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Science Has Changed Baseball, but not really

No way I can repeat the performance that my “5 Ways Baseball Fans Are Different” had...

Science and sports have been on a collision course forever. The cultural phenomenon that is sport allows the average person to implement science into their live in an understandable manner. I learned how to count and solve simple math equations by keeping baseball stats while watching a game. Any physics question that involved a baseball I got correct. Science and baseball are one, science has not just appeared in baseball. 

When baseball was invented, pitchers did not throw 100mph, but they did not get hurt as often. Batters didn’t hit a ton of homeruns, but the fields were massive. The Babe changed the game a lot with his play style, teams began to load up with power. Nolan Ryan was a scientific experiment, how could such a small frame throw a baseball so hard? Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are baseball’s versions of the Hulk. 

Baseball and science have forever been entwined, so the increase of launch angle and exit velocity stats were bound to happen, not because baseball wasn’t entertaining enough, but because science provided a new way to look at the sport. Science has always changed baseball, for better or for worse. One day, someone decided that spinning a ball in a different direction made it move, and that moving the fingers on the ball slowed it down or sped it up. Pitching alone is a science. Baseball and science are always changing, some changes just don’t work out as well as others.

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5 Ways Baseball Fans are Different

1. You attend or watch 162 (hopefully more) games a year. 162! Most other sports fans are dedicated to about 50-100 games a year.

2. You keep track of 25 players stats. Even the guy who plays once a week. You really know that he is hitting .272 and ate three hot dogs yesterday.

3. You think you recognize a homerun as soon as it leaves the bat, but you are often wrong. In most other sports, fans cheer after the event happens, in baseball you just cheer as if the wind from your yelling will send the ball over the fence.

4. You actually follow 5 or 6 different teams that are all the same team... Reds, Bats, Blue Wahoos, Tortugas, Dragons, Mustangs... all happen to be stocked with Reds players. Each team in the league has a list like this.

5. You sit down for four hours and are ok with watching one point get scored, you actually celebrate a game like that. An NFL game that is 3-0 and four hours long is a travesty. A 1-0 shutout for your team is actually celebrated. That’s not even mentioning that your team scored from first on a dropped F8.

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Misery

The Reds are bad, but are keeping the NL Central close by continually beating the Pirates and Cardinals, the latter they normally do not beat. They are persevering while getting young players experience, hopefully so that in a few years they can make a run. A lot of the Reds' prospects are playing very well in the minors, so there is light at the end of the tunnel, however far away that may be. The White Sox are worse. After trading everyone on their 25 man roster away, they are simply losing almost every game that they play. The movement of important figures for young/up and coming individuals is often filled with a period of turmoil and failure. Hence the idea that the President should be at least 35 before taking office. The Sox are just miserable to watch, but at least they control the biggest portion of the Top-100 prospects... here is to next year? Or maybe the year after that? Probably closer to 2025.

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LIVE

Live from PNC Park in Pittsburgh: Reds v Pirates. The Reds have won 4 straight and are going for the sweep, the Pirates are 1 game under .500 and are looking to turn the season around. Very interested to finally see Billy Hamilton in person. The pitching matchup is comprised of players I have seen before in Chad Kuhl(Indianapolis) and Sal Romano(Louisville). It's almost game time!

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The Church of Baseball

“I believe in the Church of Baseball. I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance.” - Annie Savoy (Bull Durham)

To me, baseball is like a religion. I spend hours a day thinking about baseball, watching baseball, soaking up baseball like a sponge. If you have never seen the movie Bull Durham and consider yourself a baseball fan, watch it. If you enjoy a good Kevin Costner flick, watch it. If you’re bored on a saturday, watch it. If you’re with your kids, probably don’t watch it. The quote above is from the opening monologue in the movie by the character Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon). 

The movie highlights the career of a minor league journeyman and a superstar prospect. It talks about the ins and outs of baseball, the baseball life, and how the minor leagues often work. The quote is inspiring because it highlights baseball as what it truly is for most fans, a religion. The baseball stadium is where some find peace and tranquility, the baseball stadium is where you can find 10,000 of your closest friends, the baseball stadium is home.

