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Sports Arena
Runs, Hits, and Errors
Can’t anyone here field this game?
The longest day of the year came and went last month, followed by its longest week; for baseball fans, that is. And so the All-Star break, the so-called Mid-Summer Classic, has come and gone again. There can be no equivalent to the seemingly interminable span between meaningful baseball games which the All-Star break represents. No matter the result, we can be sure that it was chock full of meaningless posturing and artificial pathos. Yet the All-Star Game does mark the approximate halfway point to the season; a time to gauge the progress of players and teams. So, how to assess the current state of the game?
This year, like most, has had its moments; particularly with Derek Jeter’s pursuit of the 3,000 hit milestone, which has occasioned the usual folly of comparing today’s stars with the game’s immortals. This business gets sillier and sillier every year, even as the overall quality of play gets worse and worse. Now I like Derek Jeter as much as the next person and his achievements are indeed worthy of praise, but the qualities most people admire in him — humility, hustle, and all-around “baseball sense” — could probably be found in the majority of players who suited up 40 or more years ago.
It is often said of Jeter that he does everything well; the way it should be done. And that’s the point: he stands out because most of his contemporaries just don’t match up. He is a throwback; a clean-cut, well-mannered young fellow, as opposed to the bearded braggadocios that populate most Major League clubhouses these days. But that is the state of baseball today.
If today’s players spent as much time practicing the fundamentals of the game as they do preening before mirrors and mugging before cameras, the fans might be treated to a steady diet of fine Major League Baseball. As it is, a short series of well-played ballgames is as rare as a player hitting for the cycle.
For instance, that great offensive weapon, Jose Reyes, is a cringe-inducing spectacle at shortstop. He is the poster-boy for modern infielders who feel that no batted ball is worthy of being faced head-on. On nearly every play, they must circle around the ball in order to backhand it and show off their arms. But not to worry, the errors resulting from these fielding gymnastics are seldom charged to the perpetrators; they are — much to the chagrin of pitchers — most often scored as hits. It used to be that any grounder that glanced off leather was an error; nowadays, balls that graze the wickets are regularly scored as hits.
Indeed, anyone who watches baseball regularly must admit that there are probably at least two “hits” a game that only a few decades ago would have been deemed errors by even the most liberal of hometown official scorers. A quick check shows that the 25 lowest averages of errors per game have occurred in the last 25 years. Indeed, the number of errors per game has steadily decreased since the 1930s, when it was twice what it is today. This must mean that today’s players are better fielders, right? Um, no.
The canard that modern equipment has improved fielding is a particularly cruel joke since too many of these guys couldn’t, as they used to say, catch a ball with a bushel basket. And it’s not just a lack of ability; bad defense is also the result of downright stupidity. One has only to observe the hideously awful throws from today’s outfielders to know that the current proclivity to awkwardly leave one’s feet in order to peg a five-hopper to home plate, defies all laws of both baseball and physics.
Yet we are constantly reminded that today’s players are bigger, stronger, faster and better trained than their ancient and untalented predecessors. Of course anyone who follows the game must acknowledge that for all their strength and conditioning, lots of these boys go down like so many toy soldiers when performing complex and strenuous activities like running to first base.
And speaking of baserunning, Tyrus Raymond Cobb must be spinning in his grave with all the over-sliding and under-sliding that pollutes the basepaths at modern ballparks. But that’s okay, because today’s catchers, with their new penchant for launching throws which jettison their masks at the same time, have little chance of nailing them outright anyway.
Given the over-expansion of MLB and a woeful lack of minor-league preparation, it’s not surprising that players make more errors and yet are assessed at a lower rate. The real mystery is; with the incredible decrease in the number of errors, a postage stamp-sized strike zone and no real threat of brushbacks, that no player has broken Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak or approached the lofty .400 mark.
And yet, for all its many flaws — folks like me have been decrying “modern” players since Ty Cobb said homeruns were ruining the game — real baseball fans can’t get enough of it; least of all me. In fact, I have an 80 year-old friend who is a lifelong Pirates fan and has come down with a genuine case of pennant fever. Halleluiah!
Baseball: there’s nothing like it.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (26) | Leave a comment
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Clint| 7.20.11 @ 6:22AM
There Is Chin Music From The Bleachers & Then There Are Those,Who Face The Serious Chin Music From The Hurlers.
jacket06| 7.20.11 @ 8:29AM
I watched ball players in the Southern League (Class AA) play ball in Memphis, TN in the 40's. The Memphis club and the rest of the teams in the League had as much talent - if not more - than most of the teams in "The Show" today. In that day, there were only 16 major league teams - 8 in the American League and 8 in the National League. The kids that played baseball in Class AA leagues in the 40's were better players as a whole than those in the Majors today. Major League baseball has diluted the talent pool in the "The Show" - there is just not that much real Major League talent to maintain the roster of 32 Major League Teams today! In the 40's, many of the players today would be no higher than Double AA baseball. Fewer would even be at Triple AAA baseball.
