound as if he were just dumped by his girlfriend, and steps onto the rubber. Scenario 2: the pitcher calmly catches the ball from the shortstop, walks confidently back to the mound, steps onto the rubber, and throws a deadpan stare your way as if he wanted to give up that single in order to force you into a ground ball, inning ending double play. Under which scenario would you expect to feel more confident and comfortable as a hitter? (Feel free to answer in the comments section)

Classic Deadpan Pitcher

To give a bit more color I will provide an anecdote that was relayed to me by the Mariners Minor League pitching coordinator–I’ll call him Stater, which may or may not be a real nickname. So, Stater had seen a video of Braves legend, Tom Glavine. The video was edited so that a viewer simultaneously watched two of Glavine’s games, side by side. The camera was fixed on Glavine, meaning the viewer had hardly an idea as to how the hitters were hitting the ball. Apparently, Glavine dominated in one of the games; he was crushed in the other. Nonetheless, Stater described that from watching Glavine alone, the viewer had no idea which game was Tom’s good one and which was his bad. The reason? Aside from a few unfriendly glances at an umpire, Glavine reacted very little in response to what happened on the field. Glavine is a deadpan pitcher.

You may disagree, but it’s my opinion that if Tom Glavine does something on a mound, then it is probably a good idea. Let’s all be deadpan pitchers.

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Posted in College Baseball, Professional Baseball

There truly is nothing like Minor League baseball

Posted on July 20, 2011 | 3 Comments

After just over 2 full seasons in Minor League baseball, it is time that I accept the following fact: I am going to witness strangeness. Fairly often, that strangeness comes in the form of mid-inning promotions. Until recently, though, I would have difficulty choosing a clear winner in the category: weirdest mid-inning promotion of all time. Thanks to creative minds in North Carolina, my choice is now an easy one.

A staple and an undeniably enjoyable part of Minor League baseball, mid-inning promotions are those family-friendly, local-business sponsored, off-the-wall creative events that take place between selected innings during a Minor League game. Although the promotions vary by stadium, some common examples are the dizzy-bat race, the mascot vs. cute kid race around the bases, and the mascot vs. fan dance-off. These are a few of the more generic mid-inning games. As you are about to find out, a stadium’s staff will occasionally venture far, far off the promotionally beaten path.

At some point during the middle of our first game against the Carolina Mudcats, I looked up, then thought, “this can’t be what I think it is.” I looked a little closer and realized, “this is exactly what I think it is.” Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact name of the promotion or the company that sponsored it, so I will just explain what I saw. There were 3 kids on each team, and they were in a race. The race was similar to a potato sack race. However, instead of collaborating inside one large potato sack, each team worked together inside one enormous pair of whitey-tighties.

That’s right, it was a team vs. team race whereby each set of 3 children was informed that they were to step together into the largest pair of underwear* they had ever seen–if whales wore underwear they’d need a smaller size. Each team of 3 was to then run as fast as possible to a nearby cone, turn around, and run back. The first trio to cross the finish line still wearing its collective undies would be declared the winner.

The crowd roared, likely with laughter, and loved it. The kids loved it. The underwear? Well, the underwear was put under a lot of stretch.. In spite of the strangeness, the promotion was a success. Yes, if I were a baseball fan living near Zebulon, NC, I would surely look forward to my next opportunity to attend Five County Stadium, grab a hot dog and peanuts, catch some AA Mudcat action, and watch local children race each other in the infamous underwear race.

 

*Disclosure: The children remained fully clothed during the entirety of the event.

 

 

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Posted in Life on the Road, Minor League Moments, Professional Baseball

A Minor League season is sometimes not the best time to blog about a Minor League season

Posted on July 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

Over 1 month and an All-Star break have taken place since my last entry. As you’d expect, I have learned during that time that it is easy to get away from making official entries into an online blog during a Minor League season.

Here are some reasons* why:

  • Rare Time Alone: 60% of my time is spent at a ballpark with 24 other guys. Fortunately for me, since the All-Star Break, much of the other 40% has been spent with my family or with my lovely girlfriend. As a result, my time alone in a dark corner has been limited–Human Interaction: 1; The Inside Fastball: 0
  • Bad outings: Believe it or not, the first thing I think after giving up 5 runs in 4 innings is not, “Gee, I can’t wait to go blog about this.” It’s more like, “Dadgummit.”
  • Rhythm of the Season: A Minor League season is extremely susceptible to groove-staying. What I mean is, whatever I have been doing, I am likely to continue doing. The All-Star festivities brought great family time, long days, and little time to write a blog. Since then, I have stayed in a similar rhythm of working, hanging out, and not writing blog entries.
For the remaining two months of the season, I plan to enter a productive blog-writing groove in which I will spend plenty of time in dark corners writing about the good with the bad. I hope you will enjoy and, even better, learn from what I write. 
         *”Reasons” in this case can be used interchangeably with “excuses.”

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Posted in Professional Baseball