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Pre-Deadline Update

The Cincinnati Reds are staring at failing to make a move at the trade deadline yet again. Zack Cozart is on the DL so he cannot be traded before 4 P.M. today, he was the most likely trade candidate. The Reds need young arms in their system but have struck out on doing so lately. With most of their position players playing well, the Reds may attempt to sign some bigger name pitchers in the offseason instead of a full scale rebuild. 

Opposite of the Reds is the Chicago White Sox, who have traded almost everyone. Activity at the deadline has reached a new level with the White Sox who have now almost dealt half of their 25-man roster from last season. The rebuild is happening, now we will see how many games they can lose to round out their season. 

What does this teach us?

This teaches students that there is often no correct path to an outcome, rather, the outcome can be reached in a number of different ways. Do I see the Reds or White Sox winning a World Series within the next decade? No. Do I see the Reds making the playoffs before the White Sox do? Yes. History and foreign policy is comparable to the board game Risk, where there are pieces constantly moving and often seemingly random outcomes. If the Germans hadn’t destroyed France, would the U.S. have fought back so strongly? If Hannibal hadn’t marched 20 elephants over the Swiss Alps in the middle of winter, would he have won his war? If the English had treated the colonies better, would we drink tea every day? These are the possible outcomes to the different paths that are available.

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Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 suit

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10 Things My Students Will Love About Baseball

1. It is a very important piece of American history, the pastime. 

2. It is a cultural phenomenon, as is all of sport. 

3. Within most events of the past 150 years, baseball plays a role.

4. There are tears of joy and sadness that bring people together.

5. Baseball shows that there is sport and there is life, which can be entwined.

6. Stats, stats, and more stats.

7. There are an infinite number of connections to be made.

8. Diversity in full effect on the field; from pitchers to fielders to catchers.

9. The subjectivity of the official scorer, what if someone had to official score history?

10. EVERYTHING

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LOU vs. SYR

The Syracuse Chiefs and Louisville Bats played a doubleheader today, with the Bats taking both games, the Chiefs continued their spiral towards 100 losses, which would be a new Chiefs record. The Chiefs debuted a starter, who promptly gave up 6 runs in his AAA debut. Perseverance is the lesson here, for there were still 3,000 fans at the stadium. And it rained. What does this teach us? Throughout history, no matter the record, baseball has been an American fixture. A piece of culture that has spanned generations. Teaching students that although the going may not be going great, someone has to work, someone has to produce, the machine does not stop just because someone is having a bad day. Or season.

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The Stro-Show

5-8, 180lbs... just looking at that, would you think that it was the measurement of a professional baseball player? Maybe you’d think Dustin Pedroia, because short people play second base. Maybe you thought it was a catcher, since they have to squat anyways. Maybe it was Jose Altuve that you were thinking of, or Jose Ramirez, two of the games giants that rock small shoes. No way you thought this was a pitcher, don’t you have to be at least 6-0 to pitch in the majors? How does someone so small throw 95 mph?

Marcus Stroman, a starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, is the correct answer. Stroman is a graduate of Duke University and currently sports a 2.98 ERA, which in today’s game is nothing short of dominant. The Stro-Show is on pace to set career highs in strikeouts, innings pitched, and WAR (Wins Above Replacement). What makes Stroman so dominant? Is it his wiffle-ball-like slider? (See here: http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/21753540/v1590642883/houtor-stroman-fans-correa-with-a-nasty-slider)

Is it his Duke University education? Is he simply out-thinking people on the mound? There is an old baseball moniker, there are pitchers who throw, and pitchers who pitch. A thrower simply uses their arm to throw a baseball, while a pitcher uses their mind to out-think hitters and to trick them into swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. (ie. Corey Kluber striking out 14, 13 of them swinging... http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v1641164183/torcle-watch-klubers-14-strikeouts-in-14-seconds)

While we ponder how Stroman continues to dominate, we can just sit back and enjoy as he carries the torch for short athletes everywhere.

