3 thoughts on “Shouting at the Clouds

  1. I previously had only read Gossage’s remarks on bat-flipping; but feel compelled to push back on his rant on protecting infielders on the slide.

    See Goose, when replay was introduced, something remarkable was discovered, particularly about plays at second-base on a double-play — players had been cheating. The fielder wasn’t necessarily touching the bag, or he might not have the ball in the glove he is tagging with. And the runner wasn’t necessarily staying on the base throughout the slide while the tag was applied. Nobody knew how rampant the cheating was until multiple camera shot angles converged on the bag.

    The replay caused the fielder to stay in position longer, the fielder to apply the tag more forcibly and the runner to slide harder. Cheating the way you old guys did it, kept you healthy and for the most part, mentally sharp.Report

  2. My favorite example of how things aren’t like they were in the good old days is a series of rants Bill James compiled in which old baseball players complain that the current ones don’t respect the game, have no grasp of fundamentals, and care only about money. The earliest one is from 1916.Report

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