jrp61356| 7.21.11 @ 10:24AM
Actually there are only 30 major league teams. There has never been 32. That aside, I have long maintained that expansion of MLB has had a detrimental impact on the talent level (especially pitching). Incidentally, this holds true for all four pro sports leagues - MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL. As the pro rosters get bigger, the number of truly qualified players declines.
donserge| 7.20.11 @ 8:46AM
There are few players who love the game "for the game's sake". The pursuit of the almighty dollar seems to be foremost in their minds. There a couple dozen players I enjoy watching...the rest are going through the motions waiting for their next contract offer. AND it is not only the players that are to blame; someone has to offer them the new contract.
Steve A| 7.20.11 @ 10:41AM
donserge, You have no clue what in the hell you are talking about. The vast majority of these guys, the vast majority, have busted their ass in rookie ball, A, AA, AAA making $1800 / month to get to the Big Leagues. Then, they have to stick in the big leagues, make the minnimum, produce, & get to free Agency to cash in, finally. All you hear about is how some guy is holding out for Arbitration when team X is offering him 7 Million etc. Damn right he is finally trying to get as much as he can. By now, he is in the later stages of his career & this is his shot. Then he is done at 35 or so & needs to go do something else for the rest of his life.
Also: Lisa: Newsflash for you. On a hard hit ball to short., directly at you, you round the ball to give yourself a better angle to first & also to guage the short hops. Just a bit of inside baseball since you aparently consider yourself an expert. You may want to brush up before you launch your next.
Mark| 7.20.11 @ 11:06AM
No, my friend, you don't have to round the ball to get a better angle. You simply set your feet properly. That's it. Boom! Done! And if you can't gauge a short hop when the ball is coming at you, then you stink! Efficiency of movement eliminates errors.
Steve A| 7.20.11 @ 11:26AM
Mark, You have clearly never played so perhaps you should reevaluate things a bit. Apparently, according to experts (yourself & Lisa) all of the big league shortstops are doing it wrong. I suggest you hold a joint clinic & clean up on the proceeds & open a Baseball Academy to get the Reyes, Castros etc all straightened out.
Steve A| 7.20.11 @ 11:38AM
You could argue that "rounding" is not quite accurate terminology. You are certainly not going to just plany your feet square & let it eat you up. Nobody on (not turning 2) you would attack & field it off your left foot. Ask any infielder what the most difficult play is & they will tell you hard hit, right at you. Your vision is impacted as you can't determine the length of the hop to give yourself the easiest play. This is why, at short, you adjust your vision to see the ball better from a slight side angle if you can. You field it off your left as this directs you to first base.
Third, Second & first are different. You can knock it down & still throw em out. Short you have to be clean.
JP| 7.20.11 @ 4:48PM
Minor leaguers (A, AA) earn on average $65,000 per season. While most are cut before the end of the season (and return to changing oil at Jiffy Lube), let's no pretend they aren't compensated. This isn't 1965, where they earned $5 a game.
David W| 7.20.11 @ 8:54AM
I feel the same about other pro sports, especially pro-basketball. I don't watch basketball, but I did watch some of the Mavericks and Heat finale. I was totally unimpressed watching the last game. I thought maybe they were dogging it, to come out in the second half to blow their opponents socks off (I won't say which team I'm talking about). But no (sloppy play, double dribbling, traveling, no rebounding, taking shots before team has set up to rebound, passing cross court (I "fondly" remember my coach yelling at us in high school not to do that since it invites an easy steal, etc., not to mention the artwork that seems to cover everyone's arms, shoulders, backs, necks, and Lord knows where else)). To me it was a demonstration that pro ball is pro only because they get paid. One sees more energy from high school than from pro.
tonyo| 7.20.11 @ 9:50AM
Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio.
(70 years ago this summer - The Streak)
WJW| 7.20.11 @ 10:18AM
Do not agree that the level of fielding has gone down.
And on your generalization of legitimate errors being scored hits, can you not link to 4 or 5 examples on MLB.com or youtube? Since it happens in EVERY game at LEAST twice, this should be easy.
I do agree that modern players (post free agency) typically do not hustling down to first on routine ground balls.
JP| 7.20.11 @ 4:56PM
WJW,
Admit it, the game has become a one dimensional bore. Players rarely get the big contract for base running, bunting, fielding, and getting men home. The only thing that counts during contract negotiations are power numbers. As a result, players look for the long ball with every pitch, regardless of the situation.
