Pitching is the biggest attribute a team can have going into the playoffs. A team that can limit the amount of runs scored by the opposing team the better chance of winning a game. For example the 2005 Astros were able to out pitch the opposing teams to get to the World Series. The 2005 Astros had one of the best pitching rotation in all of baseball at the time to led the them to World Series. Whichever team pitches better in the series has the best of winning.
Sara McKenna Comp and Lit 1 It's sweltering hot out, at least 95 degrees with no breeze or shade. I feel nothing but the sun reflecting off my skin and sweat dripping down my face. My teammates and fans are cheering me on along with my coach, who happens to be my father, telling me to "Push it!" I play this scenario over and over again hoping it will ease the pressure, but nothing could have prepared me for this moment. Bottom of the seventh inning, bases loaded, two outs, my team is up by one run, and the count on the batter is three balls and two strikes.
As the end of the top half of the first inning was coming to the end, the bases were loaded, two outs and I was up to bat. It was a pitcher to pitcher battle. First pitch was a ball, second pitch I swung at and missed, then I worked the count to two balls and two strikes. The next pitch I foul off and breathe as I know I still have a chance to knock in some more runs. A few pitches later I’m still fouling them off and keeping myself alive in the battle.
Fresh on pitching, we came out strong this time around earning 6 hits and 4 runs in the first inning of the game and holding the other team to just a run. We went on to win the game 9-2 to propel us into the second round of the tourney. We went on to win our next 2 games in spectacular fashion. Outscoring our opponents 23-6; including a win over our cross-town rivals, Columbia Little League. It was a hard fought game all the way through until we broke out 6 runs in the final inning the clinch the win.
At that moment I realize no one in the field is moving, I also notice my team hollering as they run out of the dug out. I slow down to a nice jog and I’m in amazement of the fact, I just hit a home run. A girl in boy’s baseball, and I just hit a bomb? “Thump”, was the sound of both my feet hitting home plate, something that was at one time unimaginable. Only to make this experience even better, I was later informed that I was the first girl in Nevada to hit an out of the park homerun in a sanctioned baseball game.
The series against the Cubs would be the first intra-city World Series Championship. The Cubs would have most of the attention because they seemed to be the better team with the better record but, the White Sox ended up winning the series 4 games to 2. In 1917 the White Sox would once again have powerful pitching that would help them win a franchise record 100 games. The White Sox would play the New York Giants in the World Series Championship and win the second and last of the 20th century 4 games to 2. This series was played during World War 1, and prior to the first game at Comiskey Park the White Sox played the Star Spangled Banner to honor the troops.
I have always wondered where the word “innocence” got its meaning from. What is truly innocent out there? Just as we in the real world, baseball players are just looking to win, move up the ladder of life to take the top position. The more they win the more fans and money they will earn. So why not take something that just gives them the boost they need to be number one?
Saving their Arms At one time or another, a young pitcher can experience what is known as a tired or stale arm. This happens in little league just as much, if not more often, that it happens in the major leagues. In youth baseball, pitchers are even more vulnerable, especially since little leaguers are playing more than one season and sometimes two leagues at the same time. There are a number of things we as coaches can do during the season that will assure longevity and fewer injuries to the arm. Loosening up is extremely important before a pitcher throws one pitch.
There is an electric feeling in the air as soon as you get out of your car in the parking lot. When the game starts, the fans are going crazy from the first pitch. There is nothing more exciting than waving the rally towel in the air as the Cardinals get the final out. My favorite days are the days that I am privileged enough to go to Busch Stadium and watch a baseball game. The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the best franchises in all of baseball and I have always been a huge fan.
I felt like my heart almost dropped. Followed by an infield single, there were runners on first and second. Getting into my ready position sweat was dripping off my brow and my hands shaking the first pitch to the next batter is a strike, followed by one more. The count is zero balls and two strikes. The stadium is just roaring at this point in anticipation for the next pitch.