There are no free bases
Posted: April 16th, 2009 | Filed under: Baseball | 37 Comments »
This is not the surprise post — it will be later today before that’s up — but any time we can get an Albert Belle post cooking, we have to get it in.
Email from brilliant reader Tom:
I saw Albert Belle try to turn down a HBP once. It was Turn Ahead the Clock day, and the Orioles were wearing billowing trash-bag “futuristic” uniforms. Belle was 4-for-4 with a walk and 3 home runs already, including a two-out game-tying shot in the bottom of the ninth. And he had driven in 6 of the O’s 7 runs. So when the ball ran in on his floppy outfit in the bottom of the 11th, with a man aboard, he waved off the ump and tried to stay in the box.
My friend and I at the game had absolutely no doubt that had he gotten away with it, he would have hit his fourth homer. Belle felt the same, evidently. But eventually they ordered him along to first base, and Cal Ripken singled in the winning run three batters later.
The date was July 25, 1999. The Orioles were playing the Angels and Shigetoshi Hasegawa was pitching. What made the game weird was that Belle actually talked after the game.
“I’m not going to be accessible but when the situation calls for it, I’ll talk,” he told reporters. “This is one of those times.” And the story confirms that Belle did indeed stay at the plate while fans chanted “Albert! Albert!”
“I told the umpire I wasn’t going to first, that I’d take the 1-0 count,” Belle said after the game. “I told (Angels catcher Matt Walbeck) to tell the pitcher to throw the ball over the plate.”
I have a similar story revolving around Pete Rose and Bob Gibson. I’m sure I’ll tell it at some point here, but I should mention that it will be in this book.
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My favorite memory relating to intential walks in MLB was during the ‘72 World Series when the Oakland A’s pitcher (not sure who, maybe Fingers?) struck out Johnny Bench swinging when A’s catcher (most likely Tenace) stood up and called for an intential pass to Bench on a 3-2 count. It was all a ruse as then the pitcher threw a high strike which Tenace was waiting for. The pitch obviously surprised Bench, who swung very late and then had to walk embarrassingly back to the dugout rather than to first base. A’s manager Dick Williams was great calling for that kind of unusual stuff when it was the perfect situation.
That’s too cool.
If I am not mistaken Don Drysdale’s scoreless consecutive inning streak was continued at some point when a player got hit by a pitch (with the bases loaded) and the umpire refused to award him first base because he didn’t “try” to get out of the way. Can anyone confirm?
I was going to mention in our last IBB discussion my recollection of a game between the Cards and Cubs a few years ago. In the 10th inning of that game, Dusty Baker and TLR had a managerial battle for the ages. TLR kept trying to give the game to the Cubs by giving them free baserunners and Dusty kept trying to give the game to the Cards by giving away outs. As I recall, the first Cubs player reached base and then Dusty tried to sacrifice him to second, but the runner ended up advancing on a wild pitch. Then TLR walked the hitter. Dusty then put the sacrifice on again, this time “successfully”, moving the runners to second and third. TLR again walked the next batter intentionally. Eventually this managerial “chess match” ended with Neifi Perez hitting a grand slam (as improbable as that might seem)
“Intentional” – Sorry for my terrible spelling, twice.
My bad, my bad!
Wait, you’re writing a book?
I remember watching the A’s game in 1972. That’s a while back and my memory may be a little fuzzy, but I think the A’s called time out, had a conference at the mound, pointed to first, setting the whole thing up. In my memory, the pitch came right down the middle and Bench didn’t swing. However it happened, it was a classic that defined the Oakland A’s “take no prisoners” attitude.
Brent. As a Giants fan I can confirm that Drysdale hit Dick Dietz witht the bases loaded and got away with it.
I remember the Drysdale incident. If mememory serves, I believe it was a catcher for the Giants. Dick Dietz maybe?
Brent: I don’t know about that story exactly, but certainly it used to happen all the time that HBPs wouldn’t count if the guy didn’t try to avoid it. When was the last time you saw that called? I would swear it’s been at least a decade at this point, just another way that MLB has taken the intimidation of the inside pitch away from pitchers to get more offense into the game.
So Albert Belle is the anti-Rudi Stein?
