Baseball Strategies

winbet · Jun 5, 2005

I am not going to argue the ins and outs of Baseball but, not knowing the sport, I genuinely want to know, how do you evaluate some joker who is only good at hitting a ball with a bit of wood. It seems its a complete chance wether he hits it for a Homer or not even hit it at all.

My own Country's Cricket is of a simular stance, however the batsman has far more time to get used to the conditions and I just wonder if its a thing the Books accept, sometimes they are wrong, but as long as the odds are right, who cares syndrome.

Journeyman · Jun 5, 2005

Hitting a MLB is the hardest thing in sports....when doing something right 30% is considered very successful, it must not be too easy....have you ever played baseball Winbet?

winbet · Jun 5, 2005

Another thing, I dont understand the talk of pitchers when at the end of the day, its some other clown pitching to decide the Match. In Cricket, the best bowlers are always left a few overs to kill off the tail-enders. Maybe they should learn from the originators of the game.

Journeyman · Jun 5, 2005

Baseball is the greatest game ever invented.

wilheim · Jun 5, 2005

Baseball is Americana

Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.

wil.

coconutman · Jun 5, 2005

Journeyman said:
Baseball is the greatest game ever invented.

I sooooooooooooo disagree. Baseball has to be one of the worst. Tennis is so much more enjoyable than this Baseball sport.

Journeyman · Jun 5, 2005

Fishhead hacking , back in the day

Journeyman · Jun 5, 2005

coconutman said:
I sooooooooooooo disagree. Baseball has to be one of the worst. Tennis is so much more enjoyable than this Baseball sport.

Baseball is the easiest to beat as well, if you played the game your whole life you may understand more:howdy:

coconutman · Jun 5, 2005

To beat as in gambling... i can agree. I did play baseball but never got into it. Football is the big boy of sports in America. Soccer is more or a world sport.

Journeyman · Jun 5, 2005

Football is the most enjoyable to bet on and watch, no doubt...Baseball is a thinking man's game....I think baseball fans are born with it in their blood, its not quite the same as it was, say 30 years ago....you don't ride by school yards and see kids playing baseball from 10 am til supper time, times changed , baseball fields are empty. kids would rather be sitting in the AC playing PS2.

winbet · Jun 5, 2005

Journeyman said:
Baseball is the easiest to beat as well, if you played the game your whole life you may understand more:howdy:

I agree to the point any time the Books are guessing, you have a chance, but seriously, how do you evaluate the hit or not to hit.

wilheim · Jun 5, 2005

Handicapping hitting has a lot of statistacal red meat. Lefty-Righty numbers, Home-Away, Day-Night, time of season (early, late etc.), individual history Vs. starter, place in lineup, wind conditions, umpires, current form of both hitter and piticher and more.

wil.

Journeyman · Jun 5, 2005

For me its the only sport I feel I have a true edge by matching up the players by using headto head stats, the stats mean more in baseball, the game is more of a one on one (pitcher vs batter) situation , you can narrow down the probabilities because you know exactly who is matching up against who....and the past stats mean a lot IMO...

What other sport can you narrow down the likelyhood of what's going to happen like baseball , in football there's a game plan to consider, 11 on 11, basketball, 5 on 5...baseball is ONE on ONE for the most part.

winbet · Jun 5, 2005

Journeyman said:
For me its the only sport I feel I have a true edge by matching up the players by using headto head stats, the stats mean more in baseball, the game is more of a one on one (pitcher vs batter) situation , you can narrow down the probabilities because you know exactly who is matching up against who....and the past stats mean a lot IMO...

What other sport can you narrow down the likelyhood of what's going to happen like baseball , in football there's a game plan to consider, 11 on 11, basketball, 5 on 5...baseball is ONE on ONE for the most part.

Journey,
I accept totally what you say , but how do you evaluate, you being right and then some geezer, who does what he's paid for, hits a homer in the 9th against a pitcher you've never heard of.

winbet · Jun 5, 2005

I also think, Basketball , NFL, Soccer, people post reasons, where Baseball is a bit vague. You read how posters are tearing up the Baseball Forum, and I completely agree, but never no reasons, except Winning sports.

WildBill · Jun 5, 2005

Journeyman said:
Hitting a MLB is the hardest thing in sports....when doing something right 30% is considered very successful, it must not be too easy....have you ever played baseball Winbet?

I have to disagree with this one Journey. Hitting a baseball for pros isn't that hard, its the part about hitting it to the right part of the field that stops most. Yes it would be hard for any of us to hit a Big Unit fastball, but still in most games he gets more outs from fielders making plays versus strikeouts.

The toughest thing to do in sports IMO is to play golf at a pro level. So many millions play the game and everyone wishes they could be on the PGA or LPGA, but only about 300 get to do it any year. More than double that play in the MLB, but just how many people play baseball regularly against decent pitching? Anyone can play golf, but playing well under par consistently has to be as tough an accomplishment as there is.

viking611 · Jun 5, 2005

way off wild bill. i got roommates who shoot in the 70s and one of them is a girl!! hundreds of thousands of scratch golfers to +5 in the world. only about 800 major leaguers.

WildBill · Jun 5, 2005

Viking, they aren't playing on the PGA though are they? I didn't say "scratch" golfers, I said people who are pro golfers at the top level. Combining the PGA and LPGA that comes to a little over 300 I believe. Maybe throw in the seniors and you get to 600. Fewer than the MLB and far more people are playing golf than baseball out there, by a huge differential.

winbet · Jun 5, 2005

Wildbill,

You and Fessik are two of the most seemingly smart people on here. As from tomorrow I am going to start a novice's betting course. While both of you and others are appreciated, I would hope that your betting prowess comes into consideration after people have learnt the basics.

Journeyman · Jun 5, 2005

The funny thing is when you think of the 4th or 5th best golfer (whoever that is) and you think of the 5th best baseball players , there's a huge difference in the perception of their individual greatness.....

Look at Mickelson all those years being a runner up, hell a runner-up in baseball is a totally different thing....2nd best baseball player and 2nd best golfer, big difference, and the golfer gets no credit, for finishing 2nd!