Someone once told me that the definition of a “Chef’s Special” was “the stuff they didn’t sell yesterday.” So here you have it, the baseball version of a chef’s special: Interesting things that didn’t get used in previous columns. Bon appetit (or, as we say in the Midwest, eat up, dude.)
Good hitters get calls. In other words: If you’re a rookie pitching to Albert Pujols, don’t nibble; the calls will go his way. The same is true in reverse; a rookie hitter shouldn’t take a borderline two-strike pitch against Justin Verlander. Odds are, the rookie will get rung up.
I’ve decided to buy a stopwatch and record how long it takes pitchers to deliver to home plate. (I’ve also decided to lose 10 pounds, but that hasn’t happened, either.) Anyway, if you want to impress the people around you at the next Royals game (and who doesn’t?), pull out a stopwatch and time how long it takes a pitcher to deliver to home plate. Start timing when the pitcher makes his first move out of the stretch and stop timing when the ball hits the catcher’s glove. Anything over 1.3 seconds means the catcher has very little chance to throw out a baserunner. And remember that next time you look at a catcher’s percentage of baserunners thrown out; did the pitcher give him a chance?
If you don’t own a stopwatch but still want a vague idea of how quickly a pitcher is delivering to the plate, watch his front foot. The pitcher can’t throw the ball until that foot is planted, so the longer that takes, the slower he is. Take Blake Wood for example: He was slow to the plate because he picked his foot up and rotated his hips back toward second. That gave Wood more velocity but allowed the baserunners to rob him blind.
Pitchers have to choose between being quick to the plate and a windup that results in better location or develops more velocity and movement. Of course, if the baserunner never runs, pitchers don’t face that dilemma. A baserunner who consistently stays put allows a pitcher to throw with more velocity. That baserunner also allows the pitcher to mix in his breaking stuff because the pitcher’s not worried about getting the ball to the plate quickly.
If you do have a stopwatch with you, time the catcher. It’s called “pop to pop”; start timing when the ball “pops” in the catcher’s mitt and stop timing when the ball “pops” in the middle infielder’s glove — 2.0 seconds is average for a major-league catcher, 2.1 is slow and 1.9 is quick. Salvador Perez has recorded a 1.8.
As you can see, one tenth of a second is a big deal. A base stealer might take off because he can beat a combined time (pitcher and catcher) of 3.3 seconds. If the runner slips or the catcher makes a great transfer or the pitcher is unusually quick to the plate, everything changes. It’s a fine line, and nobody knows for sure what’s about to happen — they’re just playing the odds.
One of the most effective techniques for shutting down a base stealer is to have the pitcher hold the ball in the stretch position. Next time you’re looking for something to do at a game, count how long the pitcher holds the ball in the set (one thousand one, one thousand two, etc.). If the pitcher stays in the set position for the same amount of time on every pitch, he’s letting the runner get a good jump. If he varies the set, he’ll disrupt the runner’s timing, but he also splits his concentration and may throw a lower-quality pitch. (Always something, isn’t it?)
Here’s another one: A pitcher who takes a deep breath in the set position is probably about to throw the ball to the plate. Sports psychologists often advise a “cleansing breath” before the pitch to enhance relaxation and focus. A runner who sees that breath can extend his lead.
We’ll see how far I get, but this season I’d like to bring fans the same information that both teams have on hand. Both teams know how fast the pitchers are to the plate, both teams know how fast the baserunners are. I pointed this out to Royals first base coach Doug Sisson; both sides know who is capable of stealing a base — the only people in the dark are the fans. Doug replied, “And if they’d bring a stopwatch, they’d know.”
Speaking of which: Apparently, everybody knows how veteran hitters will be pitched. Take Derek Jeter, for example. Jeter likes to “inside-out” the ball (hit the inner half), so everybody jams him. Opposing pitchers don’t want him to get his arms extended and drive the ball the other way with power, so they come inside, force him to pull his hands in and flip the ball the other way without much pop. Teams are trying to force Jeter to hit the ball weakly to right field and set up their defenses accordingly. If Jeter drives the ball to right, the pitcher probably made a mistake and left a pitch out over the plate. If Jeter hits the ball between the left fielder and the foul line, that’s probably another mistake made with an off-speed pitch that allowed Jeter to pull the ball away from the defense.
