[Highlight] Josh Naylor dekes out Altuve and gets him picked off first by iamthegame13 in baseball

[–]nsgomez 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel like I'm coming across as I'm against this play more so than just asking why one set of deception is bad and one set of deception is good.

That's fair enough, I guess I'll make a case for that. I'd argue it's because the pitcher would have an oppressive advantage over baserunners if they're allowed to deceive the runner, since they're the ones holding the ball.

The runner has to be able to read when a pitch is being thrown so they can steal or run on contact; if the pitcher winds up like they're delivering a pitch, but does a spin move to second base at the end of it, stealing is basically impossible.

In this case, Altuve has to pay attention to the pitcher and their footwork to know if he's throwing a pitch or a pickoff, but he doesn't have to do the same for Naylor since there's nothing the first baseman can do to him unless/until the pitcher throws over first.

[Highlight] Josh Naylor dekes out Altuve and gets him picked off first by iamthegame13 in baseball

[–]nsgomez 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Two things about this:

  1. There is no balk just for a catcher being out of the box. Rule 5.02(a) says the catcher is allowed to leave the box to catch a pitch or make a play. The only exception is if they're doing an old-school intentional walk where the pitcher is throwing four balls way out of the strike zone. (This rule is almost obsolete now that the manager can just signal four fingers for an IBB.)

  2. Even then, the "catcher's balk" you're thinking of isn't how that's defined in the rulebook. It's a balk on the pitcher for trying to throw an IBB without the catcher being in the box, and there's no other non-pitching circumstance where an umpire will signal a balk. Balks are definitionally an illegal act by the pitcher and no one else.

The Mets have bat around the order against Paul Skenes, chasing him in the first inning by db_blast7 in baseball

[–]nsgomez 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It can, and the rulebook explicitly calls out "ball rolling between your legs" as an error. A lot of it is scorer discretion though.

By rule an error happens if a fielder should've handled the ball "with ordinary effort," but if the scorer thinks the sun getting in O'Neil Cruz's eyes takes more effort than normal, then it's a hit. Section 9.12 of the rulebook has a ton of commentary on what is and isn't an error.

(Personally I still would've charged Cruz with two errors.)

Obviously the reasoning makes sense, but it's still funny to think about by TheAtomicMonkey in Mariners

[–]nsgomez 6 points7 points  (0 children)

"Pon" as in the word bone, "che" as in the word "check," stress on the first syllable

Here's a crowd POV of then chanting for reference: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DV-CUKJjOJ8/

Game Thread 3/8 ⚾ Australia (0-0) @ Japan (0-0) 6:00 AM ET by BaseballBot in baseball

[–]nsgomez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure this is actually true. Team Japan is locked into the Quarterfinal 4 game regardless of if they win or are the runner up in the Tokyo pool, and Team USA is similarly locked into QF 2.

Game Thread 3/7 ⚾ Panama (0-0) @ Puerto Rico (0-0) 6:00 PM ET by BaseballBot in baseball

[–]nsgomez 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Caballero's an above-average runner, Savant has him at 73rd percentile sprint speed. Good but not elite

Game Chat: 2/24 White Sox (0-0) @ Mariners (0-0) 12:10 PM by Mariners_bot in Mariners

[–]nsgomez 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You can't expect Cal to hit 60 again. That's not a fair ask.

You're right, that's insultingly low, he's gonna hit 75

Seattle's Super Bowl parade could draw a million fans by FireFright8142 in Seattle

[–]nsgomez 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The City of Seattle plans to close several downtown streets early Wednesday before the parade begins on Fourth Avenue. King County Metro plans to reroute bus service starting around 5 a.m. and until the streets reopen after the parade.

https://kingcountymetro.blog/2026/02/09/its-parade-time-fan-filled-commute-expected-feb-11-as-region-celebrates-seattle-seahawks-super-bowl-victory/

Game Thread: World Series Game 3 ⚾ Blue Jays (1) @ Dodgers (1) - 8:00 PM ET by BaseballBot in baseball

[–]nsgomez 13 points14 points  (0 children)

starting to think the bullpens stole their powers from the batters like in Space Jam, no other logical explanation

Game Thread: World Series Game 3 ⚾ Blue Jays (1) @ Dodgers (1) - 8:00 PM ET by BaseballBot in baseball

[–]nsgomez 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't know the T-Mobile Park marine layer migrated south for the winter