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December Days 03 - Walk (The Six of Bases)
Dec. 3rd, 2014 06:32 am[This is part of a series exploring the Baseball Tarot. If you would like to prompt for a part of the game or a card from the deck, there's still plenty of space. Otherwise, the month will mostly be random draws. Leave a comment with a prompt, if you like. All other comments are still welcome, of course.]
Baseball has always been a slow game. As the only one of the four major American sports (baseball, basketball, American football, and [ice hockey or Association Football], depending on where you are in the country) that is untimed, with no game clock dictating when the end of the game is. The game proceeds until (at least) twenty-seven outs have been recorded for the losing team.
Even so, the game you watch on a television set has been sped up significantly from its original incarnation. Baseball has always wanted to be a game about hits and fielding, so the original charge to the pitcher was to provide a ball that could be hit, and conversely, the hitter was supposed to hit balls that were good to do so, in the umpire's judgement. A call of "ball to the bat" or "bat to the ball" was a warning from the umpire to get on with it, and if the situation didn't improve, then the umpire would start calling balls or strikes to move things along. (There are still provisions in the earlier rules for bases on balls or striking out, but the idea of the game was still to put the ball in play.)
The system most players in summer baseball learn today is an improvement for hitters and pitchers, but has the added effect of making eyesight and good judgement important for both hitters and umpires. The "strike zone", a defined area the width of the home base, the depth of the home base, and the height of the distance between approximately a batter's knees and the lettering of their uniform (there is actually a strict definition of the strike zone in the official rules, and with cameras watching baseball these days, umpires are evaluated and graded on how well they adhere to that official definition), is considered to be the space where it is reasonable to expect a player to put the bat on the ball. A pitch thrown where the ball passes through that zone is a strike, a pitch thrown that does not pass through that zone, and is not swung at by the batter, is a ball. The fourth ball thrown to a batter results in a penalty to the defense - the batter is awarded safe passage to first base. If there is a runner on first base who would be displaced by the batter's movement, she is granted safe passage to the next base. Any successive displacements by the movement of runners advance the displaced runner one base until all runners are placed, one to each base. A runner on third base so displaced comes to the home base and scores a run, removing them from play.
Thus, the phrase arises, "A walk is as good as a hit." Strictly speaking, this is not true, as advanced baseball tactics often attempt to move baserunners multiple bases on each hit, so as not to provide the defense with easy opportunities to make multiple outs on a single infield-playable ball. Walks are definitely preferable to making outs, however, and do generate baserunners for the offense and pressure for the defense.
The truth of the modern game is that the pitching and hitting generally live on the edges of the strike zone, usually at knee-height, called the "corners" of the zone. Considering that any person that can succeed as a hitter three times out of ten over the course of their career will be a first-ballot entrant into the Hall of Fame, and suddenly being able to discern whether a ball is a hittable one becomes a very useful skill. Good hitters in terms of their success rate correspondingly have quite a few bases awarded to them on balls.
In terms of Tarot meanings, the presence of a Walk generally means slow and steady progress brought on by observation and judgement. It's not the flashiest way of getting to the next base, but it does work. The equivalent in other decks, the six of pentacles, often is a good sign for positive results from endeavors, especially those that come as gifts. (Which makes sense, as ultimately, the walk is a gift from the defense to the offense. As such, since it's a defensive penalty, it doesn't count as an official attempt at the plate for a batting average, either.)
...if you're the hitter, that is. If you're the pitcher, the presence of a walk indicates your control is not where you want it to be. Yes, the umpire might also be giving you a smaller strike zone than he should, but ultimately your pitches aren't making it where they need to go. The pitching coach's advice at this point boils down to "Throw strikes." Because pitchers sometimes forget they have eight other fielders behind them that can also make outs. A pitcher that can throw strikes consistently will force hitters to swing the bats, and again, success for hitters is usually less than three times out of ten. (For my time as a pitcher in summer leagues, my success relied very heavily on whether or not the fielders behind me were good at what they did. Lots and lots of ground ball outs.) So if you're the pitcher and you're giving up walks, refocus, remember your team, and throw strikes.
As a last thought, occasionally the walk is intentional. In certain situations, the calculations work out that the defense would rather give up a base (one they usually have available) to create a better situation for the defense to make multiple outs. Or possibly to avoid having to pitch to a batter than has had success against them for the whole game, so they can try to get outs with a "weaker" hitter (who may hit them just as hard anyway). Sometimes it makes good sense to give a pass to someone so that you can get the person your want at the plate and improve your odds of winning. And if you're on the receiving end of an intentional walk, maybe a teammate will hit you in anyway.
