Yesterday's baseball game was tied up in the last inning. Our team batted in the bottom of the last inning. Runner on second base. Kid hits a weak ground ball. Runner on second should immediately run to third base in the situation. He doesn't. He hesitates. Fielder throws to first base to get the out. Runner now runs to third base, drawing a throw. It's an errant throw. Because of the error, the runner is able to easily score. Ballgame over. You take the win however you get it. Baseball will drive you mad. Textbook baserunning in the situation would've drawn no throw, because the runner would've advanced to third base when the ball was on the ground. But because of his hesitation--technically a mistake--he unintentionally provokes a hurried throw that sails past the third baseman. It wasn't by design, but it worked in our favor.
During warmups, our team looked crisp. We had a smooth, clean warmup, and felt good about our pre-game preparation. We observed the other team having a warmup that looked sloppy. They didn't look dialed in. I wondered to myself if there is such a thing about the science of warmups. Over the years I haven't noticed a completely clear connection between warmup quality and game outcome. In this instance, a good warmup and less than quality warmup put the teams at a tie game heading into the last inning of the game. And a bad throw concludes the game.
As with a lot of contests, there are dozens if not hundreds of factors involved. It's a rollercoaster, and sometimes you just have to enjoy the ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment