When did the umps start NOT to require the 2nd baseman to touch the bag on a double play?

Pharmboy ^ | 4-30-12 | Me

[Pharmboy]

I have noticed this for a LONG time, but I have never asked about it, nor have I ever seen it discussed.

I am watching my Mets against Houston, and the Astros have a man on first. Sharp grounder to third, and Wright backhands it and throws to Murphy at second, and Murphy is AT LEAST 1.5 feet off the bag when he catches it, wheels and throws to first; BUT the ump calls the Astro OUT at second.

When did this start??

[Theoria]

They are scared of risks and injuries, even though that is part of the game. Yet they left in the all common contact at home plate with a catcher and base runner. If ya can knock the ball out your safe mentality. Also, the runner must touch the base. Yet the 2nd baseman has the liberty of missing or simply coming close to the bag.

[Eastbound]

Go easy on her, Pharmboy. Maybe her husband died recently and she misses giving him hell for hogging the tv for these dumb kiddy games instead of taking his rightful place at the canasta table.

[the invisib1e hand]

My Question is WHO CARES? You are watching people paid millions to play a children’s game very well. Get a life.

whoa, what have we here?

[CAluvdubya]

I guess I missed the joke. Sorry

[Revolting cat!]

I catch your drift, it’s like we’re bitching about the Communists in Hollywood, and then start unending threads about the trashy movies they make and star in. Shame. Yet I think your anger is a bit misdirected. Leave the sports alone. Please.

[the invisib1e hand]

bump.

[MacMattico]

In the tiny bit of Soccer I’ve been forced to watch, I think off-sides and letting the clock run is stupid; and in hockey (husband is forcing me to watch the Rangers right now, in the Stanley Cup playoffs), icing is stupid (they’re calling it right now— it looks like defense to me!) and off sides is pretty dumb. I guess I just don’t like off sides calls! Well, they make sense in football.

[Revolting cat!]

It’s OK, we’re all friends and players here.

[mkmensinger]

I agree that basball players aren’t generally as tough as other athletes (there are exceptions). I respect hockey players who get ten stitches and go out for their next shift.

[Vermont Lt]

I am a sports photographer. I usually shoot five or six baseball games a week during the spring collegiate season. The times that a shortstop or second basemen touch the bag on a double are what you should be counting.

The reason?

They would have to wear armor to protect their shins. Everyone agrees that it’s better to let it slide, so to speak.

[big'ol_freeper]

Without reading the rest of the thread it has been that way since Christ was a corporal (to borrow an Army saying). It is nothing new...has often irritated me too.

[2nd Bn, 11th Mar]

This is the most stupid comment I’ve seen in three quarters of a year.

[Delta Dawn]

dewawi: The Eric Cartman of FreeRepublic.

[Pharmboy]

You make a great point about home: but the catcher is well-armored, unlike the SS or 2nd baseman. After reading the comments, I am convinced that if they did make the middle-infielders touch the bag, they would go through 10 of them every season. The ‘in the vicinity’ rule makes sense.

[dewawi]

AGAIN, I am paying 40% of my income in taxes and people that can’t seem to get over watching ADULTS play a children’s game for MILLIONS OF DOLLARS expect ME to pay even MORE in taxes to help them build STADIUMS for them to ooh and ahh their baseball warrior heroes....

Now they (people that like to watch adults play children’s games for millions) want us to pay for a football stadium despite the fact that probably once a week a professional football player in this state is charged with some violent felony.

[Kirkwood]

You are very confused about children’s games. Sporting games (baseball, football, basketball, hockey, golf, etc) all originated as adult recreation and remain so today. It is also big business. Hopscotch and marbles are children’s games.

[freedumb2003]

Don’t you ever forget that your signup date determines the level of your intelligence to the self described weisenheimers here!

dewawi :\ de-WAAAAAAHH-wee \ , noun;

1. The sound made by a little baby when its rattle is taken away:

DEWAWI!! DEWAWI!!! MOMMY!! DEWAWI!!!

[sjm_888]

[Ransomed]

I rememer Mike S. of the Angels getting steamed about it in a play-off game I think, but not that it was called wrong, but called correctly for once. I think they have been calling them closer in the play-off games recently. They have a million camera angles on them now, and almost instant slo-mo. I think the umps don’t want to be called on it and it costs a game in a playoff situation, at least less than they used to do. They should also call interference more on that play if they are going to require the defender to hang in there.

I’m more concerned about the lack of the high strike on batters that don’t crouch to swing and lower their ‘zone.

Freegards

[healy61]

You’re pushing your luck. You keep saying “stadiums.” It should be “stadia.”

[hirn_man]

About the same time that they allowed a runner to slide 3 feet away from the bag to break up the double play and not call interfence I think.

[Delta Dawn]

You’re my kind of ballplayer. You can play on my team any day.

[freedumb2003]

>> I think off-sides and letting the clock run is stupid; <<

Watch how the Europeans play it — theoretically offsides starts when the ball is kicked. But in reality, when they are beaten, the Euros run TO the ball to force offsides.

And of course, they should give more Oscars to soccer players than on any year in Hollywood. If they get touched they act like they have been knifed in a back alley.

My wife is from Mexico so we agreed I will watch the World cup and I won’t make too much fun of her while she watches games from home. If I have to watch, I make it a point to learn the rules and strategies. Speaking of which, try watching and trying to understand Cricket sometime. Man, how the English ruled the world while playing that game is amazing...

