Can someone help me with some baseball terminology?

[rippy987]

hi, im a yankees fan from perth, western australia,im very new to the sport and it is fast becoming my favourite sport,even though i never actually played the game for a club or nething.however, there are a few terms i hear when i do see a game, that im not sure what they mean, like when you get a double play, why do they call it a "6-4-3 double play" or a "5-3" i think it is....any help would be greatly appreciated. i look forward to this season, as it will be my first full year supporting the yankees.im 27 by the way, but wasted the first 26 years by playing and following basketball,now it just bores me, but theres something about the strategy and the atmosphere of the game.my brother took me to shea stadium and fenway park 2 years ago,because hes a red sox fan,so he wouldnt take my to a yankees game, but the atmosphere around the ball park, i just find the game so much fun to be around, with a bit of luck, we might get a bit more coverage on cable this season,otherwise ill have to purchase a MLB package on MLB.com so i can watch my yanks this season. anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Blzer]

When one is officially keeping score in a game, they keep track of who makes a put-out on a play as well as who assisted in a play. To make it short and non-specific to name (so that it's general, regardless of the team or players), they have a simple system to chart which position player was involved in the play. It is a number system, #1 - 9, that goes as follows:

1 - Pitcher
2 - Catcher
3 - First Baseman
4 - Second Baseman
5 - Third Baseman
6 - Short stop
7 - Left fielder
8 - Center Fielder
9 - Right Fielder


So on a routine ground out involving the short stop throwing the runner out at first base, the scorekeeper would write down 6 - 3 as a result of the play in the given frame for the batter in the score book. That is known as a "6-to-3 putout," if you will. For any sort of fly out, say to the center fielder, the scorekeeper would write "F8." If there isn't an assist to a play, like the first baseman fielding a ground ball and tagging first for himself for example, you would simply write "3U," meaning "unassisted putout by the first baseman."

In your situation, you will hear "6 - 4 - 3 double play," meaning it was a ground ball to the short stop (6), who threw it to the second baseman (4), and turned the double play by throwing it to the first baseman for the final force. You may also get a "1 - 2 - 3 double play," which in a normal case means that the bases are loaded and it is a ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher (1) instinctively goes for the lead force out at home plate (2), who turns it to the first baseman (3). Normally, they'll do this instead of a throw to the next lead force runner because the runner on second was probably leading off of the bag, making him closer to third than the batter-runner, who had to get out of the box then proceed to first, who has a lot more time to make up.

You will also possibly see something like a pickle (also known as a "rundown," where a runner is caught in between two base paths and the fielders toss the ball back and forth in an attempt to tag him out). It can turn out to be a 4 - 3 - 6 - 1 - 3 putout in some cases.

There may also be a time where a runner is on third base with less than two outs, and there is a fly ball to the outfield (let's say right field), so he will tag up on third base and try to score after the attempted catch is made in the outfield. Assuming the right fielder (9) catches it, he will now go for an outfield assist at home plate as the runner tries to score. Let's assume he gets it into the catcher (2) in time to tag out the runner. In that frame, you would write F9 then find the frame for the player that was tagged out at home, and you would write 9 - 2 next to the line going home (you might want to indicate to anyone else reading that it was an outfield assist).


I hope that helped, and I'm glad that you're catching onto the sport!

[rippy987]

Thankyou very much, your help is greatly appreciated, ive been trying to figure that out since i started playing mlb the show 08, which i recon is the greatest game ive played by the way.just a quick question, who do u follow??i like hearing about who people follow in the sport.it just seems like the more i learn about this game, the more it draws me in.the feel, the atmosphere, the strategy, the options, and of course, the game "MLB the show"
Thankyou very much mate, much appreciated

[Blzer]

Who do I follow? Team-wise?

I grew up in the Bay Area, so I've always been a die hard Giants fan. I'm losing interest since the owner disowned Barry Bonds and they've had a losing record, but they are still my #1 through and through. And ever since I've been playing Triple Play '98 I had some fascination with the green monster and trying to homer over it (my late friend and I thought it was supposed to be the hardest thing in the world), so with that began my fascination with Boston as I was them for a season, then I started collecting baseball cards and such and I got to learn the players more. And finally, I've been a Braves fan, watching them every day on TBS Superstation. I can't do it any longer, but I'm still sticking to them. I loved the Jones' tandem (Chipper and Andruw). 2003 was by far the most fun year to watch to my record.

