Intentional Hitting a Player

[ksgovols]

I stand behind every comment. Do you wipe a guy out the next time he has a breakaway dunk? Do you take out the qb's knees because he throws an 80 yard touchdown and throws his hands in the air? Sounds like a little humility could go a long way with some of you pitchers. What are you trying to do. Get the guy out. What's he trying to do. Get on base. Everything else is semantics. You don't feel secure enough in your ability to get the other guy out, so that when he hits a bomb off you, you feel the need to uncork a fastball at him. I don't get it. Other than saving 3 pitches to walk him intentionally, why bean the guy? Bonds doesn't get this treatment and he shows up pitchers on a regular basis.

[hillado14]

Look dude, just because a guy hits a bomb off me im not gonna hit him. IF he jumps around and acts like he has no class then YES im gonna bean him. thats the way baseball should be. if a guy acts like tyler mosier did at the Crockett co/ Dyer co game then yes he needs to get drilled. BUT if a kid just hits a homerun off me and he trots the bases then when he gets up again im gonna pitch to him like every other batter. and this is a baseball link not football or baseketball.

[ksgovols]

So, if you strike out a guy with the bases loaded and pump your fist ala Eckersley, the next batter up gets to charge the mound? What's the difference? I think your psyche is too fragile to be a pitcher.

[sWiTzEr]

Me and the other players on then McKenzie JV team have some personal experience with this.....A teammate of ours was hit in the eye/eyesocket/nose and had to have surgery to repair it. This was on an ACCIDENT pitch from a JV pitcher. If that can happen from a JV pitcher, imagine what can happen with a hard varsity pitcher throwing at you. If that was to hit in the right place, there would be major damage. I don't care how much he shows you up, its a game. Talk on the scoreboard. If you send him to the hospital and find out that he has serious damage, imagine how you'll feel. I can guarantee you you won't be saying, "Glad I showed him not to mess with me." You'll be wondering why you ever thought of doing that.

[CHudgins]

Me and the other players on then McKenzie JV team have some personal experience with this.....A teammate of ours was hit in the eye/eyesocket/nose and had to have surgery to repair it. This was on an ACCIDENT pitch from a JV pitcher. If that can happen from a JV pitcher, imagine what can happen with a hard varsity pitcher throwing at you. If that was to hit in the right place, there would be major damage. I don't care how much he shows you up, its a game. Talk on the scoreboard. If you send him to the hospital and find out that he has serious damage, imagine how you'll feel. I can guarantee you you won't be saying, "Glad I showed him not to mess with me." You'll be wondering why you ever thought of doing that.

Fo Sho ... Listen to him ... Playa knows what he's talkin bout

[ksgovols]

Good post switzer. There's accountability for intentional actions. Doesn't hardly seem worth it because some Nuke LaRoosh wants to 'announce his presense with authority'.

[hillado14]

do you guys not comprehend what i type. yea i know that if i hit a guy in the face theres gonna be some major damage. when i say that im aiming for the ear hole is just a phrase. as a COLLEGE pitcher IM not gonna let a guy set up there and hoop n hollar just becasue he might of got lucky and hit a HR. i understand that its different in HS, i know this. BUT, there are some kids in HS baseball taht think that they are already in the bigs and will do that and yes when i was in HS i did hit a guy or two on purpose becuase they did that, i didnt hit em in the head but i got the message across. in all reality im gonna hit the player in hte hip or the ribs.

[Indian]

I just don't understand the reasons behind it, at any level-little league through major league. Really, what's the difference in that and a quarterback throwing the football at a defender's "nether-regions" like in The Longest Yard? A broken rib could keep a player out for a season and end a senior player's high school career. Just because it's not at the head doesn't mean it's okay. And yes, I understand throwing inside and sometimes those pitches go inside just a little too far, it is going to happen. But "sending a message" just will make things worse a lot of the time.

[hillado14]

there is no doubt that baseball is one of the best games ever but there are is no room for showboating in baseball, especially when it is in HS, its uncalled for. as a player when u hit a homerun that puts your team ahead in a clutch situation, u should act like u have done it before, not like you just won the lottery. i understand kids arent mature and they get a lil excited in stuations thye havent been in but leave the hooping and hollaring in babe ruth and little league.

[jimbobcooter]

This is a great debate, but in my opinion, I think every now and again you have to send that message. I say there are three reasons to throw at a hitter.

 

1. This has already been stated, but i will state it again, SHOWING UP A PITCHER-Hitters if you knock the ball out of the park, put your head down and run the bases, dont stand and poise, because next time at bat you will catch a fastball in the ear and i guarantee, that dont feel good and you will never poise again, not even for a picture if you cant turn your head quick enough!