PS: Mexico plays US Style Football, and pretty good, too (wife’s brother was a linebacker). There has been talk of a Mexico team in the NFL.

[freedumb2003]

>>AGAIN, I am paying 40% of my income in taxes and people that can’t seem to get over watching ADULTS play a children’s game <<

Move.

You can start by moving from this board.

[jwalsh07]

Been ongoing for decades, the slicker the ss or 2b rep the farther away from the bag he gets to be.

[Artaniss]

It’s called the “neighborhood play”. It’s not in the official MLB rule book though. There are references to it on the internet. You could look it up.

[Eastbound]

"I respect hockey players who get ten stitches and go out for their next shift."

Of course there are exceptions. Take Ty Cobb, fer instance. He would practice stealing bases even though he already had 12 stitches for leg damages received that morning from sliding practice. Really, no duh!

[Theoria]

Yeah, but he pitcher also covers home plate sometimes. Let's say a wild pitch, pitcher runs to cover home, player running in from 3rd, boom. That should be how the game is played.

[mortal19440]

It has been called the Neighborhood play since I started playing ball in the 50’s.

[Vermont Lt]

Have you seen the size of some of these guys? Really, they would be carrying the little shortstops off the field by the dozens.

[gorush]

Shortly after they stopped calling traveling in the NBA...

[dangerdoc]

roughly the same time the NBA let players take 3 steps when they slam dunk.

[Rebelbase]

“am paying 40% of my income in taxes and people that can’t seem to get over watching ADULTS play a children’s game for MILLIONS OF DOLLARS expect ME to pay even MORE in taxes to help them build STADIUMS for them to ooh and ahh their baseball warrior heroes....”

We all have problems but it doesn’t help anyone to denigrate someone because they find pleasure in something you find foolish.

[liege]

Head coach wears little boy clothes (what other sport does that?)

I think it is the manager in baseball. But you do have the clothes part right.

[JoeDetweiler]

“Tricks Of The Trade

Loaded bats, phantom DPs and balls doctored with everything from flour to fly-line cleaner may be illegit, but they’re as much a part of the grand old game as, well, the spitter”

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124378/1/index.htm

A cool article from Sports Illustrated....1981

[detective]

My daughter played high school softball. It can get competitive.

I’ll bet you don’t “throw like a girl”. :)

[BreezyDog]

Is dewawi Swahili for dickhead?

[Yudan]

According to longtime major league shortstop, coach, manager, and analyst Larry Bowa, at least 25 years prior to 1981.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19810825&id=a0YcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xl0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4503,5505551

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Sometime around 1879 I would guess.

I’ve personally been seeing it since the 1960’s.

[Sicon]

Not sure what hockey league you watch, but in the NHL, they ALWAYS call offsides, and very, very rarely get it wrong, and they most definitely don't let it slide if its "close" int the interest of keeping the game moving.

Believe me, I've gone back and watched many plays since I got a DVR, and they have only gotten it wrong a couple of times, usually because their view is blocked.

[Talisker]

AGAIN, I am paying 40% of my income in taxes and people that can’t seem to get over watching ADULTS play a children’s game for MILLIONS OF DOLLARS expect ME to pay even MORE in taxes to help them build STADIUMS for them to ooh and ahh their baseball warrior heroes....

Now they (people that like to watch adults play children’s games for millions) want us to pay for a football stadium despite the fact that probably once a week a professional football player in this state is charged with some violent felony.

You need to go to a hockey game and sit down close to the ice. That way a hard check and smash to the face will cover you with blood and teeth as the players slug it out right in front of you.

Then go hunting, and not only shoot an animal, but field dress it and make sure you leave a nice gut pile for the forest critters to eat, while you pack out the bloody meat.

After that, you can work extra hard to pay more taxes than ever before, while bringing home ever less money, and watching people who do far less than you get ahead in life effortlessly, while you cry in the dark.

Punk.

[freedumb2003]

>>roughly the same time the NBA let players take 3 steps when they slam dunk.<<

3?? What are you thinking — Jerry West?

Today it is like, 10 to 15 steps. As I noted upthread, Jordan could go from his foul line to dunk into the opponent’s basket and the basketball would never touch the floor.

[Mears]

Lots of people care.including me.

Some people like music.some like art,and some like sports.

Grow up.

[OrioleFan]

The only thing that gets enforced around second base is when the runner tried to take out the fielder and makes no attempt to touch the bag. I know when I played, I liked to submarine my throws to first on double play attempts to force the runner to slide earlier than they wanted.

[MacMattico]

You should have seen my friends attempting to cover up my eye with make-up the next morning! One said “There, it looks fine, just don't look in the mirror.” Doh! So of course I looked in the mirror! It was horrible to a high school girl trying to impress certain boys! One of my friends said they had an idea, and I should wash all that make up off. So I did. She took out her black eyeliner and wrote on my cheek “Double Play, we're going to States!” and drew an arrow to my eye. I got a lot of high fives that day, even from one of the boys I thought was sooo cute! Oh High School!

Now,my daughter tells me I throw like a girl. She's a Pitcher and as an adult I'm going to have a heart attack one of these days just watching!

[Vince Ferrer]

I noticed the calls going downhill in the 1990s

Umpire

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

When did this start??

When Ty Cobb started sharpening his metal spikes?

[bobby.223]

Dry up sonny. Take your nOOb troll arrogant condescending crap back over to the DUmp....I hear the ‘rats over there love punks like you.

[xone]

zot

[RightFighter]

I actually saw a traveling call in an NBA playoff game a couple of nights ago.