Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The unbelievability of a sacrifice fly

At least the batter is not charged with a time at bat,

Dear Matthew Alice: Let’s talk baseball. I cannot bring myself to buy the concept of the “sacrifice fly.” Personally, I believe they are all failed home run attempts, though you’d never get a true believer to admit it. How many times have you heard, “It’s going back, back, to the warning track.... And the center fielder brings it down. What a beautiful sacrifice fly!” Hang-time is not an issue, because the runner can’t tag up until the ball is caught, so it’s depth that counts. With that in mind, I find it difficult to accept that a batter would deliberately hit one high and deep for an intentional out and not put that extra 20 feet’s worth of juice on it and go for the tater. What deliberate, conscious effort is different from swinging for the fence when hitting an (alleged) sacrifice fly? — John Weisgerber, Reality

Sponsored
Sponsored

I gather you see a sac fly as a very clever and deliberately planned offensive strategy — the coach swats the batter on the fanny and sends him to the plate saying, “Now’s the perfect time for that high fly right into the center fielder’s glove like you’ve been practicing all week.” Weeeeell, no. Probably not. The batter would likely love to slam a tater at that moment or even a long single, but, baseball being what it is, the odds are against him. So a sac fly is probably the second choice of outcomes in most instances, but at least the team benefits in some way from the out because the runner advances. The difference between a homer and a fly-out is a lot more than just power; if pure physical exertion made the difference, there’d be a whole lot more home runs hit every season. As a consolation prize for falling on his sword, the batter who hits a sacrifice fly is not charged with a time at bat, so his average doesn’t fall. It’s actually the official scorer who rules on what is or isn’t a sacrifice fly (and a sacrifice bunt, too, which is more likely to be a deliberate offensive strategy and usually a harder call for the scorer).


“MATT FOR A DAY” CONTEST: Hope you’re all diligently working on your entries. In case you missed the announcement last week, in response to a barely perceptible demand, I’m giving everybody a chance to be a know-it-all in print. Give us 150 or 200 (entertaining) words that answer one of the following questions. Cleverly shoveled B.S. is almost as good as the truth (as usual). You have until mid-June.

Question 1: Matt: There’s a champagne glass in downtown San Diego that is as tall as a building, but it’s not as visible as it used to be. Where is it, exactly?—Patrick Lockwood, San Diego Question 2: Matt: I’m continually amazed at the number of left-handed people in San Diego! It’s like the Twilight Zone!! What’s the actual percentage of left-handed people in San Diego, and how do we compare to other cities in the U.S.? — Feeling Left Out, San Diego

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

O’side Tree Lighting & Gift Market, Holiday Lights at the Museum, The Elovaters and Little Stranger

Events December 5-December 6, 2024
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English

Dear Matthew Alice: Let’s talk baseball. I cannot bring myself to buy the concept of the “sacrifice fly.” Personally, I believe they are all failed home run attempts, though you’d never get a true believer to admit it. How many times have you heard, “It’s going back, back, to the warning track.... And the center fielder brings it down. What a beautiful sacrifice fly!” Hang-time is not an issue, because the runner can’t tag up until the ball is caught, so it’s depth that counts. With that in mind, I find it difficult to accept that a batter would deliberately hit one high and deep for an intentional out and not put that extra 20 feet’s worth of juice on it and go for the tater. What deliberate, conscious effort is different from swinging for the fence when hitting an (alleged) sacrifice fly? — John Weisgerber, Reality

Sponsored
Sponsored

I gather you see a sac fly as a very clever and deliberately planned offensive strategy — the coach swats the batter on the fanny and sends him to the plate saying, “Now’s the perfect time for that high fly right into the center fielder’s glove like you’ve been practicing all week.” Weeeeell, no. Probably not. The batter would likely love to slam a tater at that moment or even a long single, but, baseball being what it is, the odds are against him. So a sac fly is probably the second choice of outcomes in most instances, but at least the team benefits in some way from the out because the runner advances. The difference between a homer and a fly-out is a lot more than just power; if pure physical exertion made the difference, there’d be a whole lot more home runs hit every season. As a consolation prize for falling on his sword, the batter who hits a sacrifice fly is not charged with a time at bat, so his average doesn’t fall. It’s actually the official scorer who rules on what is or isn’t a sacrifice fly (and a sacrifice bunt, too, which is more likely to be a deliberate offensive strategy and usually a harder call for the scorer).


“MATT FOR A DAY” CONTEST: Hope you’re all diligently working on your entries. In case you missed the announcement last week, in response to a barely perceptible demand, I’m giving everybody a chance to be a know-it-all in print. Give us 150 or 200 (entertaining) words that answer one of the following questions. Cleverly shoveled B.S. is almost as good as the truth (as usual). You have until mid-June.

Question 1: Matt: There’s a champagne glass in downtown San Diego that is as tall as a building, but it’s not as visible as it used to be. Where is it, exactly?—Patrick Lockwood, San Diego Question 2: Matt: I’m continually amazed at the number of left-handed people in San Diego! It’s like the Twilight Zone!! What’s the actual percentage of left-handed people in San Diego, and how do we compare to other cities in the U.S.? — Feeling Left Out, San Diego

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Issa aide collaborates with Ukrainians

Carlsbad's Tracy Slepcevic, Warrior Mom, and her ties to RFK, Jr.
Next Article

SD Symphony singer tells what it’s like behind the scenes

Conductor Payare even looks like Mahler
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader