Liberal Forum

GHETTOBLASTER » 14 Jun 2022, 12:11 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:11 pm

At close to 100 mph plus you can smell the burned leather when you foul tip it.
The first spinning tire pitching machines I knew of came out my Senior year of HS. 
If both tires were set to the same exact speed it would throw a 100 mph knuckleball....  
We had it throwing BP against the 2 x 10 lumber back stop and it was splitting the wood...with one tire throwing a wee bit faster than the other it threw 100 mph Sliders.
We set it up to throw "pop ups" for infield practice  that were basically uncatchable..the ball would get up in the wind currents and drift who knows where.
I played with 4 guys who got drafted out of HS, then sent to Class A.
They hit .350 to .400 in HS but had trouble hitting above .200 at Class A
You really need to be a .500 plus hitter in HS to have any chance of making it IMHO.

You ever see that movie Knuckleball?

Not being from a baseball environment, I found that to be an interesting slice of the sport.
Is a human-powered 100mph knuckleball even possible? Doesn't seem like it.
In the 80's was about all I saw...

Deezer » wrote:

24 Jan 1970, 1:55 pm

GHETTOBLASTER » 14 Jun 2022, 12:11 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:11 pm

At close to 100 mph plus you can smell the burned leather when you foul tip it.
The first spinning tire pitching machines I knew of came out my Senior year of HS. 
If both tires were set to the same exact speed it would throw a 100 mph knuckleball....  
We had it throwing BP against the 2 x 10 lumber back stop and it was splitting the wood...with one tire throwing a wee bit faster than the other it threw 100 mph Sliders.
We set it up to throw "pop ups" for infield practice  that were basically uncatchable..the ball would get up in the wind currents and drift who knows where.
I played with 4 guys who got drafted out of HS, then sent to Class A.
They hit .350 to .400 in HS but had trouble hitting above .200 at Class A
You really need to be a .500 plus hitter in HS to have any chance of making it IMHO.

You ever see that movie Knuckleball?

Not being from a baseball environment, I found that to be an interesting slice of the sport.
Is a human-powered 100mph knuckleball even possible? Doesn't seem like it.
In the 80's was about all I saw...

 

Nah.  A knuckle ball is designed to have very little to no spin and and to move all over the place.  

DeezerShoove » 14 Jun 2022, 12:22 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:22 pm

You ever see that movie Knuckleball?

Not being from a baseball environment, I found that to be an interesting slice of the sport.
Is a human-powered 100mph knuckleball even possible? Doesn't seem like it.
In the 80's was about all I saw...

It really is pure magic to see the knuck dance.
In the outfield  I have seen 100 mph knuckleballs coming  right at me..!
Another pitch that is pure magic is the "splitter / split finger"...to see it just drop as it approaches the plate. I could never  throw 2 in a row that "drop" like that...and that is what seperates the men from the boys...because if that pitch doesn't drop, then all it is is  70 mph batting practice.
 
 

Huey » 14 Jun 2022, 12:26 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:26 pm

Nah.  A knuckle ball is designed to have very little to no spin and and to move all over the place.

A knuckle curve is the exception.
Burt Hooten had a good one.
 

GHETTOBLASTER » 14 Jun 2022, 12:28 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:28 pm

It really is pure magic to see the knuck dance.
In the outfield  I have seen 100 mph knuckleballs coming  right at me..!
Another pitch that is pure magic is the "splitter / split finger"...to see it just drop as it approaches the plate. I could never  throw 2 in a row that "drop" like that...and that is what seperates the men from the boys...because if that pitch doesn't drop, then all it is is  70 mph batting practice.

A hit ball with no spin isn't technically a knuckleball pitch, though.

I do know what you mean.
Coming right at your face, no, chest, no, over the head, no, face again...  

DeezerShoove » 14 Jun 2022, 12:34 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:34 pm

A hit ball with no spin isn't technically a knuckleball pitch, though.

I do know what you mean.
Coming right at your face, no, chest, no, over the head, no, face again...

It seems that those line drives take a detour right before they reach the glove. It mostly happens with balls hit to CF.
 

roadkill » 14 Jun 2022, 10:02 am » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 10:02 am

I'm in Missoula.   Years ago we played a gig at Big Sky ski resort.  Beautiful area. They provided us with free lodging, meals, skis, and lift tickets.

We also played a dive bar right in Bozeman. I've been to Jackson Hole a few times too...beautiful!

We drove through Big Sky. It really is beautiful. We checked Zillow, just out of curiosity, and the cheapest house was around a million.

We also went to Little Bighorn National Battlefield. Very cool.

GHETTOBLASTER » 14 Jun 2022, 12:36 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:36 pm

It seems that those line drives take a detour right before they reach the glove. It mostly happens with balls hit to CF.

And directly at you

I throw a SCREWBALL. I aim it high to a right handed batter, and it looks hittable, until it breaks into the batter! FernandoValenzuela of the dodgers used to have a dandy one, It breaks the opposite of a curve ball.It will burn out your elbow in time, tho.  
 

AnnoyedLiberall » 14 Jun 2022, 10:15 am » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 10:15 am

Was that an American Airlines flight?ss

PSA. My ex and I were both in the Navy. She had gone to talk to the lady about babysitting our son. I was on my way to Long Beach where my ship was going through repairs. Our son who was two years old (he just turned 46 last week) was staying at her sister's house. After talking to the lady she left the house and ten minutes later the plane crashed into the house killing the lady and her son. In total 9 people on the ground were killed. 133 on the airliner and two in the private plane also died. As my ex was driving toward our home she saw the small plane that had collided with the airliner going down. The scary thing is that when she was talking to the lady she considered calling her sister to ask her to bring our son to meet the babysitter. If she had the plane would have killed her while she waited or killed her, my son, and sister in law after they arrived. Needless to say it was a traumatic experience for her.