As for pitching, the closer position is the most over compensated position in the game. Statistically, a team with a 2-3 run leadin the 8th inning is 94% likely to win regardless who is on the mound. And even in 1 run leads, the team with the lead in the 9th wins 87% of the time. But, pitchers and thier agents have made the closing position an over-priced under achieving money maker. It is so bad that if a manager puts a closer in the game during a non-save situtation he can expect a call from the agent - sometimes during the game. As for the other pitchers, look at the number of complete games per season. They stink. And look at the number of 20 game winners per season. They're even worse. But pitchers today (especially lefties) average a cool $7 million/season for the few innings they do work.
Joe D.| 7.20.11 @ 11:08AM
Lisa, good article. However, are you not a little bias with regards to Jeter? Also, if you go back far enough you will see players like we see today on the fields of yesteryear. However, I do agree the 50s, 60s and 70s produce a better character in players as it did for the rest of the US. Hollywood, the music industry, and school educators have help ruin/change this in America. Wimpy parents are to blame as well.
YeloStalyn| 7.20.11 @ 12:09PM
"Baseball: there's nothing like it."
Except hockey... which is actually much better.
Try it for a few games... give it a real chance... and you'll see it's the best around.
Colin Campbell | 7.20.11 @ 12:58PM
"“Professional baseball is on the wane. Salaries must come down or the interest of the public must be increased in some way.”
---Albert Spalding, 1890
Colin Campbell | 7.20.11 @ 12:58PM
"“Professional baseball is on the wane. Salaries must come down or the interest of the public must be increased in some way.”
---Albert Spalding, 1890
Cpm| 7.20.11 @ 1:28PM
Ty Cobb never overslid a base because his sharpened, upraised spikes entering the baseman's body halted his forward progress.
Casey Abell| 7.20.11 @ 2:46PM
Laughable Jeter-worship from some starstruck fan.
Jeter is a terrible defensive shortstop. Little range, weak arm. All he has is that silly jump move, which may look good on TV but does nothing to win games. Fangraphs.com rates him -113.1 runs below average on fielding and that may be generous.
Meanwhile, Jeter fan's poster boy for bad fielding, Jose Reyes, actually rates above average on defense by +19.6 runs. Not a great fielder but far better than Jeter.
Jack Rail| 7.20.11 @ 6:46PM
Today's players are no better and no worse than those of yesteryear. Had Ty Cobb played today, he would flirted with steroids. Had Ruth played today, the hotdog story would never have happened because today's players take care of themselves better than the old timers did.
Derek Jeter has made, if I may, some of the clutchest plays of all time. That back hand toss to the catcher while running toward the first-base dugout in the 2001 Series was the most remarkable play anybody ever made. Had there been no pressure on, Jeter wouldn't have been able to do it, either; but put the heat on and Jeter is there, every time, a money player.
But then, so were the other Hall of Famers. For my money the smartest hitter who ever played was Rod Carew, the best field Brooks Robinson, the most dangerous home run hitter still Babe Ruth. But for clutch hits, you couldn't beat Geo. Brett. Back and forth, back and forth you go, appreciating the real greats, their command of every nuance of their game. Best outfielder: Willie Mays. Best catcher: Johnnie Bench OR Yogi Berra.
It never ends for us real ball fans.
Stuart Koehl| 7.20.11 @ 7:37PM
"Had Ruth played today, the hotdog story would never have happened because today's players take care of themselves better than the old timers did."
Ruth's poor performance in the 1925 season was not due to eating too many hot dogs, but to a bad dose of gonorrhea--something else that would be hard to keep out of the papers today.
PCP Smoker| 7.20.11 @ 9:42PM
"He is a throwback; a clean-cut, well-mannered young fellow, as opposed to the bearded braggadocios "
I don't know what game you are watching but asides from a one Giants pitcher-- not Lincecum-- most, players are clean cut and well mannered.
Just recently Bert Blyleven (sp) stated that if anyone showed him up while he was pitching, he would come back to tag them in the face the next time around. Did you ever see Goose Goosage throw? Nothing good manner or nice about those old guys.
PCC| 7.21.11 @ 5:58AM
An enjoyable and thought-provoking article.
1. Maybe the error rate is down because there are fewer errors, not because of declining scoring standards?
2. I agree that today's outfielders seem much less accurate with their throwing.
3. I also agree that sliding skills seem to be in decline.
4. Dilution of talent may also be explained by more sporting options being available to top athletes today (golf, tennis, basketball, football, etc.) than existed in Ty Cobb's day.
weddingdresses | 7.21.11 @ 6:01AM
goodgood
Mark MacInnis| 7.21.11 @ 11:47AM
Hot Dogs, beer, peanuts and baseball, on a sunny summer day....is there anything else more quintessentially American?
Vibram Womens Five Fingers Bik | 7.21.11 @ 10:00PM
Vibram Mens Five fingers Classic have grown in fame enough to provide an amazing fashion appeal as well as the functionality of the shoe. There are very specific health benefits and shoe categories within this line.