Jason Kendall said he knew exactly how everyone intended to pitch him. The outfield would be swung around to the opposite field and pitchers would take the same approach against Kendall that they did against Jeter. Kendall said the only mysteries were how good the pitcher’s stuff would be that night and whether the pitcher would hit his spots.
When a new hitter walks to the plate, watch the outfield shift and you’ll have a very good idea of how the pitcher will go after the batter.
It might not be why the Royals got him, but signing third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff puts pressure on Mike Moustakas. That’s the reality of big-league life; there’s always someone waiting to replace you. Smart players keep that in mind and work hard. Young players sometimes need to be reminded of that. It’s great that you got here, but work hard if you want to stay.
After watching how quickly players come and go in a big-league clubhouse, I’ve developed more respect for anyone who manages to stay in the major leagues for years. Whatever numbers he puts up, a player’s doing something right if he convinces a major-league team to keep him on the roster for a decade.
Speaking of the major leagues: It may be irritating to fans, but it’s considered bad form for a leadoff hitter to be waiting at the plate for an inning to begin. Leadoff hitters want to slow the game down. That gives their pitcher a chance to rest. Hitters are supposed to stay near the on-deck circle until the umpire calls them. Waiting at the plate for the inning to begin is considered a rookie mistake.
If you see a lopsided score in the first game of a series, don’t be surprised. Even though both teams have advanced scouting reports, seeing the opposition live changes things. Teams are constantly making adjustments to what the hitters are doing right now, so the pitching and defensive alignments improve as a series goes along.
Russ Morman and I were talking about my hit-by-pitch experience last season (you can still see the video), and I told Russ that several of the players made a good point: It took guts to get hit by a pitch, but would I hang in there the next night if the pitcher came inside again? The answer is: I’m not so sure. Russ revealed that he’d been hit in the head by Roger Clemens when they were both in AA ball. I told Russ that explained a great deal.
Kevin Seitzer told me about getting hit in the face by a pitch. I asked what his last thought was before getting hit, and he said, “That’s not a slider.” Here’s the bottom line: It’s easy to say a hitter should get hit by a pitch (I have) when you haven’t had the same experience. I’ve been hit by pitches over 50 times, but never suffered anything worse than a bruise. I might feel differently about hanging in there if I’d taken a shot to the head.
The Royals’ new pitching coach, Dave Eiland, was Kevin Costner’s body double in the movie “For Love of the Game.” (Now you don’t need to watch “Entertainment Tonight.”)
OK, that’s it, I think I’ve used all my leftovers. Next week I’m sure I’ll make a hash of something.
Dave Parre
1 year, 4 months agoAs always Lee, I love your style and appreciate your body of work. Now that I’m in the Seattle area I look forward to being that Royal fan attending the games at Safeco Field. And, I’ll have some insight that the Mariners fan don’t have. Judging the Royals, The Book of Morman, and now the Chef’s Special. Looking forward to this season!Man, I love this game!
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoDave: Thanks, glad you’re enjoying the web site. I’m right there with you; these little details make the game come alive. It means there’s always something to watch, no matter what the scoreboard says.
And getting to a know one team in depth makes it even better. Every game is like another episode of a soap opera; what will happen to these familiar characters tonight?
Make sure you wear some Royals stuff when they come to Seattle. The TV guys look for that.
Dave: There are a bunch of us up here. Safeco is a great place to watch a Royals game. You’ll find a couple dozen Royals lifers gathered by the visitors bullpen during each NW swing. (last year’s gem by Paulino was the recent highlight game.) Welcome to the area.
Brian Robinson
1 year, 4 months agoI can remember as a kid marveling at the doctor of pitching, none other than Doc Gooden. After watching him pitch I’d go into the backyard and try to mimic his windup and delivery. Gooden had one of the longest windups in baseball. He would rock back on the mound and his left knee would drive high past his chin. Then he would explode towards the plate squeezing every ounce of power from his body while letting that baseball rip. The only problem was it took him forever to let go of the dadgum ball. I don’t know the numbers on how successful basestealers were against him, but I would imagine it’s greater than 70%. But in reflecting back I think that was one of Gooden’s biggest knocks (outside of off-field issues). If a long delivery is considered your biggest flaw I’d say you’re doing pretty good as a pitcher.
