In episode 52, the guys discuss Fernando Tatis Jr’s Grand Slam on a 3-0 count and the repercussions it has in the clubhouse. Baseball is full of ‘unwritten’ rules that veterans and old-timers refer to when respecting the game. We dive into all rules at the professional and youth level. Agree with us? We want to know. Enjoy!

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Transcript EP52 – The Unwritten Rules of Baseball

Dan Blewett:   well, welcome back. This is the morning brush back episode 52. We are here live once again, after three pre-record episodes, which were pretty good quality.

I think Bob, how would you rate the prerecorded non-life

Bobby Stevens: quality? I mean, better than anything I’ve ever done on the podcast. Plus we had good guests. We had good guests. We had really good guests. So that was, that made up, that made up for, uh, for whatever lack of quality we might’ve had.

Dan Blewett: If we had just recorded you and I would have been trash would have been just a trash a week and a half,

Bobby Stevens: but we

Dan Blewett: carry, carry the load.

Ryan Copeland and Liam Bowen from my Alma mater.

Bobby Stevens: So yeah, two pitching guys to join them. I had my extensive pitching knowledge on the, on the show. Well,

Dan Blewett: we need to balance it out. We had so much hitting garbage for forever, [00:01:00] just old men yelling at

Bobby Stevens: clouds, glorious, glorious, hitting talk. I’m all for the pitching stuff.

I’ve got five, I think. What do I have? Five and two thirds innings on the mound professionally. I’m in there. I’m in the I’m in position, position, player pitching hall. Well,

Dan Blewett: that’s just simply not true. So today in our, in our, in our episode today, we’re going to go over unwritten rules in baseball, including do you swing three?

Oh, when you have a little bit of a lead I’ll off for an end to talk to your junior stealing with the big lead. Taking the extra base, which is a pass ball with a big lead bunting on a no-no, um, rowing at hitters. What’s the right and wrong way to do it. Uh, we’ll talk a little bit about some home run stuff and then an amateur baseball specific one, the time clock.

So should you have now visit when there’s like seven minutes after they go in the game, people get pretty heated about that stuff. So, uh, we’ll also talk a little bit about, [00:02:00] um, Bob, you had some stuff about seeing pitches. How important it is to see a lot of pitches in the bat, stuff like that. And so we’ll cover that as well, but let’s start off with Fernando tattoo since we were away for this big news, but swinging three.

Oh, I commented a little bit about this on Twitter. What’s your take on top two, swinging three

Bobby Stevens: out. Loved it, loved every second of it. First of all, it’s bases loaded. So you don’t, there’s no reason not to swing. I have not actually heard that. A unwritten rule, like specifically as far as not swinging three.

Oh, uh, I mean, I guess a specific scenario where the, where the bases are loaded. So it’s not like you’re saying where to put them, the guy. Um, but no, I mean, swing three. Oh. Like the, all the iPads count. If he strikes out after getting the three O like that strikeout still counts.

Dan Blewett: Yeah, I think, I think I made them the major leagues.

Almost everyone came to his [00:03:00] defense. I’m not sure there were many people on social media or anywhere else. Not that social media is the, the high court here, but I didn’t see anyone and be like, yeah, what a jerk that was so modern baseball. Like no one said that

Bobby Stevens: was it. Was it the manager or the other team that got real pissed off?

Right.

Dan Blewett: I heard it was both managers. So.

Bobby Stevens: Well, his manager, I saw didn’t stick up for him. I mean, that’s, if you’re tough, if you’re touchy, I mean, that’s it right there, right? Like you’re not going to stick up for me after I’m winning you ball games, I’m saving your job in a, in a city that never wins. I’m the, I’m arguably the MVP front runner and you’re not going to, you’re not going to defend me or at least stick up for me a little bit.

He lost the locker room right there. I think like you have, especially with big personalities, like tatties and Machado in that locker room, like they run the show there, this manager, I don’t even know what the manager’s name is, but he is not the heat. They’re not taking his [00:04:00] personality on the field. Like they’re taking those two guys.

So if you lose those two guys, you might as well pack your bags and leave. Well,

Dan Blewett: I don’t think anyone even knows Zaman even over the potteries or met her care who the boundaries manager is. He’s just like

Bobby Stevens: John’s pencil, pencil pusher, like

Dan Blewett: who cares?

Bobby Stevens: Well, that’s the point. It’s not, no, you want to keep that job.

That’s like you, and you’re not going to back your best, your MVP candidate when he didn’t even really, I mean, I could see if he like threw at somebody’s head. If he threw out somebody’s head, or if he’s a pitcher throws to somebody’s head hits him in the helmet, you could say, look, we’re not trying to, we’re not trying to hurt anybody, blah, blah, blah.

This kid swings at three O pitch that you lay in there. Like screw it. I’m going to hit it. 500 feet.

Dan Blewett: Well, and what was weird was it was only 10 to three. It’s not like the game that’s completely out of hand. Like it’s like a two run Jack by the other team the next day. It’s 10 to five. That’s like a, not a, it’s not a Laffer anymore.

And seven rounds is like, whatever, but also that pitch was not center cut. It was like outer third. And like [00:05:00] down, like you could see my swing. I mean, yeah, it was not easy to hit for him. I mean, he knew a fastball was coming, obviously, but beyond that, it wasn’t like, again, belt high right down the middle.

It was only out a third. And if it’s like one, two count, that might be a ground ball, double play, right? Like any had to go APO taco on it,

Bobby Stevens: you know, bullet

Dan Blewett: bullet. It’s

Bobby Stevens: weird. What’s the narrative. What’s the narrative. If he, if he pops out is everyone’s still pissed off at him or is everyone saying, Oh, he’s an idiot for swinging three.

Oh no. Okay. He’s dumb.

Dan Blewett: Yeah. It’s just risk. Yeah.

Bobby Stevens: Well, that’s the thing

Dan Blewett: with the 300 pitch. The outcome is not certain. Like, it’s not like stealing third with a tenor on lead where they’re just like, we know you’re not going to throw and I’m just going to get their base for free 300 pitches. Like the outcome is not certain at all.

It’s probably a 60% chance he mashes it cause he’s a major leaguer and he knows the festival is coming, you know, like, but at the same time, that’s not a certain outcome. You could just miss [00:06:00] it and fly out. He has scored you’re right. The center fielder.

Bobby Stevens: Yeah. If you’re mad about it, then put them on first base.

Like the dudes, the dudes, the best hitter in the national league right now. If you’re not, if you’re afraid that he’s going to swing or you’re afraid that he might do some damage against your pits and put them on base, like whatever. That’s that’s um, that’s far down the list of quote unquote unwritten rules.

If there, if there are, if that is one, I mean, I’m not sure. Again, I never swung three. Oh. Like I I’ve never in my career swung three. Oh. But I also wasn’t up there like putting balls, you know, APO off the scoreboard three. Oh. So I’m better off on first base steel. And second than I am trying to hit, uh, you know, an opposite field bomb three.

Oh. But that’s me personally, so I would never swing three. Oh. But whatever you want them to take and give them the take sign manager. Well, I don’t what the hell?

Dan Blewett: Yeah. And that’s the thing, like the unwritten rule isn’t really towards the other team. Like I, like, I [00:07:00] grew up with thinking three O is just like an automatic take because you want to walk and get the free base.

