Wash was two steps ahead of me last night during last night’s big win for the Rangers. I was incredulous when he walked Miguel Cabrera, who represented the go-ahead run for the Tigers, with the bases empty and one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. To pitch to Victor Martinez. Who promptly singled, sending Cabrera to third. But Wash wasn’t worried, oh no. He knew he had Nelson Cruz waiting in right field to make a terrific play to gun down Cabrera at home plate when Delmon Young hit a fly ball to right.
So what was the Texas Rangers’ crafty manager really up to? It’s got to be the knowledge that he had a national audience watching, and he wanted to demonstrate just how easily an intentional walk might blow a game for a team. We should thank him for devising such a useful demonstration of this most-abused of baseball tactics. And without losing the game to boot!
Because, and I’m not sure how Washington managed it, but he somehow got Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland to play along as well. In the bottom top of the 11th, after Josh Hamilton doubled and Michael Young struck out, Leyland had Adrian Beltre intentionally walked so that his pitcher could face Mike Napoli, who was only the best hitter in the American League during the second half of the season. You know what happened then. Napoli knocked in the winning run, and then Cruz tacked on three insurance runs with his homer. Genius.
Leyland and Washington must really hate the intentional walk, with their willingness to risk such an important game just to teach baseball fans about its evils. It’s time we take their lesson seriously, and that Major League Baseball makes a rule change to save managers from themselves.
My solution: Anytime a pitcher throws four consecutive balls to a batter, the batter is awarded two bases rather than just one. This will prevent umpires from having to make judgments about what is an “intentional” vs. an “un-intentional” walk, and will help remove this scourge from the national pastime.
Source : http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2011/10/13/texas-rangers-manager-ron-washington-produces-national-psa-about-dangers-of-the-intentional-walk/
So what was the Texas Rangers’ crafty manager really up to? It’s got to be the knowledge that he had a national audience watching, and he wanted to demonstrate just how easily an intentional walk might blow a game for a team. We should thank him for devising such a useful demonstration of this most-abused of baseball tactics. And without losing the game to boot!
Because, and I’m not sure how Washington managed it, but he somehow got Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland to play along as well. In the bottom top of the 11th, after Josh Hamilton doubled and Michael Young struck out, Leyland had Adrian Beltre intentionally walked so that his pitcher could face Mike Napoli, who was only the best hitter in the American League during the second half of the season. You know what happened then. Napoli knocked in the winning run, and then Cruz tacked on three insurance runs with his homer. Genius.
Leyland and Washington must really hate the intentional walk, with their willingness to risk such an important game just to teach baseball fans about its evils. It’s time we take their lesson seriously, and that Major League Baseball makes a rule change to save managers from themselves.
My solution: Anytime a pitcher throws four consecutive balls to a batter, the batter is awarded two bases rather than just one. This will prevent umpires from having to make judgments about what is an “intentional” vs. an “un-intentional” walk, and will help remove this scourge from the national pastime.
Source : http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2011/10/13/texas-rangers-manager-ron-washington-produces-national-psa-about-dangers-of-the-intentional-walk/
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