I really enjoy your cartoons and commentary as well as your articles on baseball and am slowly learning more about the game that hadn’t seen before. Have you ever considered hosting a “watch” party? You commenting on what is happening during a game. Charge a fee that you keep or do it to raise money for a charity, like Boys and Girls Clubs RBI program,? Or maybe it is a old game that allows for speeding thru most of the non action stuff? I know I’d pay to listen.
Jason Kendall and I were going to do a podcast and watch games and tell people what we were noticing...(Jason would do most of the noticing)...but COVID screwed that up and I don't know if we'll get back to it, but thanks. I'm glad you enjoy this stuff.
I've also had an invitation to go cover baseball in Australia, which I was going to do until COVID screwed that up too. So much funs stuff to do and so little time.
I’m not worried about baseball because I’m old and got to pass it onto my son as my father did to me. But my son will not have those moments with his daughter because, while the poetry is still there, the rhyme is forced. And the great shame about that is she won’t have the memories.
If only the owners loved the game…
Aside: how many times have we heard there is no “I” in team? And how long did it take to figure out that, yeah, ok… but there’s a “me.”
Before I started hanging around with Big League players I thought guys who ran into walls to make catches were "gamers" and now I think it better be important before you do that (like Mike Moustakas diving into that dugout suite) because while you'll get a round of applause for the effort it might cost you a career.
It's a business, but every once in a while the money doesn't matter and when that happens it's still a beautiful game.
Re: First pitch. Trevor Bauer made a comment on a video about accuracy and said he would fairly often miss the strike zone after trying to throw a fastball down the middle to get ahead in the count!
A comment which took me by surprise because I was under the impression Big League pitchers were painters and had pinpoint pitch control. Having never played the game I didn't realise it was this hard to hit the catcher's mitt with a straightish pitch. How many modern-day pitchers just throw the ball as hard as they can and hope for a favourable outcome due to their electric stuff?
Depends on the pitcher. Some guys have pinpoint control like you talk about, other guys have the catcher set up in the middle because they don't know what side of the plate the ball will go to. Also depends on the day; some guys have great control one day and are all over the place the next. But if a guy has great stuff he's more likely to get away with a mistake, guys without great stuff need to hit the mitt.
Your next book should be titled "A Hundred Things to Watch During a Ballgame". Maybe 2-3 pages on each item, what to watch for, why it's important...I would definitely buy that book. I learned to appreciate baseball so much more reading your articles & your book w/ Jason.
The beauty has gone out of MLB. Owners and players are bullshit greedy bastards. When tickets cost $50 +++ parking $30- Beer $8-10 Hot dog $6-8 etc it stinks. I will watch Little League or Girls softball. They can kiss my Happy Ass!!! You are very informed Lee and I enjoy most of your stuff.
This is really interesting. Seriously. I now understand that my burgeoning interest in baseball—as an older adult—was fueled in large part by reading about it in the Star. There was other stuff going on in my brain at the time, but paying attention to baseball is one of the joys in my life now.
Learning about baseball from the best players in the world and then sharing that knowledge with the fans was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.
I really enjoy your cartoons and commentary as well as your articles on baseball and am slowly learning more about the game that hadn’t seen before. Have you ever considered hosting a “watch” party? You commenting on what is happening during a game. Charge a fee that you keep or do it to raise money for a charity, like Boys and Girls Clubs RBI program,? Or maybe it is a old game that allows for speeding thru most of the non action stuff? I know I’d pay to listen.
Jason Kendall and I were going to do a podcast and watch games and tell people what we were noticing...(Jason would do most of the noticing)...but COVID screwed that up and I don't know if we'll get back to it, but thanks. I'm glad you enjoy this stuff.
You should. Lots of Zoom-based podcasts. Pleeeeze!
I've also had an invitation to go cover baseball in Australia, which I was going to do until COVID screwed that up too. So much funs stuff to do and so little time.
I clicked the heart button because I like the idea of you going to Australia to cover baseball. I don't like that COVID messed up everything.
What a great comment on baseball. You always bring it back to what’s important. Keep it up.
Thanks, Bob.
Thanks for this one.
I’m not worried about baseball because I’m old and got to pass it onto my son as my father did to me. But my son will not have those moments with his daughter because, while the poetry is still there, the rhyme is forced. And the great shame about that is she won’t have the memories.
If only the owners loved the game…
Aside: how many times have we heard there is no “I” in team? And how long did it take to figure out that, yeah, ok… but there’s a “me.”
Before I started hanging around with Big League players I thought guys who ran into walls to make catches were "gamers" and now I think it better be important before you do that (like Mike Moustakas diving into that dugout suite) because while you'll get a round of applause for the effort it might cost you a career.
It's a business, but every once in a while the money doesn't matter and when that happens it's still a beautiful game.
Re: First pitch. Trevor Bauer made a comment on a video about accuracy and said he would fairly often miss the strike zone after trying to throw a fastball down the middle to get ahead in the count!
A comment which took me by surprise because I was under the impression Big League pitchers were painters and had pinpoint pitch control. Having never played the game I didn't realise it was this hard to hit the catcher's mitt with a straightish pitch. How many modern-day pitchers just throw the ball as hard as they can and hope for a favourable outcome due to their electric stuff?
Depends on the pitcher. Some guys have pinpoint control like you talk about, other guys have the catcher set up in the middle because they don't know what side of the plate the ball will go to. Also depends on the day; some guys have great control one day and are all over the place the next. But if a guy has great stuff he's more likely to get away with a mistake, guys without great stuff need to hit the mitt.
Your next book should be titled "A Hundred Things to Watch During a Ballgame". Maybe 2-3 pages on each item, what to watch for, why it's important...I would definitely buy that book. I learned to appreciate baseball so much more reading your articles & your book w/ Jason.
Well done.
The beauty has gone out of MLB. Owners and players are bullshit greedy bastards. When tickets cost $50 +++ parking $30- Beer $8-10 Hot dog $6-8 etc it stinks. I will watch Little League or Girls softball. They can kiss my Happy Ass!!! You are very informed Lee and I enjoy most of your stuff.
This is really interesting. Seriously. I now understand that my burgeoning interest in baseball—as an older adult—was fueled in large part by reading about it in the Star. There was other stuff going on in my brain at the time, but paying attention to baseball is one of the joys in my life now.
Learning about baseball from the best players in the world and then sharing that knowledge with the fans was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.