Ask a stupid question that can be answered about baseball
 

I understand that many of you know everything about baseball, even if you disagree among yourselves.

This thread is not for you. It is for those of us, who have a question, that can be answered, but you don't know the answer. Anything related to baseball is fair game. If you know the answer to one of the questions, just quote it and provide the answer. Simple.

When complete, this thread will serve as an invaluable resource. Learn it and amaze your co-workers and friends with your in depth knowledge of the game.

This is not a contest, but rather a public service. One question per post please. I will post the first question.

In the good old days before 2017, when intentional walks required four pitches before the batter was awarded first base, were those four pitches credited to the pitcher and his all important "pitch count"?

Yes. If not then the IBB that got converted because a batter swung would have gotten on base without a pitched ball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6YzVvtxoaY

The pitches associated with an intentional walk do count towards the pitchers total count. With the rule change in 2017, you can either signal for an intentional walk (which is what all teams pretty much do now) or still throw four intentional balls (like before 2017).

Some people are of the thought that the rule minimizes wear and tear on a pitcher from discouraging managers and players to try to pitch around a batter during an intentional walk.

That's what i thought. So if I was a young starting pitcher with a pitch count ceiling of 80, I would be relieved (due to fatigue) if I issued 20 intentional walks at the beginning of the game.:eek: If softballs lobbed for intentional walks are counted, why not count the pitches thrown in the bull pen. Just saying'.

Let's see another stupid question. No question is too stupid.;)

Okay, Frank - I have one for you:

Assuming that, for the few late afternoon or 'twilight'- scheduled games, there would be a natural advantage, at least for a portion of that game, for batters if home plate was facing east and for pitchers if home plate was facing west due to the direct sunlight and the glare that accompanies that.

Presuming, based on that previous assumption, that a truly neutral ballpark would be sure to have home plate face either directly north or south, why isn't there are rule to so assure that all parks are designed to fit this north-south detail?

That might not exactly qualify as a 'stupid' question, but it is one I have pondered for a while.

Rule 1.04. It is desirable that the line from home base through the pitchers plate to second base shall run East-Northeast.

That would contradict your thinking completely. :)

http://www.fangraphs.com/tht/lost-in...k-orientation/

This desirability would seem moot for enclosed domed stadia. However this would depend on whether you consider the meaning of moot to be debatable or irrelevant.;)

Miller Park has a retractable roof, but is not enclosed from the setting sun due to windows, that can create "very unusual" shadows on the field of play in late afternoon games.

I believe the home plate-2B axis runs NW-SE in Milwaukee, which is also unusual.

You'd think this could result in a home field advantage for the "Brew Crew", if they only could figure out what that advantage is.:)

The layout of stadiums is by far one of the most interesting aspects of MLB baseball in my opinion.

So many unique quirks at each park.

Absolutely!! I picked up a couple of books, 'Lost Ballparks' and 'Ballparks Yesterday & Today,' which go over all the cool aspects of the old time stadiums. Very cool stuff! (And anything that could make Shea Stadium seem like a monument on par with Mt. Rushmore is fine by me.)

S'funny -- when we were young, and some ignorance was excusable and even expected, we were embarrassed to admit we didn't know something.
Now that we're old and actually know a few things, we no longer have much compunction about asking a stupid question. So here goes:
How many different baseball cards (not multiple examples of the same card) have sold for more than $100,000.?
Don't need an exact number, a (ahem) ballpark figure will do.

Apologies, we somehow got the idea that this thread was for stupid questions about anything related to baseball.
Judging by the lack of response to our question above, we evidently broke the Stupid meter.

You forgot the second part of this thread "If you know the answer to one of the questions, just quote it and provide the answer."

Just because someone didn't respond doesn't mean it isn't a valid question, it could very well be that no one reading the post knows the answer.

I think I know the answer to this, but I am unsure. It involves betting purposes....say a team is down 4-3....bottom of the 9th...and the batter hits a GRAND SLAM!!!! Fan rush the field to celebrate (it's a playoff game)....for Vegas purposes, what would the "official" final score be? I believe the score would be 5-4...enough to win, but all other baserunners are disallowed?

I think the best answer is too many to give an accurate number.

How come Joe DiMaggio won 9 world championships and Ted Williams won none?

Trust me, the questions are out there and many have valid answers.:)

However, to ask such a question can be a self-deprecating admission of stupidity, for someone who looks in the mirror and sees a baseball expert.:p

Instead of posting a question in this thread, such individuals are motivated to "Google" incessantly to find their own answer to reinforce their potentially flawed belief that they are in fact baseball know-it-alls.:eek:

If there is someone out there in the Net54 universe, who doesn't know how to "Google", let's hear from you.:D

Rather than getting too philosophical about the success or failure of this thread, I shall post another stupid question.

Given the "fact"? that draining water circles the drain in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere, do Australian baseball batters run to third base instead of first base after hitting the ball?

And the obvious corollary, what if batters could run to either first or third base when batting depending on where the ball was hit? Of course they would have to continue in the same direction to score a run. Think of the possibilities.

Your question is based on a myth. Draining water does not go in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere. I found this out on an episode of Myth Busters.

http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp

Lou Gehrig, Lefty Gomez, Bill Dickey, Red Ruffing, Tommy Henrich, Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, and Marilyn Mon... err I mean Mickey Mantle. :D

It's somewhat crazy to think that DiMaggio played with both Lou Gehrig & Mickey Mantle.

Bob Watson scored the 1,000,000 run in mlb history, I remember this. Has the 2,000,000 run been scored?

pitchers
 

When right handed pitchers throw curve balls, do they always curve in the same direction?

I went ahead and Googled. The answer is no... Maybe 4 more years. This was a huge event with countdown clocks in the stadiums in 1975... I didn't realize.

I believe yes. The direction that the curve ball breaks is due to the way the pitcher puts the spin on the ball.

That is the reason the screwball exists.

Well, we got finally got something of a real answer to our spectacularly stupid question, anyway, which we had indeed Binged and Googled
without finding anything definitive before we ever dared ask it here. Really, we thought we were probably the only guys on this entire board
who didn't have a correct and ready answer for that one off the tops of their heads. We'd guessed "maybe 15?"
A friend and fellow board member writes us off-list to provide this link:
http://sports.gunaxin.com/most-value...l-cards/195571

My question never got answered...does no one know?>??????

In the walk-off situation, a home run is a home run as long as the batter and runners touch all the bases to complete the home run. The official score in a 4-4 tied game ending with a grand slam would therfore be 8-4.

If the winning hit is less than a home run, the batter must reach first base.
Only the lead runner scores and the game is over. The final score would be 5-4.

The umpires may use some discretion if fans on the field interfere with the "completion of a home run" that prevents the batter from reaching home. They have ruled both ways crediting one such batter with a home run and another with a single.

What about the Southern Hemisphere?

Sinkers rise in the Southern Hemisphere.