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December Days 10 - Take (Two of Bats)
Dec. 10th, 2015 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, all the rest of the month is available for your curiosity, about either baseball or Tarot. Leave a comment with a prompt if you want in. All other comments are still welcome, of course.]
Not every pitch is worth swinging at. Going up to the plate with the intent of swinging at whatever comes is a very fast way to head back to the dugout with nothing. Pitchers that can figure out what will get a hitter to swing at pitches that are outside the strike zone or that will result in easy outs will adjust their pitches accordingly and serve up a steady diet of junk to the hitter. Patience and skill at discerning which pitches are good and which ones aren't is a basic skill for any batter hoping to be productive at the plate. Players with excellent discernment end up being better hitters by forcing the pitcher to throw more hittable balls in an attempt to get strikes. Things get a little more complicated when the umpire, the batter, and the pitcher all have different ideas of how big the strike zone really is, or when the hitter has two strikes against them and may have to chase after a few pitches that are probably outside the strike zone but are too close to let by, but generally, "good eye" is an excellent skill to have.
The Take, however, uses precisely none of that skill and ability, and instead is basically a decision made by the hitter to see whether or not the pitcher can actually throw a strike. Or, more precisely, a decision made by the coaches to see whether or not the pitcher can throw a strike, as many hitters would be more than happy to slap even the first pitch thrown out into the outfield and get on base. A Take is just making a conscious decision not to swing at a pitch.
A take is usually the first thing a hitter does when facing a new pitcher, because the pitch thrown first says a lot about the pitcher's control, command, and confidence in their abilities. Can the pitcher throw a strike right away? Did they throw a fastball to establish a good strike? A breaking pitch to demonstrate some of their other skills? Was it painting a corner and probing where the umpire is calling strikes, or was it somewhere potentially hittable? It's not a guarantee that any of this information will be useful immediately, but the first pitch says a lot.
Takes often happen on good hitting counts, too. If the pitcher hasn't thrown a strike in three pitches, the hitter can afford to give one up just to see if the pitcher can find the strike zone. Otherwise, it's a walk, and they're on base anyway.
Takes are also associated with bunts a lot of the time. If the pitch is a strike and looks like it can be handled, bunt the ball, otherwise, take the pitch by pulling the bat back. Sometimes showing the bunt and then taking is enough to pull the defense out of their regular positions and open up new lanes to drive a subsequent pitch through.
The placement of this card in the action suit of Bats seems out of place to start. Even worse, it's right next to the Ace of Bats, which is all about starting action, and the Three of Bats, which is a good result from swinging the bat. A Take is an action, though, and has a place in every at-bat. In fact, the Take is one of the essential actions that leads to better swings of the bat, and the other elements in the suit of Bats often develop from proper use of the Take, so that the hitter can choose the pitch they want to put into play.
Should this card apart in your reading, if you're the hitter, this is a signal to pause. Take the pitch. Taking, however, doesn't mean just passively watching the ball. Study the pitch that comes in and see if there's information on it about what the next pitch will be, or if the pitcher is showing signs of exhaustion, nervousness, or other conditions that will affect their next offerings. The extra information will help you deal with the next offering better. Being too aggressive with the bat will only make you easier to get out.
If you're pitching and the hitter takes, that's not necessarily a sign of anything, actually, other than that the pitch you threw wasn't the one they were looking for. The hitter is gathering more information. Check your count, and make a decision about what to throw next. Continued success may mean changing the approach to keep the hitter off-balance, or doing the same thing again because the hitter would be looking for something else. Stick with your plan and keep throwing strikes.
Not every pitch is worth swinging at. Going up to the plate with the intent of swinging at whatever comes is a very fast way to head back to the dugout with nothing. Pitchers that can figure out what will get a hitter to swing at pitches that are outside the strike zone or that will result in easy outs will adjust their pitches accordingly and serve up a steady diet of junk to the hitter. Patience and skill at discerning which pitches are good and which ones aren't is a basic skill for any batter hoping to be productive at the plate. Players with excellent discernment end up being better hitters by forcing the pitcher to throw more hittable balls in an attempt to get strikes. Things get a little more complicated when the umpire, the batter, and the pitcher all have different ideas of how big the strike zone really is, or when the hitter has two strikes against them and may have to chase after a few pitches that are probably outside the strike zone but are too close to let by, but generally, "good eye" is an excellent skill to have.
The Take, however, uses precisely none of that skill and ability, and instead is basically a decision made by the hitter to see whether or not the pitcher can actually throw a strike. Or, more precisely, a decision made by the coaches to see whether or not the pitcher can throw a strike, as many hitters would be more than happy to slap even the first pitch thrown out into the outfield and get on base. A Take is just making a conscious decision not to swing at a pitch.
A take is usually the first thing a hitter does when facing a new pitcher, because the pitch thrown first says a lot about the pitcher's control, command, and confidence in their abilities. Can the pitcher throw a strike right away? Did they throw a fastball to establish a good strike? A breaking pitch to demonstrate some of their other skills? Was it painting a corner and probing where the umpire is calling strikes, or was it somewhere potentially hittable? It's not a guarantee that any of this information will be useful immediately, but the first pitch says a lot.
Takes often happen on good hitting counts, too. If the pitcher hasn't thrown a strike in three pitches, the hitter can afford to give one up just to see if the pitcher can find the strike zone. Otherwise, it's a walk, and they're on base anyway.
Takes are also associated with bunts a lot of the time. If the pitch is a strike and looks like it can be handled, bunt the ball, otherwise, take the pitch by pulling the bat back. Sometimes showing the bunt and then taking is enough to pull the defense out of their regular positions and open up new lanes to drive a subsequent pitch through.
The placement of this card in the action suit of Bats seems out of place to start. Even worse, it's right next to the Ace of Bats, which is all about starting action, and the Three of Bats, which is a good result from swinging the bat. A Take is an action, though, and has a place in every at-bat. In fact, the Take is one of the essential actions that leads to better swings of the bat, and the other elements in the suit of Bats often develop from proper use of the Take, so that the hitter can choose the pitch they want to put into play.
Should this card apart in your reading, if you're the hitter, this is a signal to pause. Take the pitch. Taking, however, doesn't mean just passively watching the ball. Study the pitch that comes in and see if there's information on it about what the next pitch will be, or if the pitcher is showing signs of exhaustion, nervousness, or other conditions that will affect their next offerings. The extra information will help you deal with the next offering better. Being too aggressive with the bat will only make you easier to get out.
If you're pitching and the hitter takes, that's not necessarily a sign of anything, actually, other than that the pitch you threw wasn't the one they were looking for. The hitter is gathering more information. Check your count, and make a decision about what to throw next. Continued success may mean changing the approach to keep the hitter off-balance, or doing the same thing again because the hitter would be looking for something else. Stick with your plan and keep throwing strikes.