It has nothing to do the other team. It was never about showing up the other team. It was just about the fact that, yeah. I mean, take your chances of walking here and then swing it, swing it. Three, one. But yeah, cause it’s risky. And like it’s a, it’s a strange move when you’re that far ahead. When you have a pretty high likelihood of getting your free base, but then just like take a cut.

But where, so where I would say that this would be disrespectful is if it’s a really mismatched youth game, because I’ve seen this before, you, you’ve probably been in this too, where you play, like, you know, you have a 14 year team and your team’s tiny and you’re just getting mashed by a team that’s really big for their age, whatever it is.

Right. It’s like a 10 to one, the third inning. And your pitcher is struggling throw strikes and he’s just throwing grenades up there and it’s three and Oh, and the dude just hits a wiffle ball home run. It’s like,

Bobby Stevens: yeah, come on, dude.

Dan Blewett: Like you’re swinging out of your shoes. Like when the swings, when the swings [00:08:00] change and it’s like, I’m playing wiffle ball against your team now.

Cause we’re so much better than you. That’s one. It gets a little. Yeah. But even then you don’t stop. I don’t know.

Bobby Stevens: I feel different. I think it changes even a little bit if basis aren’t loaded. Like if you walk them, he still gets an RBI. So like, why not swing plus money in baseball? Like you can’t. Yeah. I saw this argument a few times from, from guys and they’re like, look, one home, run in four RBIS.

Like if he’s in a shortened season like this, dude’s putting up numbers, he’s going to get paid potentially more like his art, but even as arbitration years are gonna are going to be affected by. I know it’s not one home run in four RBIS. Isn’t going to make your arbitration year, but it’s not hurting his argument.

So swing away, dude. You don’t want him to hit it? Walk him like or throw strike if it was a three, one count. No, one’s arguing. Like we’re mad that the pitcher sucked so bad in the first three pitches at this guy [00:09:00] decided to swing. Like he was ready to swing the first three pitches. Maybe they should have given us something better to hit or made a better pitch in the first three.

I agree. Yeah.

Dan Blewett: Let’s go to stealing. So when you have a big lead, when should you shut down the running game or should you ever let’s start with the star with major league baseball first. Cause it’s different than baseball.

Bobby Stevens: Yeah, it’s definitely different. I mean, once you get past, probably once you get past being up more than there are.

Innings left, if that makes sense. So if you’re in the fifth and you’re up, six runs or seven runs, I don’t know. There’s not really an exact science, I think,

Dan Blewett: cause it could be the eighth inning and there’s one inning laughed and you’re up to, obviously

Bobby Stevens: that’s a bad, yeah, I’m just, I’m trying to think of, it’s probably,

Dan Blewett: it’s probably six rounds if it’s like the eighth or ninth and it’s probably like eight runs if it’s in the middle of the game,

Bobby Stevens: if you’re up by more than once.

Yeah. If you’re up by more than one swing of the bat, seven, eight runs. Yeah. I mean, again, it’s [00:10:00] like use, it’s like by discretion, right? If the score is 15, the eight in the sixth, like, yeah. You’re probably still playing the game cause everybody’s swinging the bats really well. Yeah. If the score is 10 and nothing in the fifth, then you’re probably okay.

Calm it down. But I think on the score, I mean, there are unwritten rules that you’re not trying to embarrass Steeler team by. By taking an extra basis on a ball, you know, that’s a questionable, maybe like double or triple, like you get your standup double, just take it, you get your, you know, your routine base it.

You keep it. You’re not trying to take extra basis, but again, playing hard, like it’s hard to tell a guy not to play hard because the guy’s still trying to get you out. Like that’s the whole thing is hitting us so hard. It’s tough to tell you guys, like. Okay, take a pitch or guys that make their money steal on basis.

Like, Hey, don’t steal a base. Even those guys, a one nine to home plate. But I agree that like the unwritten rule is if you’re up by so many runs late later in the game, six [00:11:00] sitting on you just, you don’t take the extra base. You tone down your aggressiveness, you score on balls, your sports, supposed to score on you.

Take the, as you’re supposed to get. And then that’s it.

Dan Blewett: Yeah, that’s fine. Like you said, I don’t think you stopped playing. I mean, if, if you’re a guy that could make a double, a triple, like if you’re a Billy Hamilton and when a gap, I think you still take your triple, I don’t think you just pull up necessarily, but you can for sure, right?

Yeah. You don’t stop playing the game cause that’s insulting to like the whole, so let’s go to youth baseball. Uh, when do you shut down the, the, the running game? That youth baseball,

Bobby Stevens: when you’re, I mean, it’s almost like you have to. Gauge the other team, like you said, if you’re playing a team, that’s just, you’re just over matching them.

Like just go base the base. I think once, because there is a run limit, so it’s usually like 15 after three, 12 runs after four, 10 rounds after five something similar to that 12, 10, eight. So if you’re close to that or if you’re definitely, if you’re past the run rule, you [00:12:00] stop running completely. Like if you’re already past the run rule, stop running.

Now the one thing I do. I do understand when coaches are like, look, we’re trying to get to the run, roll to save pitching because it’s not, if it was just like a league game, stop running. If you’re in a tournament where some of these tournaments will run seven, eight games games to win it, I get trying to shorten the game and you, and you can’t argue with the coach trying to do that because you just can’t carry enough pitchers to get through seven, seven and end games in a three day span.

Like you just don’t have enough bodies. So if you can shorten a game to five, four or five innings here or there, you probably do it. I don’t have an issue with teams doing it. I have an issue with teams that are like stealing third, like taking home when they’re already up 15, 16, 17 runs on you, which happens a lot in youth games because defense is just not played very well.

Dan Blewett: Yeah. And if it’s, if the other team just like can’t [00:13:00] block the ball, And the ball just keeps going to the, to the backstop. You feel like you should take the base because that’s the way the game is played. But then again, you’re like, uh, let’s just stay put. And after awhile, I don’t know

Bobby Stevens: you stop them. If they’re usually stop them, stop the kids at third base.

Like if the ball gets passed, like, okay, we’re stay here. Like drive them in. I mean, there’s been situations where we’ve been winning. Like we’ve been winning by a lot or I’ll tell guys like, Hey, you know, We’re taking, we’re taking the work, either taking a pitch or like y’all sometimes, I mean, I remember being in a game where it’s like, they’re struggling so bad on the other team.

Like, look, we’re not swinging. Like if he strikes out, he strikes out we won’t count the stats. Okay. We’re just trying not to like, You know, you’re going to hit the ball 500 feet off this kid. Like he doesn’t even look like he’s pitched before. Let’s just let him strike you out. Whatever. And that, to me, that feels like disrespectful towards a game, but you’re trying to not embarrass like the other team as well.

Cause they are kids [00:14:00] in a college game or something. I would never suggest doing that. But there’s instances where that’s happened.

Dan Blewett: It just sucks when the game really breaks down. I don’t mind the team getting embarrassed. Like if you don’t like getting embarrassed, then. I don’t know how to take that feeling home in your pocket and change something up real quick.

Like I don’t, I don’t think we need it. I don’t, I don’t want to protect self esteem, but when the game just gets out of hand and messy, like bass, the bass is fine. Um, but yeah, the whole, like, I don’t know, not embarrassing. I’m thinking it’s kind of iffy for me. I think sometimes you need those look, look where we are.

