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That was pretty funny. But, I'm glad he was honest, at least. He could have easily pretended like he knew that all along.
Did anyone hear the incredulousness in Tim McCarver’s voice when he became aware that the reported velocity of a pitch at release is much faster than at the plate? Just goes to show ya that those talking heads, no matter how much experience they have in the game at the highest levels, often don’t have the same understanding about the physics of the game as most dads with kids in competitive baseball where decent radar guns are being used.
I wonder if he’d load his pants if found out just how much even the fastest thrown pitch drops because of gravity.
Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.
That was pretty funny. But, I'm glad he was honest, at least. He could have easily pretended like he knew that all along.
go read his book its really good.Originally Posted by scorekeeper
Did anyone hear the incredulousness in Tim McCarver’s voice when he became aware that the reported velocity of a pitch at release is much faster than at the plate? Just goes to show ya that those talking heads, no matter how much experience they have in the game at the highest levels, often don’t have the same understanding about the physics of the game as most dads with kids in competitive baseball where decent radar guns are being used.
I wonder if he’d load his pants if found out just how much even the fastest thrown pitch drops because of gravity.
Sometimes I listen to him and I find it interesting. Things like his TV show are fine. But in the middle of games when he's just trying to fill time, he often says things that make me want to pull my hair out. In his defense, there just ain't a whole lot of guys who come across as doing much more than throwing out dogma and cliche's while they're broadcasting a game.
Over the years, I've come to really enjoy Tom Seaver, and I have to admit that over the last couple of years, Orel Hershiser has scored a lot of points with me because of his work on the LLWS.
Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.
FYI, average drop in mph is 7-8 mph. However, a 100 mph pitch will slow as much as 9-11 mph.
Nolan Ryan's famous pitch in 1974 was 100.9 mph at 10 feet from the plate and was likely going 108 mph or more as it left his magic hands.
Last edited by songtitle; 10-17-2009 at 08:14 PM.
Did he take a high school physics class. All things in free fall accelerate at +/- 9.81 m/s. The ball is in free fall once it leaves the hand, so how would it be the same?Did anyone hear the incredulousness in Tim McCarver’s voice when he became aware that the reported velocity of a pitch at release is much faster than at the plate? Just goes to show ya that those talking heads, no matter how much experience they have in the game at the highest levels, often don’t have the same understanding about the physics of the game as most dads with kids in competitive baseball where decent radar guns are being used.
I wonder if he’d load his pants if found out just how much even the fastest thrown pitch drops because of gravity.
Also, did anyone hear the guy on Fox say that A-rod hit his home run last night- without fully extending his arms.
Without fully extending his arms? No kidding. My high school field's right field fence is further from the plate than Yankee Stadium(both of them). They were made to purposely induce home runs (Ruth and rest of the quickly forgotten steroid players).
I believe that friction from the air, and drag created by the ball moving through the air, are the main factors that decelerate the ball.Did he take a high school physics class. All things in free fall accelerate at +/- 9.81 m/s. The ball is in free fall once it leaves the hand, so how would it be the same?
Also, did anyone hear the guy on Fox say that A-rod hit his home run last night- without fully extending his arms.
Another dumb statement that I've heard is when a game is being played on artificial turf; "The SS bounced that ball to the first baseman, because the ball speeds up when it hits the turf."
Maybe he felt like breaking precedent of how he always acts.
Best moment in sports was when Dion Sanders (think it was) let him have it on t.v.
Watching him wears me out. Notice how much he says what will happen, when something clearly different happens instead, he'll say that what just happened was what he said. It's like he's not watching the game.
Mccarver is easily my least favorite announcer. I liked his call when Aybar missed second base on a double play last night. He was arguing that that was a neighborhood play and that Aybar had done that all night, so why call it now? McCarver is the same guy who has criticized the umpires multiple times this series as to whether or not Mark Texiera has kept his foot on 1st base while stretching out to save bad throws. Why should Aybar get the benefit of the doubt when he clearly missed touching 2nd base by a good 3-4 inches, but when Texiera may or may not have missed 1st base by a millimeter, too close to tell with the naked eye, the umpires missed the call?
McCarver is one of the worst announcers when it comes to criticizing the umpires. I think it'd be great if MLB or FOX had him umpire a spring training game sometime so he could see how difficult it is.
(McCarver also said this about Aybar at 2nd base. "Aybar has been straddling 2nd base all night. Why call it now?" Take a look at this clip of all the double plays the Angels turned last night. Aybar was all over the bag on every one except for aforementioned one.)
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?c...21820&c_id=mlb
Here is the play in question.
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?c...21820&c_id=mlb
Whew... it felt good to get that all out.
I love that one! A couple years back, our team was playing at a field with the old style Astro Turf. One of our dads played 2nd base in the ML for 14 years, complete with a gold glove, and he made that same comment. I asked him if he’d ever taken and passed a physics class in HS, Jr College, or at Az St, and he argued for what seemed like 10 minutes. He finally admitted that what was happening, was that the ball didn’t slow down as much, rather than sped up, but it still cost him Cokes all around.
Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.
McCarver did say he was wrong a few minutes later after someone checked the replays.
That's still not correct. When it hits the ground, the friction of hitting the ground will slow it down more than if it stayed in the air. Plus, his geometry is off. The shortest distance is a straight line. To angle down, and then back up to the fielder, is a greater distance.He finally admitted that what was happening, was that the ball didn’t slow down as much, rather than speed up, but it still cost him Cokes all around.
Unless, you're throwing from third in which case, an argument could be made that the line to the ground, and up, is shorter than an upward arc from third to first. In which case the apparent increase in quickness could be from the ball traveling a shorter distance, rather than it seeming to speed up due to a bounce.
I think he's saying that a ball that bounces off of astroturf won't slow down as much as a ball that bounces off of grass.
Actually, I’m not at all sure about what he’s intending to say. I think there’s prolly a 50-50 chance he really believes the ball can speed up, skipping off of Astro-turf. If he actually thinks about it, maybe he really does MEAN what you think he’s saying, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
The thing is, what he said is what’s been said by a lot of people over the years, many of them being very well-respected players, coaches, broadcasters, etc.. What happens after a while is, it becomes a “truth” and many people believe it without question. That’s how it becomes dogma.
Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.
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