Thread: A few Baseball Questions

OK, i am watching the Giants and Dodgers game,

question 1 - the pitcher threw the ball lots of times and eventually the hitter just walked to first - why?

question 2 - when the hit it, do they purposely hit it in a certain place like in cricket - or do they just try to whack it?

Hopefully these questions aren't too annoying as i have a feeling i will have a lot more!

Also that was some over the shoulder catch by number 66 of the dodgers!

1) You get four balls and three strike. Strikes are good for the pitcher and balls are generally good for the batter. Three strikes and the batter is out. Four balls and the player gets a "base on balls" or a walk.

2) Question 2 is a little more tricky.

I don't know the rules of cricket so I can't help you there.

There are lots of different types of hitters. There are "pull" hitters who are, generally trying to pull the ball to the side they are hitting from, and are generally power hitters trying to hit it out of the park for a home run.

Then there are slap hitters, who purposely hit it on the ground and either try to get to first base before the fielders can get the ball there or try to get it in between the infielders and into the outfield.

There are also guys who try to hit it to the opposite field from where they are standing in the batters box. Those guys are generally the hitters who have the highest average. These guys also generally like to let the placement of the pitch dictate where they want to hit it to. If it's inside, they may try to pull it. If it's outside they try to hit it the other way.

The best hitters in baseball can hit it anywhere, i.e., Mike Trout or Miguel Cabrera.

Hope that helps.

The batter is allowed 3 strikes before he is out and if the pitcher throws four balls then the batter gets to go to first base.
Strikes- pitches in the strike zone or any pitch that the batter swings at and misses or hits foul(out of bounds). The first two pitches that the batters hits foul are counted as strikes, any foul ball after that is basically a do-over it does not count as anything.

Balls- are pitches that are out of the strike zone and not swung at by the batter.

As far as control of where the batter hits the ball it is much more complicated than that. MLB hitters are the best in the world and even they have a difficult time directing their hits. So much of it depends on pitch location and swing timing.

In other words if you're asking if they put a target on the field and asked a MLB hitter to hit it while an MLB pitcher pitched to him, his success rate would he extremely low, if you asked him to hit to one side of the field or the other his success rate would he higher. If you asked for pop-ups, line drives, and grounders he would some success but not a ton. This is why I believe the hardest thing in all of sports is to hit a Major League Pitch. The more control over that kind of thing a batter has the more special he is as a batter. Keep in mind even the best MLB hitters only get a hit 3 out of 10 times.

Sorry for the shitty answer. Coach could probably explain the hitting thing better.

Originally Posted by MOtorboat

1) You get four balls and three strike. Strikes are good for the pitcher and balls are generally good for the batter. Three strikes and the batter is out. Four balls and the player gets a "base on balls" or a walk.

2) Question 2 is a little more tricky.

So the most pitches a batter can face is 6? 3 balls and 3 strikes? Is that right?

Originally Posted by daveaitken18

So the most pitches a batter can face is 6? 3 balls and 3 strikes? Is that right?

No because he can hit a theoretically infinite amount of foul balls

OK - so a foul ball is different to a "ball" that Mo talked about?

Or is it the same, but if it is hit, then it does not count towards the 4 before he gets a walk?

Originally Posted by daveaitken18

OK - so a foul ball is different to a "ball" that Mo talked about?

Or is it the same, but if it is hit, then it does not count towards the 4 before he gets a walk?

A "foul ball" is when the batter hits the ball but it doesn't go into the field of play (between first and third, inside the white lines). It counts as a strike for the first two strikes, but you cannot strikeout on a foul ball, therefore, you could theoretically hit an infinite amount and not be out. However fielders can catch foul balls for outs.

Got it! Thanks.

I think mostly though, Mo is just trying "whack it".

Originally Posted by weazel

I think mostly though, Mo is just trying "whack it".

I'm pretty good at that.

Watch video of Tony Gwynn hitting if you want to see someone put it wherever they want to. For a guy hacking away...The list is endless. José Canseco would be a good example

Originally Posted by MOtorboat

A "foul ball" is when the batter hits the ball but it doesn't go into the field of play (between first and third, inside the white lines). It counts as a strike for the first two strikes, but you cannot strikeout on a foul ball, therefore, you could theoretically hit an infinite amount and not be out. However fielders can catch foul balls for outs.

Dave, to confuse you even more, there is one instance where a batter can "strike out" on a foul ball. If he bunts it foul with two strikes then that counts as the third strike and he is out.

Originally Posted by spikerman

Dave, to confuse you even more, there is one instance where a batter can "strike out" on a foul ball. If he bunts it foul with two strikes then that counts as the third strike and he is out.

Two, actually.

A foul tip on the third strike, caught by the catcher is also a strikeout.