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Walk Off Winners

Last night, Adam Duvall hit a single to beat the Diamondbacks 4-3 in extra innings. All-Star Zack Cozart had two hits including a HR off of Zack Grienke, a perennial All-Star himself. The Reds however have bigger issues, they can’t find a trade partner for Zack Cozart. The Reds have recently not done so well when it comes to gathering prospects in return for position players, making this upcoming trade hard to trust. Can the Reds get a good return for Cozart? Will they get cold feet and settle? Will they keep Cozart and help develop young players? Jose Peraza and Scooter Gennett have earned playing time, and Cozart only halts their potential development. Zack Cozart and his donkey are always welcome in Cincinnati, but a few young pitching prospects would be nice.

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Yoan

After trading away Todd Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle, the Chicago White Sox have continued their rebuild. The removal of Frazier from the everyday lineup has allowed the White Sox to call up their top prospect, Yoan Moncada. Moncada is a 6′2″ Cuban, who like most in the MLB defected from his home country with the hopes of playing in the major leagues. At AAA Charlotte, Moncada was hitting .282 with 12 HR and 36 RBI. Many more have dominated AAA pitching with much greater numbers, like Rhys Hoskins of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (yes, I just wanted to type Iron Pigs) who in his first year at AAA is hitting .281 with 20 HR and 68 RBI, in the same number of at-bats as Moncada.(Baseball America) Hoskins is a big, burly first baseman who gets paid to drive in runs, Moncada is something else. To watch Yoan Moncada play the infield is to watch art in motion. His hands and feet are lightning quick and his arm is essentially a rocket launcher. Moncada makes plays in the field that most major leaguers would gawk at. 

Moncada has only hit .300 at one level, High-A. He may never win a batting title or hit 65 homeruns, but he will win multiple gold gloves. Moncada is the type of player that is essential to any winning team. Throughout history, there are individuals who were essential to their teams, like Thomas Jefferson or Winston Churchill. Now take those two old, dead white guys and turn them into a Latin America hero, like Bolivar or Zapata. Sure, Moncada plays defense like Dustin Pedroia, but why will Moncada potentially mean more to baseball? It is important to build connections between race throughout history. Although Moncada does not solve the lack of African American baseball players (hello, Hunter Greene), he continues an influx of great young Latin American talent in baseball, further diversifying this great game.

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The NYCBL

The New York Collegiate Baseball League is a college summer league that has produced the likes of Rajai Davis and other MLB players. If you come to Dick Rockwell Field today at 5:15pm to watch the Syracuse Spartans play the Rome Generals, you will not see Rajai Davis. What you will see is 60 college baseball players simply trying to add a few extra mph on their fastball, a curveball to the repertoire, or a few extra flips to their no-doubt homerun batflip. I have been given the opportunity to supervise the Syracuse Spartans on behalf of Le Moyne College, giving me an unbiased front row seat to all of the action.

Yes, I have made some friends amongst the Spartans and their interns, but unbiased is still my stance. When one guy pitches I root harder than the other, and so on, just like any baseball fan would. I have learned a lot from the Spartans this summer, like how to manage the egos of 30 players and a GM who are not used to being told no. I do not directly manage the players, but have observed them in their interactions in hopes of one day coaching a team of my own. Managing a group of 30 of the better DII and DIII collegiate baseball players in the northeast can be trying, just like a classroom of 30 high schoolers. Everyone is right and nobody is wrong, and every person wants their due. There is the student who wants a 100 in everything, and the pitcher who wants 100 innings this summer. There is the quiet student in the back of the room, and the reliever who sits in the bullpen without complaint and warms up the left fielder, only seeing a few innings a month. There is the alpha student in the room, who draws everyone’s attention, and the third baseman who won’t field bunts but will turn a routine 5-3 into something from a video game. 

Managing the Spartans this summer has shown me that no matter where you go and what you do, there will always be different personalities that need managing. Whether it is in the classroom or in the dugout, it is important to get to know each individual, to learn their preferences and skills, and to take those ideas and place them into each lesson or lineup so that not only the one student strives; but the entire team, 1-9 or 1-30, strives. 