And you are very welcome. Any other questions, lash them out and hopefully somebody will get to you.

[Zinger]

Okay, I'm an English fan and have a question. Why is it that we see runners diving and sliding into every base except first? Are they not allowed to? Why would that be?

[TeixeiraFanatic]

It is allowed but it's not faster. You see the runners sliding into the other bases because if it's not a force out the defensive player has to tag them. So they slide making it harder for the other player to tag them. On some situations baserunners will slide to try and break up the double play as well. On a play to first on a hit ball it's always a force out so there is no reason to slide. Like i said before sliding isn't as fast as running through but they do it to evade the tag and break up the double play. Blzer could probably make this a lot clearer.

[Bamboospine1998]

Also if you have noticed players run to first base and run past it on a play.

You are allowed to run past first base (as long as you tag it) without being called out.

If you over run second or third, you may be tagged out. Players sometimes slide to help come to a stop and not over run the base.

[Blzer]

Quote: Originally Posted by TeixeiraFanatic

Blzer could probably make this a lot clearer.

Nah, you and Bamboospine pretty much hit it on the head.



I will say this, though: Zinger, there may be an exception or two where you do actually see a player slide into first base (head-first, not feet-first). The reason becomes the throw to first base is offline, and as a result, the first baseman's best possible shot at getting out the runner now may be to tag him. You may even see a high throw where the first baseman will jump-catch and make a tagging motion mid-air. Of course, this can only get a runner if he is coming in standing, but if he comes in sliding (and diving actually, because that's much quicker, getting your hands extended and as you're allowed to dive past the bag as long as you touch it), he cannot be tagged.

Some other players will just do a dive on rare occasion anyway (Omar Vizquel, Jeff Kent). It is more dangerous, because the way they are doing it is different from head first slides into other bags where it's just another form of sliding. Here, they are literally diving. They are doing everything they can to ensure that their hand touches first base before the ball reaches it, and if done safely, it can be faster. It's not encouraged nor coached to do this, and that makes complete sense. What if the throw is offline? Disadvantage: runner. And also, you can't assume that it is the safer play.

Bamboospine made another great point in that baserunners can make sliding a means to actually stopping quicker, thereby being a faster method to reaching a base on a nonforce play at second or third base. On rare occassion, you'll see this in the outfield (I do it) as well, where there is a ball in resting position on the grass and an outfielder is barging toward it. He may go into a pop-up slide where he hits the grass, barehands the ball, and pops up, stopped and ready to fire it into the infield. Approaching the ball where you have to slow your speed and bend down to pick it up with no back foot push momentum is a much slower way to play the ball, but it is also safer as it isn't an "all or nothing" play (if you miss it sliding, you're ****ed).



One last tidbit in case you weren't aware, but like TeixeiraFanatic said, sliding can be used to break up a play, typically a double play. Anyway, it is completely legal in the MLB, but there are some certain rules. Like hockey, there is sort of a rule against high-sticking, only this is more like "high-kicking." Also, on a double play the person making the turn may take themselves off the bag after tagging second due to momentum and form a different line of fire, either to the left or right of second base (from an advancing runner's point of view). They are legally allowed to go into the player as long as, to the umpire's discretion, that same slide gave them a legitimate shot to be within arm's reach of touching second base. Also, there is sort of a "roughing the passer" rule as well, where it's literally unsportsmanlike to take out a fielder after he has released the ball.

The result in all of these plays, including offensive interference (another small thing, there is no such thing as defensive interference... it is called "defensive obstruction") by being in the line of fire without making an attempt to avoid the path of the throw either by sliding or veering out of the way, is that you as the runner are either safe or out depending on whether second base was actually tagged (sometimes they pull their foot too early or miss the bag entirely), and the runner going to first is automatically out. In the scorebook, you give the [unassisted] putout to the defensive player that attempted to throw out the runner at first.