32. Cliff Lee declines to run out his own grounder
I’m a firm opponent of the designated hitter rule, because just as I love to watch a punter try to scoop up a bad snap and try to throw it, or see a 7’1” center with no range try to chuck up a last-second three, I love watching pitchers hit.
Never will I come closer to seeing what it would be like if someone with my skill set tried to perform on a professional level. I mean, how nuts is this: in the National League, five to 10 percent of all at-bats are taken by men who, by everyone’s admission, are profoundly bad at it! It’s Dada performance art, and the ubiquity of such comical nonsense—over the course of a game, a season, and the history of baseball—is unrivaled by anything in any other sport.
This GIF features a delightful bonus: the catcher starts jogging to the dugout well before the play ends. It’s beautiful.
Reader Comments and Retorts
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1. Morty Causa Posted: January 04, 2012 at 10:49 PM (#4029274)Actually, though, he doesn't have a bad swing--especially considering he was batting against a left-hander.
Shaquille O'Neal took 30 thousand shots in his career. Over a third of those, 11 thousand, were free throws, which he sunk at a rate (53%) less impressive than many in the stands watching him could do.
My favorite bit was actually the commentary on the balk gif (#18):
Come to find out that guy died, though. Sad. Ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop indeed.
I have no dog in the dh fight, I honestly don't care either way, yes I think that the NL game is a better tactical game, but I don't know if it's better or worse because of it, and couldn't care if either league ultimately changed their way, but this isn't evidence for one or the other, because if you think this is the only time a player doesn't even seriously attempt to run out a a ball, then you do not understand why Pete Rose was so popular in the 70's.... players haven't run out routine plays since before Babe Ruth, and it doesn't matter whether it's a pitcher or a leadoff hitter with an 80 speed rating.
This is a good set, and I'm actually glad that it's broken up into multiple pages given that having a shitload of gifs can cause them to load unbearably slow.
edit: Also a fan of the author's blurb at the bottom of the page: "You have never read a sportswriter more recently than Jon Bois." Why, yes, that's true!
I've got a similar recollection. It was an after-the-fact question....asked about a pitcher who didn't run out a ground ball, the manager said he told him not to do anything strenuous and risk getting hurt while hitting.
Putting 50 animated GIF's on one page is generally a bad idea...
Man, I am killing myself here and only on the third page. How the hell did that QB throw the football backwards and hit the ref? The ####?? Bahaha
The trick is to load the next one in another tab before you start reading the current one.
Looks to me like the defender would have picked him off if he'd thrown it and he tried to stop the throw at the last split second. Half accomplished his goal.
I bet at least half of those guys who are "profoundly bad at it" were the best hitters on their high school teams.
So was I!
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