Hey – here are some fun things to watch for in a baseball game. By no means is this a complete list, but it will give you a better feeling for the game and might help you appreciate the strategy in baseball!
1. You have a man on first base and a right hand pitcher. To throw over to first base, the pitcher has to pick up his back heel. It is fun to focus on his back heel and predict if he is throwing over or not.
2. Watch the catcher. He will always position his glove on the inside or outside part of the plate. The pitcher wants to hit that glove every time. If he misses the corners and the ball ends up over the middle of the pate , it’s home run city. Is the pitcher hitting the catcher’s target most of the time? If he is not, then he is getting tired.
3. How many pitchers are up in the strike-zone? Two or three in a row? This means the pitcher may be getting too tired to follow through and it is time to take him out.
4. Watch the ad on the wall behind home-plate. There is a new ad there every inning. How do they do that?It is computer animated.
5. Watch how close the batter stands to the plate. If the pitcher is throwing a lot of outside pitches, the batter will try to crowd the plate, so he can reach the outside pitch easier. It is the pitcher’s job to throw a hard inside pitch every now and then to keep the batter honest, to keep the batter from crowding the plate. Is the pitcher claiming control of the plate or is the batter?
6. Are they playing good baseball? One way to tell is the outfielder hitting the cut-off man?. A good throw from the outfield should hit the cut-off man in the chest. If the out-fielder over-throws the cut-off man or throws it to the side, that means the cut-off man cannot fire it to home and get the runner out. Little things mean a lot.
7. Are they playing good baseball? A fly ball is hit over the second basemen’s head. The second basemen and right fielder both chase the ball. If possible, the right fielder should catch the ball. Why? The second basemen is facing away from the infield. If he catches the ball, he needs to turn and throw the ball. The fielder is coming towards the ball, facing the infield. He can catch the ball and his momentum is carrying him towards the infield, which makes for a more accurate throw. Plus he has the whole infield in front of him, so he can see where the runners are and where he should throw the ball.
8. How aggressive is the other team at breaking up the double-play? Are they sliding into second with their legs high, trying to take out the second baseman and ruin the double play, or are they merely sliding in, making no attempt to break up the double play.
9. How smart is the pitcher? When the count is 0 and 2, never throw a good pitch. Throw it in the dirt, throw it outside, see if the batter will chase it. If the batter doesn’t fall for it, you still have three balls left to play with.
10. How are the infielders positioning themselves? If the pitcher throws slowly, chances are the batter will turn on the ball quickly and hit it down the baseline. Is the third basemen playing close to the line. If the pitcher throws fast, it will be harder to turn on the ball and the batter will be late hitting the ball. Is the third basemen cheating towards short?