This is where we are like, okay. That hurts

Bobby Stevens: some of the unwritten unwritten youth rules that I, that, that set me off, or like the three O fake bunt that sets me, that sets me off big time or, Hmm. Or like, well, let’s talk about the time, [00:15:00] time

Dan Blewett: limits, because that was a good point. You brought up, which is the a, a, you have to consider not just winning this game, but winning the tournament.

More as like the overarching thing. So when you you’re talking about, yeah, we’re going to steal up nine runs because we want to get to the 10 run rule or 12 run rule or whatever, and in this game, so we can save our pitching. That’s a move that makes sense. Given the whole scope of the tournament, it doesn’t make sense, given the scope of just the one game.

So you do have to think of it more of that way. If you only think of it, as far as this one game and a tournament, you’re just not playing the strategy correctly. So you’re right there that stealing up 10 rounds in a tournament. Where it potentially shortens the game saves you pitching. Unfortunately, that is okay.

Like, it just, it’s fine because you have to, again, you’re trying to win the tournament, not just the single game, um, and the time load. So let’s talk about the time when that’s, because a lot of these tournaments I’ve done pretty much all my time when it’s just, you know, an hour or 45 or two hours to 15, when it gets close, do you [00:16:00] forego mountain visits if you’re winning or do you not?

Bobby Stevens: I mean, it’s all about the timing of the mountain visit, right? Like, has the guy been out there for awhile and you need to, you need to go out there to give them a breather or do you, did you ask the umpire how much time we have left before we can start a new winning? And he says, you know, five minutes. I mean, a lot of times I’m powers will be good.

Like if it’s right on the cusp and it’s close game, they’re like, all right, we’ll run another one because like, that was quickening. But obviously like if the endings are taken long and you’re just out there stalling. Like you go take them out and visit and you make the empire come and get you. And you said nothing.

And then you wait one patient and go take the guy out and replace them with a new pitcher. Like there probably there are starting to be some rules about mound visits. And I think if we’re in a time limited thing, maybe they should implement like, look a mountain visit as soon as you pull them. Like, that’s it no talking.

Dan Blewett: Yes. I disagree with that because I still will have a mound visit [00:17:00] if it’s necessary. So we’re up to like, we, this is a situation we were in last summer, we were up two to one and like the seventh and it was definitely like, this is gonna be the last happening. And they did just like ax innings, but we got to run our on and it was like a time rental base.

And there was like some legit strategies that I need to talk to our pitcher about like how to approach this picture. This is a critical moment in the game. I’m taking a mountain visit and I’m going to talk to my guy and I’m gonna explain, this is a situation. This is how we’re going to hopefully prevent that time run from scoring.

I’m not, not having that visit just because, you know, some coach is going to, and the guy, other coach did complain about it to me. Like, I don’t care. This was a legit part of the game. This is

Bobby Stevens: place to be some kind of game. There needs to be something okay. There needs to be a different rule of Kansas. Be like, uh, no new winning after an hour 45, there needs to be like, okay, Once we start the fifth, like if we’re close, they say, okay, this is the last thing.

Like

Dan Blewett: not all, not all.

Bobby Stevens: Can’t be where you get to the bottom of the [00:18:00] fifth. And they’re like, well, if we finish sending in less than seven minutes, we’ll play another one. Like, cause then cause then you’re going to get guys at stall and they probably should stall. Like, that’s a good strategy. Honestly, if you have to waste seven minutes, it’s a, it’s a Bush league strategy, but it’s still a strategy.

Like we’ve been we’re talking strategy. About, you know, like you said, it’s a big moment in the game. Well, like a big moment in the game might be, I don’t want to waste my, this kid, the closing in when he could start the championship game for me. So I’m just going to stall. So I think there needs to be some more, there needs to be more constrained

Dan Blewett: baseball though.

That’s the problem, like

Bobby Stevens: baseball is not an either or time limits though. That’s the whole point, right? It’s like, there is no time limit on normal baseball. So if you’re going to implement it, then there needs to be rules. So guys can’t manipulate it. Like stalling, like passing the basketball around the court.

When there’s no shot clock, it’s like, Oh, we’re going to waste four minutes of a quarter just passing because the other team’s going to run it down our throat. Like there needs to be, there needs to be it’s different set of rules for games that are timed. I

Dan Blewett: think. Well, I think the empire just needs [00:19:00] to go out, just follow the guy out there and if he’s actually talking to his pitcher, great.

If he’s just guessing then gets a, Hey visits over, get back to your dugout.

Bobby Stevens: Because if he

Dan Blewett: came out during the busy, yeah. He came out during my visit. We were having a legitimate conversation about what to throw this, this hitter. He comes out to another one that coaches just like, well, you know, like you can tell, they’re just not saying anything relevant.

And the other thing about youth sports is almost no coaches actually have legitimate Mt. Visits. So, which is really bizarre. Cause there are definitely guys that used to play baseball who coached these teams. And yet I see almost no strategy visits. I was not to toot my own horn. I was one of the very few who actually took visits that weren’t just like our pictures.

We’re on 40 pitches of sinning. They were just like, nothing’s necessarily wrong, but it’s like second and third, two outs and a pretty decent hitters coming up. And I want to talk to them about how important it is to keep those runs from scoring and how we can do that. Even though it’s not a critical point in the game, like that’s a real thing.

[00:20:00] And no one is like that. No one has it as like that. Like, Hey, let’s just to remind you since it’s second and third and two outs in the third inning, this is really important to strand these two guys. So we gotta be really careful about not getting up a single, you have a base open. Maybe we start him off with something that’s not your fastball.

What is that going to be? Okay, maybe you’ll change up. And then if you miss, what are we going to come back with? Just having a conversation like that, where they can say, okay, this is how we’re going to pitch it. I’m just not going to try to get ahead with a fastball. Like I might normally you have, you have to remind kids the situation and those are pivotal because if you give those two runs on a silly pitch call in the third inning, they can come back to be the difference maker later on, you

Bobby Stevens: know, the solution clock stops on all Mt.

Visits. Boom. Done. Game clock stops and all mom does. That’s

Dan Blewett: I mean, that’s fine. I agree. That seems fine. Give the

Bobby Stevens: code like, uh, like soccer, like kick the ball, kick the ball out of bounds. Nope. Clock stops. We got injury time.

Dan Blewett: Stop. It’s time

[00:21:00] Bobby Stevens: we turn it. We just turn it. We just solved. I’ll use baseball problems or

Dan Blewett: every home plate umpire gets a, like a rabid raccoon and he just brings that with him.

You’re not talking to your pitch. Let’s go. Let’s go. Uh, how about, how about running on a no-no how do you feel about that?

Bobby Stevens: Absolutely not. No, no, no. I take that back. I take that back. I think that if, if it is a one run game, it’s okay. If it’s a one room, if it’s one, nothing in the seventh and you’re Billy Hamilton.

It’s it’s OK to, to been, to get on base

Dan Blewett: because that’s a game

Bobby Stevens: it’s I think it’s gotta be a one run game. I think even two runs, you got to swing the bat out of respect for the pitcher. You gotta swing the bat. Cause he’s, you know, you play that actually play the baseball game, but a one run game. I mean, if you’re on base, then anything can happen.

Yeah. So I think that’s, I think that’s where the line in the sand is if it’s five to nothing. [00:22:00] So my last year with the Orioles, it was. It was the top of the ninth. We’re playing the Braves. It’s actually pretty good story. We’re playing the Braves run around third, two outs. We’re down five to nothing. So it’s a top of the ninth we’re on defense and their guy lays down a bunt, gets an RBI, gets a hit, makes the game six to nothing now.

