Mind Over Matter

Baseball, in general, is an enjoyable game from all aspects. It is a thinking man’s game, and there in lies the beauty of it. The players obviously have the most fun, but spectators can be involved almost as much as the manager, discussing what every position player should do with the ball before every pitch. A great baseball mind can do this, and it’s not as easy as you think. There are many situations throughout a baseball game that I question a player’s decision to throw to a specific base with solid reasoning behind it. The real question is, however, what was the player thinking? Like every situation, there are multiple answers. For example:

Q: It’s the top of the 9th inning and you are in right field. Your team is ahead by one run. The opposing team has runners on first and second with one out. Both runners have above average speed. A fly ball is hit to you at normal depth, and you make the catch, prompting the runner on second to tag up and sprint for third. Where do you throw the ball? Why?

A: If you said, “throw the ball to 2nd base,” then congratulations, for you are a thinking man! The runner advancing to third, while he represents the tying run, is irrelevant. He will score on a single from either 2nd or 3rd base, so his advancement to 3rd base means nothing. The runner on first, however, represents the winning run, and will not score from first on a single. Therefore, it is important to throw the ball to 2nd base to keep that runner at 1st base. The opposing to team will now need one hit to tie the game, and two hits to win.

If you said, “throw the ball to 3rd base,” you need to reevaluate the situation. If you throw the ball to 3rd, you run the risk of not throwing him out, and the runner on 1st will surely advance to 2nd. The opposing team now only needs one hit to win the game, as opposed to two hits, and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take. In fact, I’m willing to bet that the only reason the runner on 2nd is tagging up and running to 3rd is to see if you’re stupid enough to try and throw him out.

What if the batter hits a single as opposed to a fly ball? Now what do you do? Answers are encouraged.

The Game of Life

While the spirit of competition makes sports an American way of life, it’s the intricacies of the game that make baseball great. And just as sports reflect society, baseball resembles life. Situations change with every pitch, and when you’re at the plate, you need to make an educated guess at what is coming next. A good player can take a round bat and make contact with a round ball flying at speeds of up to 100 mph. A great player, however, can do all of this with perfect precision, and still only succeed one-third of the time, because there are nine others trying to make sure that he doesn’t. Life will always present you with obstacles and put you in situations that require your attention, and at times, a calculated risk is required in order to solve a problem. And I hope that you reevaluate your life daily, because when the ball comes your way, you better know where to throw it.