Back then as a Royals fan it was equally exciting to watch Bret Saberhagen pitch. For me Saberhagen has and will always be a pitcher’s pitcher. I was inspired by him as a kid to play baseball and pitch. Saberhagen did all the little things so good that it didn’t matter that he couldn’t throw 95+ mph or have a knee-buckling duece. Sabes had pinpoint accuracy and the ability to change speeds. It’s too bad he couldn’t avoid the injuries or he would have been a lock for the HOF.
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoErik: Thanks for letting Dave know where to go to meet up with other Royals fans in Seattle. If there are Royals fans in other cities who want to use the web site to do the same thing, be my guest.
The visiting bull pen seems like a logical spot.
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoBrian: Once a former player pointed out the difficulty some pitchers have throwing strikes out of the slide step, I started watching for it all the time.
It’s amazing how often a pitcher gets hammered when he’s in the slide step. The ball tends to stay up in the zone and the hitter sees more fastballs.
We’ve talked many times about how speed pressures defense and this is just one more example. Early in the 2011 season Royals first base coach Doug Sisson said the team wanted to be aggressive on the bases and then said they also wanted the reputation for being aggressive on the bases.
This is why; the Royals don’t even have to run to put pressure on the pitcher. He’s got to choose between controlling the running game and giving 100% of his attention to the plate.
There are probably times it’s better for the pitcher to forget the runner and do whatever’s necessary to deliver a quality strike to home plate.
Jim Fetterolf
1 year, 4 months ago“It’s amazing how often a pitcher gets hammered when he’s in the slide step. The ball tends to stay up in the zone and the hitter sees more fastballs.”
I have seen it suggested that that is part of the reason for Luke’s first half meltdowns last year, that he was slow to the plate from the stretch, so took a slide and tried to overthrow the fastball to compensate, which flattened and straightened the pitch. The second half he went to his slider more, a top-rated pitch, so managed to avoid the implosions.
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoJim: You may be onto something and I want to ask Luke Hochevar about it. It was generally assumed that when Hochevar had something bad happen, he’d “meltdown.” I know that irritated him—the assumption that his troubles stemmed from mental weakness.
Luke told me he thought it was focus; he needed to continue to concentrate on one pitch at a time and not get distracted by the runner or the situation.
Hochevar also got some credit for pitching inside more often, but I’ve wondered if something changed mechanically when he got a runner on. Was there something about the way he pitched out of the stretch that caused problems?
I’d heard Hochevar had problems throwing strikes out of the slide step (don’t know if that’s true), but it would at least partially explain why he could cruise for five innings and then struggle once he gave up a hit.
Jim Fetterolf
1 year, 4 months agoI think it was your friend Tim who pointed out that when Luke got in trouble he would try to throw fastballs past major league hitters. An overthrown fb is also known as “batting practice”, as we have seen from other pitchers who sacrifice motion and location for another couple of mph on the radar gun.
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoJim: You’re right, that was Tim, although he said it a couple of seasons ago. Bob McClure said it takes about four full seasons for a player to “get it” so maybe Hochevar’s due.
Looking forward to reading your articles again this year Lee. It’s amazing how much there is to the game that most of us never even notice. Thanks for pointing a lot of it out. Makes the games more fun to watch!
Jim Fetterolf
1 year, 4 months agoI think that Hochevar, with a combination of maturity and a pitching staff a little more comfortable with the type of training that gave him a 98mph heater in college, will have a break-out season this year. He is one reason why I’m fairly comfortable with predicting the Royals win 85 games this year.
Been hearing some good things through Greg Schaum about Dave Eiland, so am probably more optimistic than most about the rotation. That will be something for you to watch for at SP, the pitchers’ training and conditioning, see if some are long-tossing and concentrating more on stretching than weights. Hope you’ll be able to post daily from Surprise.
Larry Tindle
1 year, 4 months agoRead that Hochevar is using swimming as part of his conditioning. Swimming tends to keep muscles long, stretched out and loose. May be a good thing.
I became an outfielder instead of a pitcher in high school because I could not pitch from the stretch. I was fine as long as no one got on base. Didn’t have a good coach as far as pitching went. Looking back I’m sure it was something minor in my mechanics but could have also been mental. Losing focus, when a runner in on, is easy to do. If Luke says it helps to take one pitch at a time, I think he will do fine.