So. That’s an, that’s more of, that’s an unwritten rule, right? Like you swing the bat and you’re up five. We’re not trying to pass stats, get, you know, our third baseman’s playing way back, whatever he is. He’s Susie crosses first base. I’m playing second base. I’m in his face, yelling at him. Our manager comes out, he ends up getting tossed, yelling at him.

It’s like a bench clearing type thing. Um, And then three days later, I took my release from the Orioles and went to the Braves and I was on the same team. So the same team, I basically caused a little, uh, uh, a half benches clearing bra. I was in the locker room, just sitting [00:23:00] there, you know, bright and early coming back from, uh, you know, I think it was all star breaks.

I’m sitting there on the first one in there and just everybody that’s walking and it’s like, Oh, what’s up? I was like, Hey guys. How’s it going? I mean, the manager, their manager, and they’re a third base coach brought me in the office and they’re like, look, we agree with you. Like everybody, everybody kind of agree with you.

Like, that’s something you’re not supposed to do, you know, up five, nothing. But like, if we thought it was great, you know, I don’t feel like you’re out of place, but I felt a little out of place. Definitely. But that’s a, that’s a situation where you can’t, but you can’t give yourself an RBI single on that.

You have to swing the bat.

Dan Blewett: Yeah, I agree. My sense. Yeah, because it’s, it’s winning the game versus the in town is, is just to break up the no-no that’s those are two different things. Yeah. Uh, how do you feel about home run stuff? Nowadays guys are they’ve added their own little flare. They watch it out of the box a [00:24:00] little bit longer.

Bobby Stevens: I think my stipulation is as long as you round the basis at a, at a respectable pace, I don’t care what you do when you hit it. Like Sammy Sosa, every time you hit a home run that year, the span of years, he hits 60. I mean, he hops like three big hops out of the bed, out of the box. That’s very flashy, but he ran the base.

Like he ran around and touched home plate, whatever. It’s the guys, I think that hit it pimp, flip their bat and then take 30 seconds around the basis as if like we’re all going to sit here and watch that. Like it’s one thing to hit it, pimp it, and I’m sure pitchers are kind of like, I’m sure a lot of pitchers don’t notice the pimp job because they watch the ball.

Like they turn and see the ball fly. But then when you have, when you’ve got to watch him jog at a snail’s pace around the bases, I think that’s when you’re like turning the knife. It’s one thing that, it’s one thing to stab the guy with the home run. It’s another thing to [00:25:00] turn the knife and really emphasize it.

So I’m all for the, okay. Pimp. It hit a home run. Do whatever you bat flip it. But at least jogger on the basis, like give me a, give me a, a decent pace. That’s my, that’s my, uh, yeah.

Dan Blewett: Welcome compared to using football, comparing it to football, where they seem to celebrate on every play, which I think is excessive and unnecessary.

It’s like, do you have to really celebrate after every sack? Like every tackle, it seems unnecessary, but, um, the football celebrations are not about the other team. Like they’re clearly not about like rubbing it in that guy’s face. It’s just like the line men are celebrating together that they got a sack, right?

It’s a wide receivers celebrating that he scored a touchdown. It’s not like disrespecting you. It’s not like he’s running in taunting them. Like I get, there’s a penalty for taunting now, but they don’t really seem like that’s what they are. They’re just like a show of happiness or whatever. And in baseball it’s really become the same thing.

Obviously, there are [00:26:00] times when, you know, you throw it a guy later, he gets a bomb off of you and he. Pimps sit down and there’s clearly like a message, which is fine if it was like a tit for tat.

Bobby Stevens: I like it. I like it.

Dan Blewett: But most of these today, guys just get the home run and they stand there for a second.

They watch it and they throw their bat. And it’s not really, I mean, it’s just like the cancel they’re on the web. It’s just like Twitter as a pitcher. If you let it offend you, if you, if you make it about you, then it sure he gets fired up like Madison Bumgarner a couple of weeks ago where he just chirping at everybody.

And throwing like meatballs down the middle of the plate. It’s like, you just got to pitch better, dude, and stop worrying about the hitters, right? Like it’s not about you. They’re not, they’re not, they’re not out there to show up Madison Bumgarner. They’re just hitting dinners. I’ll ask them bumped partner.

Like, what are you going to do?

Bobby Stevens: A lot of these are situational though, because if you’re down 10 to one and you hit a solo shot and you pimp it, like, dude, Drop your bat and run because you guys are getting your ass kicked. Like there’s, I mean, they’re [00:27:00] definitely situational. If it’s tied and you hit the go head home run, or you want to flip your bat.

Cool. Like I think the pace around the basis is a staple. Like if you’re going to hit a home, run, keep a decent pace. But if you’re losing by a lot or you hit a home run that is meaningless to your team, there’s no need to, it’s not a me game. Like it’s really not an, it’s not an individual game where. You know, you hit a good shot, like in golf and you can celebrate it.

Like you’re losing by a lot. Dude, you got, your team is getting their ass kicked. Like there’s no need to put the guy behind you in jeopardy. Like if the pitcher takes it the wrong way, where he’s going to wear one in the back, which is an unwritten rule that doesn’t seem to get used as much is protecting your own players as pitchers.

Uh, I saw, I, I forget what it was. It was like a couple of weeks ago where a guy got hit. And he said something to the media, like, yeah, I wish I would have been, like, one of my guys would have protected me. And like, basically if you get hit, expect your pitcher to [00:28:00] retaliate in some form and hit somebody on their team, not maliciously, but like let them know.

Okay. We’re going to protect our guys. And you’re a pitcher. So, you know, I mean, I’m sure you’ve been in situations where guys in the dugout were like, somebody better protect me. Somebody better protects, you know, so, and so after getting hit twice in a game or something, so. I think, uh, that’s one that that’s one that never gets brought up because it’s violent.

I guess it’s more of a violence showing in a baseball field, but I’m all for the, you hit somebody, one of your guys get set. You hit my best player, like your best players gonna get good. And where one, at some point,

Dan Blewett: Hey,

Bobby Stevens: I got my pitch. I got my, if you put me on the mound, I’ll, I’ll do it. At great accuracy.

Dan Blewett: Well, there is something to be said. I mean, this is a big, a greater philosophy, but in one of the books I read recently, they were talking about how back in the day, even for simple things like you were held accountable.

So I can’t remember what time period this was [00:29:00] in history, but if you’re, if you’re building a house from something for someone and that house collapsed on them and it killed their son, Your son was going to be killed in retribution, or if it was a collapses and kills the owner, then you would be killed, um, some serious attention to detail tail.

If you’re making that, if you’re building that house, right.

Bobby Stevens: If you’re

Dan Blewett: building a house from me and I pay you 300 grand and I get to legally murder you, if it collapses and kills all my family members. You’re going to double check and dot all of your I’s and dot all of your lowercase. J’s and you’re going to cross all your T’s.

It’s going to be a very well built house.

Bobby Stevens: There’s no way I’m building a house. If that’s the rule. If that’s the law, I’m not building a house, but

Dan Blewett: you would figure out how to build it. I mean, houses don’t fall down

Bobby Stevens: very often. Yeah. I don’t disagree with the eye for an eye type thing though.