Buttermaker: Rudi.
Stein: What?
Buttermaker: The first inside pitch you get, lean into it and let it hit you.
Stein: ….
Buttermaker: You want to win the game?
Stein: I don’t want to get hurt.
Buttermaker: But you want to win the game.
Just another reason to love Albert Belle.
Mark W. & brucewd3 –
Mark has the principals correct. More details: game 3, top 8th, Reds leading 1-0 (eventual final score), runners 2nd & 3rd after a Tolan steal of first, some great acting on the mound before the pitch. Here’s an account (item #5):
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-world-seriess-top-ten-game-threes/
Brent et al. –
Yes, that was Dick Dietz, SF catcher, the umpire was Harry Wendlestedt, and if the HBP had been allowed, Drysdale’s streak would have ended at 44 innings (5/31/68). Brief summary here (last graf):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Dietz
BigFlax –
I have to ask you how long ago was this “all the time” disallowing of HBPs. I have been watching baseball rather intently (and too frequently, according to ex-wives) since I was 6, 52 seasons ago, and I have never seen it (live or on TV) and never read about it, except for the Dietz-Drysdale incident. Do you have any examples?
I do have to agree with you that it is a rule that should be enforced, but never is. And please don’t get me started about batters being hit on their body armor (e.g., Barry Bonds) or nicked on their very, very loose uniforms (IIRC, Brett Butler was big on this one).
I would say Chase Utley is the current master of bullsh** HBPs.
There was an excellent incident involving an intentional walk and Edgardo Alfonzo a few years ago. Alfonzo had worked into a hitter’s count with a man on base, and Bobby Valentine called for a hit and run. The other manager had apparently decided to walk Alfonzo and pitch to the next guy, because the next pitch was a pitch out. The runner had a terrible jump, so Alfonzo actually THREW his bat at the ball and fouled it off. The bat was completely out of his hands and made contact in the opposite batter’s box at eye level.
A slightly different angle to the same point about HBP. I am always upset when I see a batter (especially a weak hitter) avoid being hit by a pitch that is way inside (not up and in, at the face or head, of course) in crucial situations. Hey, a base is a base and sometimes you will see a batter do everyting possible to avoid being hit when the bases are loaded, score is tied with the winning run on third! Take one for the team, why dontcha?!
David in NYC – I recall seeing a batter lean into a Wakefield knuckler years ago and the ump not awarding the batter first base. I’m not sure how I would go about verifying this claim, though…
I remember listening to the Dick Dietz at bat. In my memory, Scully even said something like “Dietz is crowding the plate, as usual. The windup, and the pitch, and he hit him. Dick Dietz never moved, and was hit by an inside fast ball, and that will mean the end of Drysdale’s scoreless streak – wait! The umpire is overturning the hit by a pitch. The managers are rushing the field, and this may just take some time.”
In my memory, the actual pitch was even called a strike, but the Wikipedia entry is unclear on that point.
great story about Belle
I remember a few years back reading a short story by Ron Carlson called “Sunny Billy Day” where the main character refused to take a walk. Or maybe he wouldn’t except a called third strike. I forget exactly, but it was a funny story and Carlson is a great short story writer.
I remember an Indians player being called back after being beaned just a few years ago. I believe it was Garko; the ump declared that he hadn’t tried to get out of the way (he never does). Tom Hamilton was beside himself.
I remember it happening with Wakefield too. This must have been 3(?) years ago.
Wakefield’s led the league in hit batters a couple of times, because batters routinely just stand there and let inside pitches hit them, never moving at all. It’s even (IMO) led to couple of beanball wars in later games, when a different Sox pitcher drills a guy with a real fastball, to pay him back for letting Wakefield’s pitch hit him without moving.
I might be misremembering, but wasn’t the count 1-2 when Willimas came out to the mound, and then Fingers threw a couple of pitches out of the zone as if it was going to be a typical intentional walk, before crossing up Bench on the last one? We need to see this trick play happen again soon.
In the 70’s, I believe Jose Cardenal also got a base hit on a pitchout, with a hit and run play on.
