Thinking Man’s Games

With the exception of Yogi Berra, baseball players are not known for their deep thoughts.  After this evening’s win over the White Sox, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, who is tied for the league lead in runs batted in with 52 ribbies, said, "A lot of credit for RBIs has to go for guys being on base."

Whoa.  Maybe I’m going out on a limb, but I think that’s why they call them Runs Batted In.  A guy is on a base, you hit the ball, he runs home and scores.  Yup.  That’s an RBI for ya.  You kinda need the guy on base to get one.

I love it when ballplayers and announcers try to make the obvious sound so insightful.  Another one of my favorites is any time an announcer says about a batter, "He’s just looking for a pitch to hit."  Uh, no duh.  That’s why he’s standing there with a bat in his hand, swinging at a ball.  He wants to hit it.

For what is commonly called the "thinking man’s game," baseball surely is cursed with loads of insipid commentary.

Speaking of thinking man’s games, how about NASCAR?  No really, don’t laugh.  I’m starting to get some (immensely small amount) of respect for NASCAR after reading Jim Salisbury’s commentary about Jeff Gordon’s win at the Pocono 500 this past weekend.  Rather than pit at the standard intervals in the race, Gordon’s team gambled that the race would be interrupted by rain, and ran the race to be in the lead at the first raindrop – which they guessed would come somewhere shortly after mile 250 – not at mile 500.  Nobody in NASCAR cares about leading at the half-way point, but Gordon did, and it got him a rain-shortened victory.  Read the article and gain a morsel of respect for this thinking man’s game.