My latest at Hardball Times focuses on an aspect of minor-league baseball that not everyone realizes exists, namely the fact that pitchers sit in the stands charting pitches. As I note, it’s a little different from what you find at the big-league level:
Imagine yourself at Dodger Stadium, catching a Dodgers-Giants game with 40,000 of your closest friends. Hiroki Kuroda and Barry Zito are the starters. A few rows back of home plate, Chad Billingsley is tracking pitches using pencil and paper while Clayton Kershaw works the gun. Behind them, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum do the same. The people sitting in their vicinity, having paid less than what it costs to see the latest overhyped 3-D movie, pay no attention to them whatsoever.
I also reminisce about some former Padres farmhands I saw back in the day that have since graduated: George Kottaras, Xavier Nady, David Freese, Chase Headley, Jason Bartlett, Khalil Greene, and Jake Peavy. Enjoy the article…
Recent Comments