 

2. If you are getting lite up on the mound, HITTERS ARE STANDING TO CLOSE TO THE PLATE AND CAN SEE EVERY PITCH YOU THROW. You have to back the hitter off the plate or it will be a long day. HITTERS that plate is there to determine balls and strikes not for you to stand on so your cleats dont get dirty, so dont stand on it, or once again you will catch a fastball in the ear hole.

 

3. If a team is blowing another team out and they are trying to RUN UP THE SCORE, by stealing bases, running the squeeze play and any of the unnecessary stuff in a 15 run ball game, Once again guys, be humble and take the 15 run victory, because it will feel alot better that that knot on the side of you head that you took from a fastball because you were trying to squeeze home a run with a 15 run lead.

 

Thamks for your time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ksgovols]

Jim Rome had this same discussion on his show today concerning Barry Bonds standing on the plate and wearing body armour. The contention was that there was no room in today's game for throwing between the numbers. Dust him off the plate, take back the inside part of the plate or walk him. I don't know if I agree 100% at the major league level, but there is no reason whatsoever at the amateur level for throwing at a kid's head. None.

 

If a hitter hits a homerun, he doesn't have to act like he's ashamed of it. If you're getting 10 run ruled and can't handle it, walk off the field. It's not the other team's job to quit scoring. It's your job to prevent them from scoring. Most coaches will call off the dogs and if they don't, there's usually some history that precedes the drubbing. Take your licks, you probably had it coming.

[lazarus]

having read all the posts, i don't believe that anyone has seriously advocated throwing at the head. and i dont really believe a coach should advocate throwing at someone. however, i believe in a sliding scale of sanctions, should i believe that my pitcher did throw to hit a batter (unless it is a head shot, that is never acceptable). say an opposing player hits a home run. if you threw at him next trip, i'd yank a knot in your tail. they are trying to win, we are trying to win. if you didnt get the job done, correct your own mistakes. on the other hand, if the player hits a home run, and walks on his hands to first base, and you hit him next trip. well, i'd scold you a little.

anyway, for the never-throw-to-hit-a-batter's out there, i'd like your opinion on some real life situations:

 

first, waaaaay back when my kid was in little league, an opposing coach had discovered that if his weaker players stood right on top of the plate and leaned into the strike zone, the opposing pitchers could hardly throw strikes. they won several long slow games before we faced them. i told my pitcher that the strike zone was his to throw at. and if he hit a batter, so what. the kid wasnt terribly accurate, but he threw hard. and, as it turned out, he wasnt all that upset about hitting batters. no one stood on the plate twice. was i wrong?

 

second, in high school, the other team had a big first baseman. in the first inning, one of our batters hit a ground ball on the left side. the first baseman had a lot of time on the play, but he stepped off the bag to take the throw, then spun (like a kickboxer) and smacked our baserunner in the face with the ball, hard, leveling him. we protested to the umpire, who did nothing. in the second inning, the same thing happened again. this time he knocked our runner senseless. again we protested, again the umpire opined that it was just "part of baseball". i have never told another parent's kid to throw at a batter, but my son was pitching. when the 1st baseman came up, he got drilled. give the umpire credit for consistency (if nothing else), he had no problem with that either. was i wrong?

 

third, high school again, we were getting killed by a vastly superior team. their leadoff man, a superb athlete, bunted. no problem with that (i wouldnt have done it, but thats just me). but the player swerved about 4 feet into the field of play to cut off the throw to first. the blue did not call him out for leaving the basepath, and our pitcher, a very gentle kid, ended up throwing the ball into right field trying to thread it past the runner. i just kept wishing i had been the pitcher. i would have put the ball right between his shoulder blades, as hard as i could put it there. would i have been wrong?

 

fourth, high school one more time, opposing batter sticks his elbow into the pitch, a strike pitch no less, and gets a free base. second trip he does it again (and dont think for a minute we werent trying to convince blue that is outside the rules of the game). the third time, our pitcher stuck one into the ribs. coming off the field at the end of the inning, i overheard him tell another player, "by god, if he wants a base off me he's gonna have to earn it!" since it wasn't said directly to me, i chose to not "hear" it. was i wrong?

 

my kid played in college, and (as several have said) it is a lot different. everyone knows the unwritten rules. and those who break them understand what it will cost. i didnt get to see a lot of games, because i was still involved in hs ball back then, but it didnt seem like bean-balls were nearly as likely as in hs. of course the pitches they were throwing up there were a lot more serious than what is thrown in high school, and that probably affects how people treat the issue. but i also think that SOME of the blue used by tssaa need more training. and a few well-chosen "points of emphasis" would remove many of the situations that lead to this particular trouble.

 

play hard,

play by the rules,

never try to injure someone,

but dont go hide on the bus.