Dan Blewett: There used to be a thing.

I can’t remember why I feel like it was in Britain. I I’d have to look it up in the book, but. They said that when [00:30:00] a architect built a bridge, he would have to stay under the bridge for a couple of days after it was complete. Just to like, it’s gonna fall, bro. It’s on you. Good luck.

Bobby Stevens: Cause it’d be so scary.

I’d be so nervous.

Dan Blewett: So I don’t know that the tit for tat thing is a, is a legitimate deterrent. If it’s something serious, like if you hit my guy, I’m going to hit one of your guys. I mean,

Bobby Stevens: that’s a real thing. It holds guys accountable on your own team. Like,

Dan Blewett: yeah, dude, stop doing that. Stop doing that, Bob. I’m going to get hit.

That’s legitimate. Just like in

Bobby Stevens: college.

Dan Blewett: If we showed up, I remember I did this once I showed up, I didn’t have my practice shirt when I was a freshmen, just tried to stuff it in my bag and the coach didn’t make me run. He made everyone else on the team run. I had to watch them. It’s a great

Bobby Stevens: punishment.

Cause you’re

Dan Blewett: begging them to like, just let me do it. So let me run instead of them, they’re like, Nope. And you learn because they’re all mad at [00:31:00] you and the same thing. Yeah. So yeah,

Bobby Stevens: it’s huge in a locker room where, you know, you got a pitcher who’s who decides like, Oh, this guy, this guy showed me up a little bit, so I’m going to, I’m going to adopt the next hitter.

And then, I mean, someone like Mike trout, like, you know, he’s the one that’s going to get hit. Like if my trouts on your team, like he’s the one that’s going to get hit, they’re gonna make it a point. If the situation calls for it, like, Hey, two outs, nobody on my trial comes up. Like he steps in the box, knowing like this sob is going to get me hit.

Like I’m going to get pegged and it’s not fun. Like getting hit as even if they hit you in the ass, in the buttocks, it’s not fun. Like you, nobody wants to get pegged. So, and it’s an uncomfortable cause what if he doesn’t Peggy strikes you out because you’re nervous about getting hit. So there’s a bad at bat, all around pitchers.

So I think that covered pictures.

Dan Blewett: Yeah. So I think that covers all of the, um, interesting stuff. I, so I started listening [00:32:00] to, as we transition here into plate appearance stuff, I started listening to another baseball book recently called the Bronx zoo by Sparky Lyle. So I listened to Jim Bouton’s book again, all for which you talked about.

I listened to Jim bounds autobiography, which I found interesting, but not great. Um, and then I listened to, I started listening to the Bronx zoo, which was written by Sparky, Lyle, who was a manager in the Atlantic league, but

Bobby Stevens: legends.

Dan Blewett: Yeah. He wanted to sign on and it’s for the Yankees back in their heyday with like goose Gossage and all those guys.

Um, his book I’m gonna, I, I returned it about six hours in, it was just like, Just an old man, like talking about stuff that happened in baseball, which was very different somehow from Baltimore, which was a guy talking about what happened in baseball, but just from a much different perspective, I don’t know.

It was, it was interesting, but it was just like, I’ve heard this before. It it’s just an old guy talking about how he pits today in griping about certain players, but it just like had no, [00:33:00] it just lacked a character to it that boutons booked it because Bouton stood for a lot of things and he had a lot of strong opinions.

And they were unique opinions back then. But anyway,

Bobby Stevens: I like, I like Sparky Lyle too. I mean, having, having met him and been around him for one season as a man, he was a manager Ameritas. She’s always at the home game, shaking hands, signing autographs, really good guy. Really nice guy, like always in a good mood.

Um, I don’t know how he, I don’t know how you would be as an author, but as a person who’s really good guy.

Dan Blewett: Yeah. It’s hard to say what. What it was that made it kind of flat for me. But I think part of it was just like, I don’t know, with, with ball four, he is constantly a champion of like player rights of minority rights.

Like he spoke out for his black teammates a lot. Um, and there was just like a different, he just had a very different point of view and pointing out lots of stuff that was wrong [00:34:00] about the game and things in, he should. Systemically change in baseball. And none of that stuff was like part of, uh, the Bronx zoo.

So I dunno, I just was like, I could listen to play by play of this 78 season or not like, you know, either way, but ball four was like, it was like a real, I don’t know, more of a, I don’t know how to describe it, but it was different.

Bobby Stevens: Could be the a, what do they call it? What do they call the guy that writes the book for someone.

Like an audit, not like straight somebody’s autobiography. I mean, it could’ve been the ghost writer, bad ghost writer.

Dan Blewett: Well, yeah. Yeah. Well, in Jim Bouton’s book was co-written like, he wrote a good amount of it, but he had a co-editor named Lenny Schechter. So they were close friends when he checked her was a reporter and they became friends from him coming in the clubhouse and interviewing people.

Um, so they did the book together. But more of it was written by Boulton and it was like [00:35:00] shaped and edited and like made into a hole by Schechter. Whereas, uh, that was probably not as much the case with, with the Bronx zoo. It was probably more of like actually ghost writing and speaking of which I have a somewhat pending tentative ghost writing

Bobby Stevens: thing, really for my book, for my autobiography, uh, I don’t

Dan Blewett: think you’d be able to pay me enough.

Bobby Stevens: Not even close.

Dan Blewett: It’s a big, it’s a big undertaking, but it’s a four or four friends. And so that’s maybe going to happen sometime in the future. He’s currently audio showing all of his life stories so that I have, that will be really interesting, but that didn’t use to come to fruition because he’s just in that stage now where we’ve got to like, see what, what he’s got and then I would sort through it and write it.

So.

Bobby Stevens: Really taken out a lot of odd jobs nowadays [00:36:00] casting for an aerospace company, right? Arrows, arrows, aerospace company, web design, the best baseball podcast on the web. Then our podcast,

Dan Blewett: lots of things. I’m starting to get more clinic inquiries. So I got a couple. Couple of clinic inquiries, inquiries recently for softball.

So see if some of those get going again when on, and then I’ll obviously put on my own as well, but yeah,

Bobby Stevens: so you’ve put, you’ve become the, you’ve become the face of online softball coaching no longer are you no longer? Are you a baseball pitching guy? You are the face of online softball coaching. Well,

Dan Blewett: the softball industry for the throwing.

There’s one other guy who does throw, I’m not gonna mention his name because he’s a huge dickhead. He’s a huge ticket. Um, so I’m the other one does it, but I’m the only one that actually puts out content. [00:37:00] So I actually have lots of YouTube videos for stop throwing mechanics, which is just something it’s just like systemically never been taught.

Well, I mean, they just taught the risks, flips and the things and all the new ones, baseball science of pitching mechanics, which has come a long way, has not trickled down into softball. It just hasn’t. And so everyone’s still teaching the drills. They learned as a young kid or whatever when they were coaching or playing, whatever.

So even high level players in D one softball throat, terribly, many of them throw terribly, but the field is so small. You get away with it. You don’t get away with it and baseball. That’s the fundamental difference. If you don’t learn to throw properly, you will never play shortstop and even a varsity level.

Certainly not in college. Certainly not in college, certainly not in pro ball, but there’s a division one players playing third base. Terrible throwing mechanics, but they’re like physical girls, so they can still get over to first base at 55 miles per hour. And that’s good enough to do the job essentially, but obviously you through 65, but you can make a lot [00:38:00] more plays even at the D one level.