Brent @3: Well, I suppose one could argue that a game ending on a Neifi Perez grand slam was punishment for both LaRussa and Baker…
Mark W. @15: I agree mostly, although if it’s up and in I would never expect a hitter to hang in there and take a shot to the head, period, helmet be damned.
Brent: As a Cub fan I remember that game you mention vividly. Specifically, when they got men to first and second, I was absolutely screaming at the TV (and I think freaking out my roommate a little) about why in the world you would bunt (and give up an out) to produce the inevitable walk to load the bases that would then give the clutch at-bat to Neifi Perez, the worst hitter in the universe. And the Neifi turned on a pitch and hit about a 340-foot homer to right. Go figure.
Why didn’t Belle just swing? Then even if it hit him, it would be a strike, right?
@bigflax #9: Actually, the HBP nullification rule was used against Craig Biggio only three years ago, on August 28, 2005. Biggio was hit with a pitch by Jeff Weaver, but umpire Doug Eddings ordered him back, saying he did not try to avoid the pitch. The videos on MLB.com from the game don’t work anymore, but they still mention the incident in the Retrosheet boxscore: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2005/B08280LAN2005.htm
MLB.com article: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050828&content_id=1187331
“Turn Ahead the Clock” Uniforms.
I have tried in vain to find as many pictures of those as possible. Aynone here know a good resource?
It’s such an amazing (And ridiculous) concept.
Daniel…here you go…
http://www.angelfire.com/blues/new_yorker/TATC.html
here are a bunch of pics linked in this article…
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/080718&sportCat=mlb&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab7pos1
couldn’t find a pic of the orioles one though.
Like ajnrules above, this one also happened in 2005. Maybe they were looking for it that year.
“The Sox were incensed over a rare call made by home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt that resulted in the ejections of Guillen and later Crede in the ninth inning. Right fielder Jermaine Dye then played shortstop for the first time as a pro.
Crede was batting in the ninth when pitcher Dustin Duchscherer’s curveball hit him in the arm. Wendelstedt, citing seldom-invoked Rule 6.08, refused to award Crede first base, claiming Crede didn’t try to get out of the way of Duchscherer’s pitch.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/cs-050427soxgamer,1,5533927.story
With Wakefield, if you don’t know where the ball is going to go, how do you get out of the way?
Hmm, sounds like a rare call. Read #12 and #29 carefully and see if there is a link (hint it is a last name).
Maybe enforcing rule 6.08 is something the Wendlestedt family feels very strongly about.
I’ve seen a couple of instances where a hitter wasn’t awarded first after getting hit, but it’s very rarely called. Of course, what with it being at the umpire’s discretion, it’s hard to get it called consistently. Hell, I’ve seen some hitters move into a pitch while turning away from it, selling the illusion that they’re trying not to get hit while actually (apparently – who knows if there’s actual intent given the reaction time they have?) moving into the path of the ball.
Say what you will about Jeter, but he’s certainly not guilty of this. Quite often on a pitch from the inner half of the plate in, he’s doing his stand-on-tippy-toes/stick-his-butt-out-to-get-out-of-the-way thing. I take pleasure in those rare occasions where the ump doesn’t bite and actually calls a strike on him when the pitch catches the inside corner.
[...] of my favorite bloggers is Joe Posnanski, and today’s post includes a great story about Albert Belle in the post, and a great story [...]
Dan – thanks for the link to the pictures. So I guess in the future, logos need to be huge and we no longer need sleeves. Interesting.
I am still waiting for my Jetpack though.
I used to cover a summer-league team for college players at my old paper. In one game, the home team had the bases loaded in a tie game, and the batter got out of the way of an HBP, realizing in mid-jump that it would have won the game. He was mad at himself, but then hit a walk-off grand slam on the next pitch, which was much cooler. That was one of my favorite stories I wrote.
That’s all I got.
Remember the time – it was a pretty important game – when the Red Sox walked Pete Rose in order to pitch to Joe Morgan, batting second in the order during the Series. Didn’t work, as Morgan hit a line-drive single that scored the winning run.
It always sounds easy to stay in the box and be hit but then you see a 70/80/90 MPH pitch screaming right at you and instinct takes over and suddenly you’re out of the way.
I really don’t like the black and blue mark on my it hurts so I’m always jumping.