Drake is a big believer in rooting for the home team, so when we moved to Hurst, Texas in 1990, a stone's throw from the Ballpark at Arlington, overnight we became Texas Ranger fans. Drake is one of the faithful who believes in supporting his team whether they are last in the division at 67 and 95 (last year) or first at 88 and 74 (this year). He knows more about baseball than any of the talking heads on TV. He's also not a dyed in the wool, hidebound traditionalist. Those idiots pretty much believe baseball should be played as it was in 1920 when the 'lively ball' was introduced.
For the people who don't live with Drake Smith, let me explain. The term 'lively ball' is a misnomer. Ball manufacture was exactly the same before and after 1920. What was different was a set of new rules. In short, prior to 1920, one ball was used during the entire game (even foul balls were thrown back), and pitchers liberally 'doctored' the ball. It became dirtier and dirtier. A ball was only replaced when the yarn under the hide cover started to unravel! As a game progressed, the ball became harder to see, harder to hit, and had less pop off the bat because of the deterioration of the ball.
What prompted a whole bunch of new rules being adopted was the death of a player in the 1920 season. The poor guy couldn't see the ball well enough to get out of the way of a beanball, a ball that hits a batter in the head. In the wake of the 1919 Black Sox gambling scandal, and Ray Chapman's beaning death, the traditionalists had to give way to the newly appointed baseball commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis. He instituted numerous rule changes to the game. One was the introduction of discarding balls and substituting new ones during the game when they showed any wear or tear. Oh, and even though Gaylord Perry would disagree, spitballs became illegal. So....after 1920, hitters could see the ball better, the clean, new balls had more pop off the bat, and the result was the start of the 'lively ball' era.
Now, it's the 21st century and Major League Baseball (yes, they capitalize all three words) is dragging its feet in adopting technology into the game. They were dragged kicking and screaming into allowing umpires to be overruled by video replay. What hasn't been corrected is allowing the umpires to affect the outcome of almost every single game played. They are not neutral arbitrators.
Every single major league park has 'pitch track' technology - in 3D! In short, a high speed computer can look at a computer generated cube on every play and tell you exactly whether the pitched ball is a ball or strike in real time. These calls are crucial. A hitter and a pitcher adjust after every single pitch. There are 'hitter counts' and 'pitcher counts'. An entire ballgame can be compromised by an umpire who calls strikes which are actually balls and vice versa. In fairness, the umpires do their very best, but what human eye can see exactly where a 100 mile fast ball as it crosses a 17" by 12.5" pentagon and at what height? Add in balls that literally wiggle around side to side or up and down as they cross home plate. The problem is further compounded by the umpires' subconscious bias favoring seasoned star pitchers and batters.
As you watch ANY baseball game this postseason, notice some of the media (TBS, ESPN) shows you the location of every single pitch using the pitch tracker, while other media (FOX) refuses to show the tracker at all. Ever wonder why? Well, it's an easy answer: The tracker shows how inaccurate the umpires are at calling balls and strikes. If you are lucky enough to watch a game showing the tracker, start thinking about how many calls are missed, and how different game outcomes could be if every pitch was accurately called. In Drake's opinion, it's going to take a glaring, game changing outcome in the World Series involving balls and strikes before there's going to be any actual movement for technology adoption of the umpires 'announcing' the balls and strikes rather than deciding them. He's just hoping to live long enough to see it. That's a reflection of the stranglehold the traditionalists have on baseball.
One baseball tradition I can really get behind is the amount of superstition pervading the game. Even Drake succumbs. He's wearing his 'lucky sweatshirt' for every Ranger game now. After all, they've won all three games when he has been wearing it. I love to look for the superstitious aspects of the game. They are often hilarious.
Every wonder why there's so much weird hair in baseball? It's all about superstition. On the Ranger team, Derek Holland, who was sporting the "Wild Thing" haircut, abruptly got rid of it after a three game slump. I would wager there's at least one member on each team in the play-offs who hasn't changed his underwear because everyone knows lucky underwear figures in any win streak. Hats are notoriously lucky for pitchers. Some of those toppers are so sweat stained and filthy, you know they haven't been swapped out since Spring Training began. Notice the ritualistic hand movements from a hitter on base after a hit directed toward the dug-out. The Rangers started this particular superstition by doing 'antler hands' in 2011. Now, most teams have their 'I got a hit'signal' which usually changes from year to year. Players follow strict pre and post game superstitious rituals. Look for the elaborate hand and body movements between players in the dugout before a game starts. Now, during the play-offs all the superstitions go into hyper drive.
There are so many aspects to a baseball game, yes, even the ones which end 1 to 0, it's hard to be bored because this game is so complex. It helps immensely to have Mr. Baseball doing commentary for me while watching. Every part of the game is ramped up during the play-offs, so pick a team and get behind them. Oh, and if you have any questions, they can be answered by Mr. Baseball himself. Just let me know, and I'll pass them on.
GO RANGERS!