So it’s a really interesting thing. It’s just like, it just has not trickled down and no one puts out stuff on the web except for me. Um, so that’s kind of where we’re at. I don’t know. It’s just a niche that needed to be filled. So. But it’s nice to help people because that’s something that’s like very rudimentary that can help people a lot.

That’s why I like doing it. The softball girls have a lots of gain. There’s lots of them that are like, I can only play second base. I wish I could throw better. I can only play second base. I’d love to play the left side of the infield or the outfield, but they can’t because they don’t have the arm and no one knows how to teach their mechanics.

So it’s just like a. See them change a lot as players and they get so much more other out of the experience when they can play other positions. Cause now they have an arm to make a throw from shortstop or make a throw from the outfield. So it’s fundamental.

Bobby Stevens: Can you say that? Because the last few weeks I moved our, our teams, my youth programs moving into a new facility, um, in Rosemont, Rosemont dome it’s right [00:39:00] next to the Chicago bandits, uh, softball team, which is there’s only four NPF.

National pro fast pitch teams in the U S and abandoned. There have been like an inaugural team, whatever, but this year they’re doing like a bubble league. Uh, I think it’s called athletes unlimited. They, you, um, so a lot of the girls were there working out before the league, the league actually started yesterday, I think was opening day.

Um, but yet a lot of girls, they are working out like professional softball players. It’s like a pool of 60 girls and they draft teams and they just play like this bubble league, essentially four teams. Whatever. Uh, and it’s funny you say that because some of these girls are really, really good athletes.

Like you could just tell when you watch them throw, I mean, they just look like straight athletes and then some of them throwing mechanics, it’s unorthodox to say the least, it’s like, it’s like not a very strong, uh, like I’m trying to decipher like what positions these micro, these girls might play as I was basically putting my weight room together.

So I was right by the batting [00:40:00] cages to do watch the girls like. Some of the girls warming up on the side, like down the line and you see some of the girls swinging the bat and some of them are hitting the ball real hard. And it’s fun. It’s fun to watch softball because there’s different philosophies on softball hitting.

Like, if you’re a slap header, you’ve got some speed. And then there’s the girls that have some power, but then you’re, I watch them like do a little bit of defensive practice. And like you said, the three, it was a wide range of throwing mechanics and you really don’t. Get that, uh, with baseball, like 99% of the guys in the big leagues, like the best players in the world have good throwing mechanics and very strong arms.

Like with the saw, I wouldn’t say that percentage is nearly the same. I mean, if there were 15 girls working out, I can picture three or four that had mechanics. We’re like, like I, I was drawn to their mechanics cause it was unorthodox. So it’s just, it’s, you’re probably right. I mean, [00:41:00] if that’s the professional level, right?

Like 60 of the best players in the world, cat Asherman’s in the league, like girls that you would recognize from the Olympic team, it’s probably very rampant throughout college baseball and definitely youth, youth softball. I’m sorry, college softball, new South, you softball like bad mechanics. It

Dan Blewett: has to get better at the high level.

I’m sure. But I saw some like mid tier B, one games mid and lower tier is here in the Northern Virginia area. And those are, you know, like a team like Georgetown, just any of those teams that are probably like one 50 RPI, 200 RPI, something like that. And half that, half the team has what you’d say. We’re like we’re mechanics that they could not play D one baseball.

If they were a boy, essentially, I think that’s a decent analogy. Like they, they wouldn’t be able to play with those mechanics. It wouldn’t work, but they work at the softball field because it’s just so much smaller. But it’s about half, I mean really half a more like major glaring throwing flaws at the D one level, [00:42:00] but just their physical nonsense.

And of course the more key positions like the shortstop, not as much like third base, they’re getting the ball. So, so close to, it’s not a long throw like it does in baseball, they’re charged up so much. It’s often, or like in their glove really fast. Obviously second basement outfielders have better arms, but you know, catcher.

Catch her first, third, and second, pretty consistently very iffy arms. And you wouldn’t think as much about catcher, but catch her too. Yeah. And then I’ll feel kind of iffy.

Bobby Stevens: Yeah. That’s interesting that you say that now I’m thinking back watching these profiles. I mean, these are the 60, probably the top 100 softball players in the world, all in one spot.

And I saw, like I said, 12 to 15 of them working out daily and. There were some noticeable like arm, you know, glit hitches. There’s just some, just look like they would, they weren’t [00:43:00] fluid enough to like how you think they would be.

Dan Blewett: Yeah. Well, and, and, and the big thing that I talk about that no one talks about on the web is that some sidearms should be the number one throwing method in the infield for softball players, like salt Lake sidearm, just like it is in baseball, like sign them is like the default throw for an infielder in baseball.

No, when you’re in college or pros, like why would you throw it over the top when you got it? And you’ve got plenty of time, you’re gonna throw it side arm, or if you have a short throw, that’s the quicker one, right? It’s in your hand, it’s out. If you’re charging it, it has to be side on or below sidearm.

And so fall is, everything is fast. So fast is not. Get it and go over top because you can’t do that. And if you’re charging it, you can’t get your shoulder to actually throw over the top. That’s why no one throws over the top. When they’re running, you can’t actually tilt your shoulders. So that’s why no matter, even if you’re running slow, Oh, they always throw side on our below.

Um, but almost no girls throw sidearm in softball either as infielders, which is really strange. It’s cause they don’t teach it. They think it’s ineffective. [00:44:00] Like all the, like again, it’s like the history of softball coaching. It’s like sidearm is some devil that only, it seems like the highest levels they get taught it very well.

Everywhere else. Younger. They’re like, don’t dumb. So I don’t, I’m just not good. It’s like they throw a wild, so yeah, they throw a wildly because they don’t get tired and they don’t practice it. Like everything’s bad if you don’t practice it. So,

Bobby Stevens: yeah.

Dan Blewett: That’s the thing that I think that makes the most sense for the sport to change like softball.

If every infield infielder learned for a sidearm, it would fit the game much more. Cause it’s a game of short groves. So even in the outfield, cause when you chargeable as an outfielder, you’re often getting it pretty close to the infield worth, then you have to like throw it a second. So a third you’re like, Ugh, here you go.

Anyway. So let’s let’s transition. Um, you want to talk about seeing pitches for plate appearance? You said the Cubs, uh, had something going on while you fill us in a little bit.

Bobby Stevens: Yeah. So the, uh, I had a dad sent me an article talking about the Cubs, how the Cubs are seeing, I think it was like [00:45:00] 4.2, two pitches per plate appearance.

I’m not sure if it was this year or last year. Um, he was just kind of, he was kind of asking like how important is that? Uh, like it didn’t seem to make a difference with the team last year. They just struggled, hitting all around. Like, so what is, what is different with the C four pitches and it an at bat one 10?

Like if you’re struggling, hitting, you’re struggling, hitting, um, And I also think it’s a, it’s probably an overrated stat. How many pitches somebody, but does it like no, if it doesn’t correlate to being a good hit or seeing a lot of pitches, it just, it could correlate to being a patient hitter, a good correlate to being, uh, like a pesky hitter where you’d fall in balls off, but I don’t necessarily think it correlates to being a good hitter.