Baseball has always been a slow game. As the only one of the four major American sports (baseball, basketball, American football, and [ice hockey or Association Football], depending on where you are in the country) that is untimed, with no game clock dictating when the end of the game is. The game proceeds until (at least) twenty-seven outs have been recorded for the losing team.
Even so, the game you watch on a television set has been sped up significantly from its original incarnation. Baseball has always wanted to be a game about hits and fielding, so the original charge to the pitcher was to provide a ball that could be hit, and conversely, the hitter was supposed to hit balls that were good to do so, in the umpire's judgement. A call of "ball to the bat" or "bat to the ball" was a warning from the umpire to get on with it, and if the situation didn't improve, then the umpire would start calling balls or strikes to move things along. (There are still provisions in the earlier rules for bases on balls or striking out, but the idea of the game was still to put the ball in play.)
The system most players in summer baseball learn today is an improvement for hitters and pitchers, but has the added effect of making eyesight and good judgement important for both hitters and umpires. The "strike zone", a defined area the width of the home base, the depth of the home base, and the height of the distance between approximately a batter's knees and the lettering of their uniform (there is actually a strict definition of the strike zone in the official rules, and with cameras watching baseball these days, umpires are evaluated and graded on how well they adhere to that official definition), is considered to be the space where it is reasonable to expect a player to put the bat on the ball. A pitch thrown where the ball passes through that zone is a strike, a pitch thrown that does not pass through that zone, and is not swung at by the batter, is a ball. The fourth ball thrown to a batter results in a penalty to the defense - the batter is awarded safe passage to first base. If there is a runner on first base who would be displaced by the batter's movement, she is granted safe passage to the next base. Any successive displacements by the movement of runners advance the displaced runner one base until all runners are placed, one to each base. A runner on third base so displaced comes to the home base and scores a run, removing them from play.
Thus, the phrase arises, "A walk is as good as a hit." Strictly speaking, this is not true, as advanced baseball tactics often attempt to move baserunners multiple bases on each hit, so as not to provide the defense with easy opportunities to make multiple outs on a single infield-playable ball. Walks are definitely preferable to making outs, however, and do generate baserunners for the offense and pressure for the defense.
The truth of the modern game is that the pitching and hitting generally live on the edges of the strike zone, usually at knee-height, called the "corners" of the zone. Considering that any person that can succeed as a hitter three times out of ten over the course of their career will be a first-ballot entrant into the Hall of Fame, and suddenly being able to discern whether a ball is a hittable one becomes a very useful skill. Good hitters in terms of their success rate correspondingly have quite a few bases awarded to them on balls.
In terms of Tarot meanings, the presence of a Walk generally means slow and steady progress brought on by observation and judgement. It's not the flashiest way of getting to the next base, but it does work. The equivalent in other decks, the six of pentacles, often is a good sign for positive results from endeavors, especially those that come as gifts. (Which makes sense, as ultimately, the walk is a gift from the defense to the offense. As such, since it's a defensive penalty, it doesn't count as an official attempt at the plate for a batting average, either.)
...if you're the hitter, that is. If you're the pitcher, the presence of a walk indicates your control is not where you want it to be. Yes, the umpire might also be giving you a smaller strike zone than he should, but ultimately your pitches aren't making it where they need to go. The pitching coach's advice at this point boils down to "Throw strikes." Because pitchers sometimes forget they have eight other fielders behind them that can also make outs. A pitcher that can throw strikes consistently will force hitters to swing the bats, and again, success for hitters is usually less than three times out of ten. (For my time as a pitcher in summer leagues, my success relied very heavily on whether or not the fielders behind me were good at what they did. Lots and lots of ground ball outs.) So if you're the pitcher and you're giving up walks, refocus, remember your team, and throw strikes.
As a last thought, occasionally the walk is intentional. In certain situations, the calculations work out that the defense would rather give up a base (one they usually have available) to create a better situation for the defense to make multiple outs. Or possibly to avoid having to pitch to a batter than has had success against them for the whole game, so they can try to get outs with a "weaker" hitter (who may hit them just as hard anyway). Sometimes it makes good sense to give a pass to someone so that you can get the person your want at the plate and improve your odds of winning. And if you're on the receiving end of an intentional walk, maybe a teammate will hit you in anyway.