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local ... d4954279ab

PSA Flight 182 crash: News 8's coverage of the San Diego tragedy 40 years ago


 
 

Rock » 14 Jun 2022, 12:36 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:36 pm

We drove through Big Sky. It really is beautiful. We checked Zillow, just out of curiosity, and the cheapest house was around a million.

We also went to Little Bighorn National Battlefield. Very cool.

All good stuff...I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves Rock.     

GHETTOBLASTER » 14 Jun 2022, 12:30 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:30 pm

A knuckle curve is the exception.
Burt Hooten had a good one.

He did, but I was at Yankee Stadium the day Reggie Jackson hit 3 consecutive homers off the Dodgers in the World Series, with his first coming off Hooten that he crushed into the right field stands.  To this day, I remember that second homer he hit off Elias Sosa being the hardest hit line drive that I had ever seen, while his third homer easily went the furthest into the black in center field.
 

Zeets2 » 14 Jun 2022, 1:15 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 1:15 pm

GHETTOBLASTER » 14 Jun 2022, 12:30 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 12:30 pm

A knuckle curve is the exception.
Burt Hooten had a good one.

He did, but I was at Yankee Stadium the day Reggie Jackson hit 3 consecutive homers off the Dodgers in the World Series, with his first coming off Hooten that he crushed into the right field stands.  To this day, I remember that second homer he hit off Elias Sosa being the hardest hit line drive that I had ever seen, while his third homer easily went the furthest into the black in center field.
 

 

I saw that on TV.  I grew up there.  Some people forget he hit two in Game 5.  His last four swings of the bat were homers. 

Huey » 14 Jun 2022, 1:26 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 1:26 pm

I saw that on TV.  I grew up there.  Some people forget he hit two in Game 5.  His last four swings of the bat were homers.

An even more obscure fact than that, I was also there for the first game of the 1978 season when they handed out Reggie Bars to every fan.  On the first pitch that Reggie saw in that game, he homered again and the fans responded by throwing their Reggie Bars onto the field in a tribute to him.

I probably would have thrown mine too, but by the bottom of the first, I had already eaten mine!
Watch the video:
https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/j0aXy7 ... Bars.0.gif

 
 

Zeets2 » 14 Jun 2022, 1:38 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 1:38 pm

Huey » 14 Jun 2022, 1:26 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 1:26 pm

I saw that on TV.  I grew up there.  Some people forget he hit two in Game 5.  His last four swings of the bat were homers.

An even more obscure fact than that, I was also there for the first game of the 1978 season when they handed out Reggie Bars to every fan.  On the first pitch that Reggie saw in that game, he homered again and the fans responded by throwing their Reggie Bars onto the field in a tribute to him.

I probably would have thrown mine too, but by the bottom of the first, I had already eaten mine!
Watch the video:
https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/j0aXy7 ... Bars.0.gif

 
 

 

I remember that also.  I also heard the candy bar sucked.

Zeets2 » 14 Jun 2022, 1:15 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 1:15 pm

He did, but I was at Yankee Stadium the day Reggie Jackson hit 3 consecutive homers off the Dodgers in the World Series, with his first coming off Hooten that he crushed into the right field stands.  To this day, I remember that second homer he hit off Elias Sosa being the hardest hit line drive that I had ever seen, while his third homer easily went the furthest into the black in center field.

Reggie was a classic example of how being SUPREMELY CONFIDENT AND ABLE TO DEAL WITH FAILURE is how you thrive in a sport where even the best hitters fail 70% of the time.

Who could forget the great Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood and the time he pitched both ends of a doubleheader...?

GHETTOBLASTER » 14 Jun 2022, 1:41 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 1:41 pm

Reggie was a classic example of how being SUPREMELY CONFIDENT AND ABLE TO DEAL WITH FAILURE is how you thrive in a sport where even the best hitters fail 70% of the time.

Who could forget the great Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood and the time he pitched both ends of a doubleheader...?

I remember that day in 1973!  He lost both games of that doubleheader, a real rarity!
 

Huey » 14 Jun 2022, 1:41 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 1:41 pm

I remember that also.  I also heard the candy bar sucked.

Actually, I liked it!  It was nothing more than a Baby Ruth bar flattened into a patty.
 

Zeets2 » 14 Jun 2022, 1:45 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 1:45 pm

I remember that day in 1973!  He lost both games of that doubleheader, a real rarity!

His career totals are pretty amazing to look at.

Wilbur Wood Stats | Baseball-Reference.com
 
He might not be in the HOF..but there was something "HOFerish" about his career.

GHETTOBLASTER » 14 Jun 2022, 1:49 pm » wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2022, 1:49 pm

His career totals are pretty amazing to look at.

Wilbur Wood Stats | Baseball-Reference.com
 
He might not be in the HOF..but there was something "HOFerish" about his career.

Funny how the game has changed so much.  I can't think of a single pitcher now throwing only knuckleballs, although many have incorporated the knuckle-curve.  But there were a plethora of them years ago.  I remember the Neikro brothers, Joe and Phil did, RA Dickey, Tim Wakefield, Charlie Hough, and of course, Hoyt Wilhelm.  Then I remember Jim Bouton throwing it with the old Seattle Pilots, while he was writing Ball Four, still a great baseball book.
Do you remember Steve Hamilton as a Yankee throwing his eephus ball?  I was reminded of that just the other night when the Cubs brought in a position player to pitch after the Yanks had scored 17 runs, and threw one to Kyle Higashioka, who promptly deposited it into the left field stands.
Here it is, if you missed it:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1536090617830178816