Great Catch

I'll admit up front that it's a bit odd, but one thing I'll say for listening to baseball on the radio is that there's an added dimension of the game when you can't actually see what happened. Two dimensions, really.

I was listening to yesterday's Detroit Tigers game (Bally Sports and Xfinity don't appear to care whether I can watch live baseball) and, at one point, Tiger outfielder Riley Greene made a spectacular catch to save, the announcers felt, two runs. 

It was euphoric to hear. Dan Dickerson, the play by play man (who has a great announcer's voice by the way) described the action. He sounded excited and concerned all at once as the ball fell to earth, telling his audience about Greene's rush towards it, and exploding himself in happiness when the catch was made. I about jumped from my seat too.

This leads to the first point: having the play told to you adds more excitement than seeing it. Secondly, I actually felt greater relief at hearing about the ball caught than seeing it done. It's almost like reading a book rather than watching a movie or TV show. You interact more profoundly when you have to invest yourself in the process. You don't have to pay as much attention when you see something. You have to hang on each word as you read or have a description delivered to you.

I found I had a greater satisfaction for the result hearing it instead of seeing it. Imagination can be better than reality I suppose. At least at certain times with certain things.

Do They Really?

Detroit Tiger Riley Greene hit an opposite field home run in a Grapefruit League game Thursday afternoon. Red Wing Andrew Copp scored an impressive goal later that evening in a hockey game. Each time, the respective analysts spoke of the mechanics and training that go into such home runs and hockey goals. Greene went with the pitch, as he was presumably taught, and sent it over the left field fence rather than try to pull it to right as a left handed batter might typically do. Copp managed to control a rolling puck for several strides and eventually slammed it past the goalie. It was taken as given that they were coached into their accomplishments.

Or were they? That's the question I almost always have in the back of my mind when the sports experts explain something. Did Riley Green really think all that through in the .15 of a second he had to decide whether to swing at the pitch, or does he simply have very good hand to eye coordination and more or less instinctively drove the ball the other way?

I'm not saying that as a bad thing. Talent after all is talent, and fantastic coordination the mark of a good athlete. I'm not even saying coaching or training does nothing. Still, can reactions like that truly be taught and learned, or are they just a reflection of pure talent?

The answer is likely somewhere in between, depending on the player. Yet I'm sure some athletes are simply good at what they do and that's all there is to it. I don't think Babe Ruth needed much coaching on the long ball.

Tigers Go Out With a Win

I realize that the attention of most Detroit sports fans is on the Lions right now, and I get that. It's October, and the baseball Tigers (other than with Miguel Cabrera's retirement, which sold out Comerica Park yesterday) weren't going anywhere while the football team looks more promising than it has in ages. But, for me, it's still more about baseball, and there's always a tinge of sadness when the Tigers are done for the year.

When that last out is made, there's a finality which I rarely experience elsewhere. Listening to yesterday's game on the radio in the garage at Hessel, I sighed as they went to commercial when the game had ended. With the push of a button came the realization there would be no more Hessel baseball until about May next year. But the 5-2 win over Cleveland left us in second place even with the mediocre record of 78-64. And like the Lions, I think there are better days ahead.

For starters, if you take away the AL East against whom the Tigers were an abysmal 3-17 (or about that; I'm too lazy to look it up this morning) they had a winning record. Lift that figure to .500 and they would have been in playoff contention until late. The pitching has looked good. Even if Eduardo Rodriguez doesn't return we have several other reliable arms, plus Casey Mize returning from Tommy John surgery. I don't know what that is myself but it's saved a lot of careers. If we can improve upon hitting (the team was batting .233 last time I checked, a far from impressive number) we can compete in 2024, especially in our weak division.

Spencer Torkleson had a breakout year and Kerry Carpenter looks like the real deal. If Riley Greene is available after his own Tommy John surgery, seeing him in an outfield with Parker Meadows will allow the team to cover a lot of ground out there. Get another bat too, boys. Maybe a pair.

Yes, there's still another month of baseball and I will watch my share of it. But 2024 is stacking up to be interesting for the Tigers, and I will be pining for it.