Wrong ball redux.

I thought that a thread talking about trick plays might bring some humor to this. I was wrong. Very few if any replies to it. I listed a few of some that I had seen. Mind you I have never used them. I wouldn't either.

That brings to mind something. If there were no replies to "Wrong Ball" then I would ask why?

Why no replies? Is it that there are no other trick plays out there? OR is it that no one is going to let out that they have some trick plays? OR is this a subject that brings a bit of negative focus on the game of baseball?

Wondering why. Or maybe its just a boring topic.

It is kind of interesting.

 

Ive spent all day studying this. I learned a lot.

This has been very interesting.

 

Not any trick plays just players..... Whoa Gloveside.. I see through the old hide the transfer in the line up trick. Thought you would get me.

 

Trick Plays

I have never been interested in them gloveside. We have played a couple of teams over the years that tried a few of them. I have just always been one of those guys that believes that if you spend your time on all the things you should be spending your time on there is not enough time to spend it on tricks. Also if we need trick plays in order to win we are probaly in alot of trouble to start with. Maybe if we spend that time on bunting , running the bases , hitting , fielding , cut off plays , pitching etc etc we wouldn't need the trick plays.

Stealing signs is something Im not interested in either. If your spending all your time trying to steal signs who is coaching the team? If you have someone spending all their time trying to steal the signs what do you do with that information? It only takes being wrong one time to make this useless. It always gets me when I hear someone say , usually the first base coach "Lets go 21." or "Lets go Tom." Then they are totally fooled looking off speed and they get a fastball. That kids ab is toast. Hitters need to learn to hit and not learn to trust someone not in the box to give them whats coming. What happens when you can not get the signs? What happens when you have gotten used to trusting the coach and he is wrong on a two strike count?

Hey if other teams want to use trick plays fine. If they want to try and gain an advantage by trying to steal signs fine. If they want to spend their practice time on trick plays thats less time they are spending on the things that will make them a better team imo.

There are things that I do not consider "trick plays". A catchers ability to keep a strike a strike is a fundemental of the game. A catcher that tries to make a ball look like a strike will lose more strikes than he gains. Borderline pitches that are recieved properly will earn you some strikes. Borderline pitches that are not recieved properly will earn you some balls. But trying to frame an obvious ball is pointless and insulting to a quality umpire. Pick off plays , 1st and third plays , are fundementals of the game.

Just play the game.

 

Im with you on this Coach27

I just thought it interesting. These things have always been part of the game. There are some things that are IMO not trick such as what you mention.
There are things that are coached into the game that makes us want to throw up.
Please don't get me wrong here. I was just looking for some history or thoughts like yours.
If a coach has time, and I don't know where one can find it, to teach things like these, then it is beyond me that a coach would have time to teach fundamental skills and strategies.
No Im not trying to promote any of this. I have seen little of this kind of stuff. But it is out there. There is a lot of junk like this going on in high levels of the game.

 

Talk of Stealing Signs made me think back and laugh

Playing for Tomanchek (at Garinger), you could easily steal his signs as he thought much like Coach May, i.e., be prepared and play hard.

But being a player for Tomanchek, you better not miss a sign and this was hard to do because they were so easy (I still remember them today: nose=bunt, chest swipe=take, scraping foot on ground=steal and yes, we only had three).

The only time I missed a sign -- yes the only time because you never missed one after that based on what he did to you if you did miss one -- I missed a bunt sign . . . twice! You have to know that Joe sat in front of the dugout on a chair and never coached bases as he left that to players to whom he referred to as starters since he considered that was an important position. Anyway, Joe called "Time!", then stood up from his chair in front of the dugout and yelled "Hey! He's Going to Bunt!" and then looked at me, still in the batter's box, and said "Did you miss that one!"