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The Rise and Fall of the Salt Potatoes

May 25, 2014: Runners on first and second, two outs, bottom of the eighth, Brock Peterson, a PCL journeyman is at the plate for the Syracuse Chiefs. It had been years since the Chiefs had been any good, but they had managed to assemble the right mix of veterans and young talent, and were first in their division. There was an announced attendance of 6,136, which at NBT Bank Stadium is a loud and rowdy number. On the mound for the Pawtucket Red Sox is Dalier Hinojosa, a reliever who would eventually have a stint as a closer for the Philadelphia Phillies. The 2-2 pitch, a hanging slider on the inner half of the plate is launched, into the night sky, with 6,000 screaming Chiefs fans, an estimated 417 feet. Those of us who still call the Chiefs press box a place of employment refer to that homerun as the majestic homerun, one that can only be thought up in a wiffle ball game. The Chiefs would go on to win the division that year, but disaster struck when the Nationals made the playoffs, for they removed 6 of the 25 Chiefs from the roster to participate in the MLB Playoffs. 

Following the 2014 season: Brandon Laird would head back to Japan, Steven Souza Jr. would be dealt to the Rays in a three team trade that netted the Nationals Trea Turner (not so bad). Aaron Laffey, Taylor Hill, and Taylor Jordan would never find the success on the mound that they found in the majestic 2014 season. Rafael Martin would go on to be one of the better closers all of AAA baseball in saves for the next two seasons.

How the mighty have fallen...

July 15, 2017: The home plate umpire calls a ball down the line fair, resulting in a double and two runs for the PawSox. The score is now 4-1 Pawsox and the Chiefs’ bullpen has blown another close game.Two batters later, the icing is put on the cake by Rafael Devers, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, as he launches a ball an estimated 407 ft off of the right field light tower. The Chiefs would go on to lose the game 7-4, with a 9th inning rally killed by two swinging Ks from the middle of the Chiefs order. The Chiefs are now 25 games out of first place at the all-star break and are on pace to be the worst Chiefs team ever. 

What does this teach us...

Think of Napoleon or Hitler invading Russia in the middle of winter, rushing to push their agendas forward in an effort to conquer a country that only the great Genghis Khan had truly conquered before. Think of General Custer, running through the Native American population at rapid speed, and meeting his demise in overconfidence. The Washington Nationals have chased a World Series Ring since the arrival of Steven Strausburg and Bryce Harper. All of these “win-now” trades have resulted in the removal of the Syracuse Chiefs from relevance, and have created a difficult situation for those who are supposed to put fans in the seats. People no longer come to the Chiefs game to watch baseball, they come for the lightsaber giveaways and $1 hot dogs. 

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Post-All Star Blues (Or Reds)

As is the case in most years, the Cincinnati Reds are to be sellers at the trade deadline. In past seasons, the Reds have failed to acquire top-level prospects in trades, often because of uncontrollable issues. The Aroldis Chapman saga resulted in the Yankees receiving the #3 overall prospect in baseball because Chapman was accused of domestic violence while on the Reds. The Reds gained Rookie Davis, Eric Jaigelo, and a few other middle of the road prospects. Only Davis has pitched in the majors. The Johnny Cueto trade resulted in Brandon Finnegan, who can’t stay healthy. The Todd Frazier failure netted Jose Peraza, who hasn’t been terrible. The best move the Reds have made in recent years is claiming Scooter Gennett off of waivers from the Brewers. At this point in the season, it looks as if SS Zack Cozart, RP Drew Storen, and SP Scott Feldman are the most likely to be dealt.

What does this teach us about baseball? How can we use it in the classroom?

The “trade” analogy is used often in history, for example, what if the United States were a French colony instead of an English colony? The outcomes would have most certainly been different. What if a different general, not George Washington, was leading the Revolutionary army? There are a number of hypothetical and speculative situations where trading one person for another would have changed the outcome of history. Another way to look at the “trade” analogy is the return on investment. SS Zack Cozart is a fan favorite, as was Todd Frazier, making it very difficult for the Reds to deal the players and get a return that satisfied the fans. SP Scott Feldman brings a veteran presence to an otherwise young rotation, is his experience worth more than some prospective arms? All Reds fans are simply headed towards hibernation as we watch yet another failed deadline, dormant free agency period, and another losing season.

#WaitingforHunterGreene