The Baseball Book Club discussion

I would be very interested in reading what anyone has to say on the reduction of stolen bases as part of the baseball attack.

It`s homeruns, strikeouts, & bullpens. Like what blue moon was last seen the last time a hit & run was tried ? Analytics is the name of the tune
Mike Linn
Oh yes, I forgot shifts

Rick, you can ask this in the baseball- first half post. Stolen bases or lack thereof is a hot button issue today. Thank you for bringing it up.

Teams don't want to risk an out just to move a player up a base. They want launch angle at bats which means hit for the fences. Stolen bases also lead to injuries-Mike Trout's thumb for instance sliding head first. There just isn't an appetite for small ball anymore. It's crazy how suddenly things have changed. Billy Martin would be so enraged he would be committed or placed in a straight jacket. It's all about walks, homers, and strike outs.

Thanks for the comments--I guess this ground has been well-trodden.
So all I will say is I miss the stolen bases except when I have to look at runners wearing oven mitts.

LOL!!! I agree. That is the worst of the new protective gear.

I shared my views on the baseball first half thread

It was similar ti what I said lance.

Lance, I'll need a little more guidance: there's 2800 posts...I quit looking in the 300s

Harold wrote: "It was similar ti what I said lance."

It was - typed there before reading your note and correct, you and I basically said the same thing and agree.

Rick, that is why we break up the baseball season thread in half at the All Star break. To get to the last page, on the top of the screen it should say that the screen shows 1-50 comments of 2880+. There are links for pages - click on the highest number (57 right now) and you will get to the most recent posts. Also, if you get notifications for new posts, you can go to the most recent ones that way.

There's a book by Bill Felber that came out in 2005 called The Book on the Book in which the author discusses how the numbers relate to stealing bases, bunting men over, hit and run plays etc. It was a good book and changed my thinking somewhat on these subjects.

So swing for the fences?

H-man, Teddy Ballgame always said the perfect swing has a bit of an uppercut. I do believe that it got lost in translation. The book explains things like if you have a man on second with no outs there’s a better chance of scoring then having a runner on 3rd with one out, so why bunt him over?

I think there is no concrete rule on when to bunt and when not to. I have seen the stats that say whether chances are better for each man on base and out situation and, according to those, certain situations are definitely better to hit away.

But those stats don't take into account a given pitcher on a given day and the hitters-coming-up. Against some top of the order pitchers, you aren't going to get stink swinging from the heels, you have to try to score any way you can. And some pitchers are launching pads so you are stupid to give away an out if you can score 13 runs by hacking.

I have always loved the hit and run and it puts pressure on a defensive team if it's executed correctly. Of course if you have a guy who may only strike out 40 times a year at the plate (try to find that guy now) vs. one who strikes out 200 a year, the odds are much different.

But homer run hitters make big bucks and supposedly puts fans in the stands

I'd rather see a guy like Ichiro who can get on base with little power instead of someone like Dave Kingman, Rob Deer or many guys today who only homer or strike out

Doug, there are plenty of guys out there with only 40 strikeouts. Of course they’ve only batted 80 times.

Mike wrote: "Doug, there are plenty of guys out there with only 40 strikeouts. Of course they’ve only batted 80 times."

lol

I've always have love watching a perfectly executed bunt.
Another thing about the bunt sometimes those pitchers fielding a bunt can get all bent out of shape and make an errant throw.
I never forget that last WS with the Tigers and Cards and those Tiger pitchers having problems fielding.

And I do miss the speedsters stealing bases. Like to see them shake up the pitcher a little bit.

Jeff McNeill of the Mets executed a perfect bunt the other night. What a rare beauty of a hit it was...

That's one of the things I like watching KBO ball, they bunt a lot and I've have seen some beauty of bunts in the number of years I've been watching them.

The small ball game is almost extinct
Mike Linn

Don’t worry some team will bring it back and the manager will get credit for being a genius.

Some team will be forced to bring it back because they can`t afford all those overpriced, free swinging sluggers.
Mike Linn
Don`t know about the genius part

The manager of the current champions will always be the current "genius". We went from Maddon being the genius to Hinch quite quickly

Absolutely especially how he handled his staff when his closers came up short. But let`s be honest, most decent skippers would be forced to go to plans B & C, and if they worked-BINGO- instant genius
Mike Linn

There is nothing like Italian little league to make you appreciate the manager of your favorite MLB team. Just one example from a three day tournament (under15) I just returned from: first and second, one out, the manager calls for a bunt from a young, skinny kid who usually hits grounders in the infield. The batter missed the bunt, then grounded into what should have been a fielder's choice but was an error that loaded the bases.

What is KBO?

KBO is the Korean Baseball Organization.
It's a professional ten team league.