I think this is what his dad was asking. Like, How important is seeing pitches in an at bat. And I think at the professional level, it’s probably more important strategically to see a few pitches, um, based on where you’re hitting the lineup based on, you [00:46:00] know, what you know about the pitcher, but at the youth level, like college high school, I think you have to, as, as a hitter, who’s, who’s younger who probably doesn’t have the back control and the.

And the experience of seeing breaking pitches or pitches of slower speeds. I think you seeing pitches is totally overrated. If you get a good pitch, your first, the first pitch of you’re up at like that’s the one you needed to take and put a good swing on. So I’m not sure what a hit, I’m not sure if it correlates to being a good hitter, but I think at the younger levels being aggressive early in the count and not getting as deep in the count is more beneficial as a hitter.

And I would, I always emphasis like, look, you’d be ready to hit the first pitch. Cause the first pitch might be right. That’s when you see. And usually you see, I mean, you teach a lot of young, young pitchers. I mean, there’s a lot of guys that will get ahead first pitch fastball, and then go right to off-speed stuff for the majority of the rest of that.

But so this was coming from high [00:47:00] school dad. And my point to him was that I’m not emphasizing seeing pitches. To him until he’s comfortable hitting all types of pitches, which high school kids usually are not, they’re not used, they’re not comfortable hitting curve balls, sliders change ups. So I don’t know.

But when you had your Academy, did you guys emphasize seeing pitches? Was there, was there, is that ever talked about, I mean, it was talked about a little bit in pro ball, but not as much as maybe it’s emphasized now

Dan Blewett: talk about that. Walks are valuable. They’re as valuable as getting a single. And being on base is the number one thing you can do to help your team.

So the most valuable thing you can do, essentially from like a run expectancy, like perspective is not making out. It’s the best thing you can do. It doesn’t matter what you do just don’t make an out, is the best thing to help your team score. So if that’s a walk, so be it. So we emphasize being selective.

And getting a pice of drive. But the caveat is if the first pitch is right down the middle, hit it. [00:48:00] Like, you gotta just know what your pitch is and then get it. So really it’s just like anything else. You’re just like hunting for, like you’re digging in a sandbox and you know that there’s like six different little items, like little treasures in your sandbox.

And you know, you want the car? Well, just, if you take one scoop and the car is there, you’re done. You don’t want the other ones. If you have to scoop up all the other ones first and the cars last. So be it, you know, it’s kind of the same thing, you know? So I wrote an article about, should you twin and swing at the diverse pitch?

Because I think in the dugout, sometimes teams get raw and this was a talking point with me. One day they got, one of the players was coming in like the third day and he’s like, let’s go guys, like he’s throwing, he’s getting ahead early. We’ve got to swing early. We got it. Get ready to swing on that first pitch.

I’m like, why, why did he swing on the first pitch? You’ve no idea if it’ll be a wallet Stripe. No idea. And if it is a strike, you don’t know if it will be your strike. Maybe it’s on the outer corner. Maybe it’s on the inside. Like you don’t know until you see the pitch. So don’t like make an assumption that you’re [00:49:00] going to swing at diverse pitch.

If you assume that you’re in a swing in the first place, what does it hit or do they just end up being on the front foot? Because they’re ready to swing at it, no matter where it is, they over commit to it. So I don’t know. What’s your take on that idea?

Bobby Stevens: I think the hitter’s mentality is. Yeah, like I’m swinging, swinging, swinging until I recognize the pitch.

I agree is not a, not a hitters pitch. So I know what you’re saying. It’s came off as like, don’t be ready to swing. Like I think you need to be anticipating like I’m swinging at every pitch, regardless of, uh, regardless of where it is. And then once I recognize it, I choose to take, or I choose to let give my swing off.

Um, but I think that like, When you, when you emphasize, like we need to see more pitches, we need to, you know, we need to get deeper and counts. The first sentiment for a younger player is okay, I’m just going to start taking pitches. And then if the guy isn’t [00:50:00] is on his game, he’s going to be Oh one Oh two to every single guy.

And then it becomes nearly impossible to string together, hits or have good innings when the pitcher just keeps getting ahead, like statistically numbers wise. Oh, one is it’s tougher to hit then one. Oh, like or Oh, Oh two is a really tough one to tough count when you’re behind in the count, it’s tougher to hit.

And when you tell a kid like, Hey, you need to see more pitches. Like I need you to see more pitches. Like I need you to see and swing at better pitches. I don’t need you to necessarily, it’s a misnomer

Dan Blewett: pitches. Exactly. Because you don’t want the kid to then take a pitch on the outer half that he could drive.

That’s the problem, right? It becomes a, it becomes a. A loose interpretation for them of like, Oh, coach wants me to take stuff. So you take the first pitch right down the deck. And then you’re like, was that good? No. Like at any time, at any time, including three hours, that’s right down the middle. Maybe you should swing.

So yeah, I think that, I think it is, it becomes difficult. That’s what I just stressed to them was like, look, if you get your pitch, [00:51:00] like, what is your pitch? Okay. Inner half, if you get your inner half fastball, it doesn’t matter what counted is. Don’t miss it. Be ready to drive it. Be ready to hit it. But yeah, like the whole idea of like, I want you to take pitches.

It’s just really just hopefully means be selective and don’t swing anything. Borderline. If you’re going to take a fast ball for a strike, make sure it’s the outer third fastball. You probably couldn’t hit that hard. Like take that one. That’s okay. Don’t take the one. That’s right down the middle. Don’t think the one that’s outer half or inner half, like put a good swing on those, but take anything that’s on the peripheral of the plate.

Or that’s a borderline ball and that’s the problem that kids get into is they just swing at borderline pitches that they just get themselves out on.

Bobby Stevens: That’s confusing. It’s confusing to a kid, right? Because like, Hey, see more pitches means I need to take pitches so I can see them. It’s like, they’re not gonna interpret that as like, it’s okay to swing early.

If it’s good, you need to tell them that like, you need to be very literal with how [00:52:00] you’re emphasizing, like approach when you’re hitting. And the first step is kind of identifying what a good approach is. You know, what are the pitches we’re looking for? Fast ball, almost an a hundred percent of the time.

Okay. We’re looking for a fast ball. We’re looking for an outer half outer, outer, two thirds. We’re just, we’re taking the inner third or we’re attacking everything else. So like set your eyes there. But if I’m telling a kid like, Hey, we need to see more pitches. Like. This guy just had a four pitch inning.

Well, he threw four balls right over the platelet. We just didn’t get hits or do we swing at four balls in the dirt and, you know, ground back to the pitcher, like there’s a difference. There’s a, there’s a definitely a fundamental difference in how you see pitches in a game. And at the big league level there’s scouting reports.

There’s percentages like Kyle Hendricks starts, starts, right. He’s off with 40% change ups. Like, so sit on a change up. Like if you get it. Take a good hack at it. You know, if you don’t get, if you don’t get it, we’re going to take it. Whereas in the youth level, [00:53:00] we’re looking for a fast ball, hopefully over the fat part of the plate, swing at it.

Like it’s a different mindset. So you can’t really just tell a kid, Hey, I need you to see more pitches go up there with that mindset because they’re going to, they’re just not gonna know what to do. They’re gonna have to strike it out or walking if the guy’s

Dan Blewett: wild. Yeah. It’s really just like understanding what it looks like.

What the trajectory is that a pitcher’s hand. That results in a pitch that’s borderline, and the best hitters are better at taking the ones that have the handle. It’s like, it’s going to be a borderline ball strike. They don’t want to hit that anyway. They don’t want to hit it cause they’re gonna get out.