No wise cracks on the mental part. My wife takes care of that.
Jim Fetterolf
1 year, 4 months agoGood info, Larry.
Bob Forer
1 year, 4 months agoLee, I appreciated your breaking down a stolen base into time segments. Am curious as to how the quality of a pitcher’s pick off move to first base works into the equation.
Can one simply add or subtract tenths of a second based on how good a move the pitcher has, and work it into the equation.
Also, is there a variable, also quantifiable in tenths of a second whether the pitcher is left or right handed. Based on my baseball experience it was always more difficult to steal against a lefty, as his move to first base was much more subtle, so it was tougher to get a good jump.
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoJeff: Thanks and I agree with you; the details of the game make it much more interesting to watch. As always, we need to thank the players and coaches for sharing those details with us.
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoJim: I need to do a better job with the pitchers. I was a position player and spent most of my time wondering what the hell was wrong with guys who pitched.
Every time a new guy comes into the clubhouse it takes a while for them to figure out who’s who and what their motivations are. A pitching coach that just came from a media market like New York may be more suspiscious than most, but I’d like to get know Dave Eiland and learn more about his approach.
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoLarry: The swimming thing for pitchers is interesting. Few of the pitchers are muscle-bound, unlike many of the position players. (A fact the position players don’t mind pointing out.)
I don’t know a lot about it, but swimiing would make some sense (at least to me) as a good way for pitchers to stay in shape without getting tight.
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoBob: Good point about pitchers’ moves over to first. Doug Sisson spends a lot of time watching video to find the first thing that moves on a pitcher that indicates whether the pitcher is going home or to first base.
When runners arrive at first base, that’s what Doug’s telling them. He’ll remind them of the pitcher’s time and the body part they should key on, so he might say, “1.3, shoulder.”
They go over this stuff before a series and sometimes have someone imitate the pitcher’s move their going to use as a key. If someone has a particularly tricky move I’m sure they talk about that…and of course pitchers try to get away with “balk moves” that send the runner the wrong message.
And yes, lefties are harder to steal on. The good ones may not signal which way they’re going until it’s too late. Those guys are known as “readers.” They can left their right foot and “read” what the runner’s doing. If the runner takes off for second they just step toward first and start the pickoff. (Chen’s a “reader.”) Other lefties have already committed to the plate or first base before they pick their foot up. Of course the Royals scout for this information.
But anything a pitcher does to stop the running game takes away from what the pitcher does when he delivers a pitch to the plate. It’s part of what makes the game so interesting…if you know what to look for.
Sean Fischbach
1 year, 4 months agoGreat information as always Lee. Thanks!
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoSean: Thanks. I hope these details of the game make watching it more enjoyable.
Dave Feit
1 year, 4 months agoLee - if you ever want to make some side money (or drink for free at a ballgame) you could offer your services to sit with folks and share these insights during a game.
As much as I’ve learned from this site, I know I’d learn more by being able to see the things you’re talking about instead of picturing them in my mind.
It could also be a good auction idea for a charity of your choice.
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoDave: I’m pretty sure there are more people who would pay money to NOT have to listen to me during a ball game.
Although, I have had the same thought about some of the ex-pros I’ve listened to while watching a baseball: you could charge for this stuff.
Anyway, I’ve thought of doing something along those lines, like having readers of the site show up at the same game and getting together with them. It would be nice to meet some of these people.
The only problem (and this comes up when people ask me why I don’t “twitter” during games) is when I’m talking I miss stuff. Trying to watch the game at this level takes a lot of concentration and taking a pitch off means something significant might go by unnoticed.
On the hand, I’ve done a lousy job on some games for worse reasons. Keep watching; I think we’ll do something resembling what you’re suggesting.
Brian Robinson
1 year, 4 months agoLet me know if you’re ever in the Raleigh/Durham area. I’d enjoy taking you to a Durham Bulls game. It’s one of the prettiest minor league parks in America.
BTW … when will the Royals’ pitchers & catchers report?
Lee Judge
1 year, 4 months agoBrian: Thank you very much for the offer and if I make it down that way I’ll take you up on it. I’m good friends with Dwane Powell, the retired News and Observer cartoonist. I visited him once and had a good time, so it’s not impossible to think I’d make it out that way again.
And pitchers and catchers report this Monday, the 20th, but I think a lot of them are already there.