So they’re going to take it. So as soon as they identify that pitch is going to be a borderline strike, they take. And now they’re not swinging anything on the edges where the pitchers at the advantage. And then because they don’t swing at those some, a larger percentage of those. And we’re going to go for balls.

So now they’re seeing more pitches and they’re not swinging at bad pitches. So that’s a double whammy of improving their odds of getting a hit. And that’s, I think would be, we’ll go for like Joey Votto is [00:54:00] not swinging on pitches on the bone, the black, unless it’s two strikes and he’s gonna try to file it off.

You know, he’s not swinging at a pitch on the black, on the first pitch like ever. Right.

Bobby Stevens: It’s a very good, no, they’re very good hitters. As opposed to someone who’s the very good swinger, or if you throw something in their swing, like they’re, they’re going to probably do a lot more damage to the pitch then maybe a Joey Votto.

But Joey battle is such a, such a better hitter that he’s going to do damage on more pitches.

Dan Blewett: Okay. Interesting. So let’s, let’s finish with your, your weird date, your weird statement on Twitter. You had some, I didn’t even understand what you’re talking about. It felt like a ramble, which.

Bobby Stevens: Which weird statement are you talking about?

Uh, I have some money.

Dan Blewett: The weird statement that what’d you say?

Bobby Stevens: Oh, I said, well, I can’t pull it up on my phone right now, but I said, I said, at what point is being a good [00:55:00] baseball player, like where does that rank as far as, uh, being recruited by, you know, Kyle as a college coach, um, My overall point was that we don’t emphasize being good at the game of baseball.

Like so many of the nuances of baseball. Like I, it came from a discussion I was having with a coach of mine, where we were talking about our 17 or 17 new team. Excuse me, our 16 new team. Who’s probably doesn’t have like a top end division, one talent. On the team, but they, they were very good baseball players.

All the kids knew where they were supposed to be on the field. Like the, like when you watch a pregame with them, it’s very crisp. Like everything is, everything is fluid. They just don’t have like the top, you know, 88 to 90 arm. They don’t have the guy that runs a six, five. They don’t have the guy in batting practice.

He hits the ball 400 feet. So [00:56:00] my point was like showcases. And this has kind of a, been a big thing on Twitter amongst the. The Jeff Fry, she gone movement is like, you pay a little off for showcases to showcase individual tools and talent, but nobody like there is no way to showcase being a really good baseball player.

And I had a conversation with last week. I did one on one meetings with coaches or not coaches, my players.

Dan Blewett: I was like, I was talking to the wrong mic the whole day. Damn,

Bobby Stevens: just a, I heard you a

Dan Blewett: good guy on YouTube. Just pointed out. Dang it well better to better sound now. Sorry. Continue on. No,

Bobby Stevens: say it. I had a conversation with one of my 17 new pitchers, who was, he was like six and one this summer with like a sub one era.

But he’s, he asked me if he should do a showcase and then before I could respond to him, he goes, I’m not really a showcase pitcher. He’s like, they’re going to look at me. And I throw he’s like 80, 82. He’s like, I’m not gonna stand out [00:57:00] at a showcase. He’s like, I’m more, I stand out more like when you watch me in the game.

And I, and I agreed with him. I said, you like, he’s a very good pitcher, but being a very good pitcher necessarily, doesn’t get you to the next level that maybe you should go to, or the next level that you aspire to go to, because it’s a lot of what, how good is your individual tool? Like there’s a lot of guys we play with that have really good tools that are terrible baseball players, just instinctually, fundamentally bad baseball players.

So my overall tweet was just kinda. Kind of just throwing a question out to anyone that follows her or reads anything that I would tweet out is like at what point is being a good baseball player, like factor into when you’re recruiting someone mainly at the division one level, because there’s plenty of good baseball players at a lower level that would take a division one player spot with lesser tools.

Dan Blewett: Uh, I don’t know that I have a good [00:58:00] answer for that, but. I don’t know. I

Bobby Stevens: think you need

Dan Blewett: a requisite. You need a requisite amount of tools, obviously. Like you’re not going to be 80, 82 pitching in the sec. Like we all know that, right. Um, there’s an occasional outliers, but there’s still, you know,

Bobby Stevens: like there’s the basement, right?

There’s a floor for your tools. And I guess at what point do you factor in like the kid being a good baseball player? So like, if you’re a, if you’re a shortstop who runs a seven, Oh, and you hit 85 off the tee and you throw 85 across the diamond, but you’re a, you know, you’re a state champion. Like you’re a lead off guy on a best team.

Like you are the leader of the team, but then you’ve got the shortstop who runs a six, five throws, 95 hits a hundred off the tee. Like that kids clearly got better tools and bigger upside as a player, but he’s a, he’s a bad baseball player. Like he takes [00:59:00] PTs bad at bats. He, he can’t make routine plays like he’s never in the proper position.

He’s not controlling the game as a shortstop. Like at what point do you take the guy with the lesser tools? Who’s a better baseball player. And I don’t, I don’t know if there’s like a, like a ma you know, if you’re measuring tools, like if the guy has this far below and anyone that’s watching can see me, I’m a little bit below.

My hands, like, do you take the better? Do you take the better baseball players, a slightly lower, like at what point where I’m going down on the totem pole of players does being a good baseball player. Not Trump, just better tools overall. I don’t know. I always just throwing it out there and we were just BSN

Dan Blewett: Maybe we’ll have Mahlon vaccines that help you become a better baseball player. Just a quick injection was a Dan

Bobby Stevens: Dan suites. Brooklyn was on our game though that while you were on vacation,

Dan Blewett: you leave Brooklyn out of this. Leave her out.

Bobby Stevens: Sweden, the hell out of the coach, Dan Blewett [01:00:00] Twitter handle.

Dan Blewett: Um, these are uncorroborated statements.

This is fake news. Um, well thanks for listening. We are back here, live on Friday. Um, maybe we have a guest. Maybe we don’t. It’s a wild card. You never know.

Bobby Stevens: Okay. What more do you need that you come here to listen to us ramble about dumb, dumb crap, and this passes your time. So Bob, you’re the best baseball podcast.

Dan Blewett: So you’re moving to a new home next week. Is that right? Two

Bobby Stevens: Monday, Monday. How

Dan Blewett: long do you anticipate the move taken? Do you guys have furniture picked out or what are you doing now?

Bobby Stevens: No, no, no. There’s no, I have, first of all, I have no say in furniture choices, rightfully so because mine would be secondhand.

Hmm. Uh, we’re doing some work cause it needs to be painted. Floors need to be done. There’s all kinds of work that I’ll need to be doing before we actually move in. So when we, when you come to [01:01:00] Chicago for our live podcast and from the mag mile on Michigan Avenue, Um, maybe I’ll be in the house. Maybe I won’t be, probably won’t be,

Dan Blewett: which is in the works, which is in the works.

So we’ll have some, we’ll get all, we’ll get a guest from local. We’ll get all, maybe we’ll do it from like alluded store. This is what we’ll do from like a, the burned out shell of like the Apple store and Michigan Avenue. Wouldn’t that be lovely.

Bobby Stevens: Boarded up their

Dan Blewett: back. Boarded up. Alright. Bob, send us officer.

Bobby Stevens: Thanks for listening. We’ll see everybody here on Friday, normal time, nine Eastern, eight central. So be there.