Baseball Is Not A Spectator Sport (For The Players)

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts”

– the opening lines of a monologue spoken by the character Jaques in Act II Scene VII of the play As You Like It (1623) by William Shakespeare

If Shakespeare were around today I’d bet he’d be a fan of baseball. There is arguably nothing more poetic than this game. And he’d not be able to resist the romantic, tragic, and comedic trappings of it all. I imagine too that Shakespeare would inherently recognize that a baseball field is a stage of sorts. And baseball players are performers.

How strange would it be if you were to attend a play – at a local school, at a nearby theater, or on a Broadway stage in New York City – and some of the performers on stage simply stopped performing in the middle of a scene and began watching fellow performers on the stage? I imagine it would seem rather ridiculous – actors and actresses on stage just standing around watching one another. It seems a bit ridiculous to me too that a baseball player on the field of play might simply stop playing in the middle of a play and begin watching his teammates on the field. A performer on a stage is not in the audience. A player on a baseball field is not in the stands. Neither one should ever simply be watching.

A player on a baseball field always has somewhere to be or something to do. It doesn’t really matter if its a pitcher, a catcher, an infielder, or an outfielder. A player on a baseball field always has responsibilities to fulfill. A player on a baseball field should never simply be watching.

The obvious basic responsibilities of players on a baseball field include fielding the ball, throwing the ball, and catching the ball. The other basic responsibility is simply being in the appropriate place at the appropriate time. When a third baseman throws to first, the first baseman better be there. When a shortstop starts a double play at second, the second baseman better be there. It doesn’t really matter if its a pitcher, a catcher, an infielder, or an outfielder. When a player throws a ball, someone better be there to catch it.

Less obvious responsibilities of players on a baseball field include being in the appropriate place at the appropriate time in less routine situations. A pitcher covers first on a ball hit to the first baseman. A second baseman covers first when the first baseman fields a bunt. The pitcher covers third when there’s a runner on first and the third baseman fields a bunt. Outfielders back up throws to bases. Second basemen back up throws from the catcher to the pitcher with runners on base. These are just a few of the less obvious responsibilities of players on a baseball field.

Little things in a baseball game matter. A situation can go awry real fast on a baseball field for teams whose players don’t cover each others’ backs. If you’re on a baseball field playing defense, never simply watch.

In Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series between the Yankees and A’s, Derek Jeter made what I consider to be the greatest fielding play in major league playoff history. Don’t talk to me about Mays’ over the shoulder catch in the ‘54 World Series. Don’t talk to me about Puckett’s grab off the wall in Game 6 of the ‘91 World Series, or any other MLB playoff play. Jeter’s play has them beat.

Here was the situation. Mike Mussina was on the mound for the Yankees. There were two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Yankees were up 1-0. Jason Giambi was the runner on first. And Terrence Long was the batter at the plate.

Long slashes a ball inside the first base line just out of the reach of Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez. Giambi was running on the play and was going to easily make it to third. As Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieves the ball in the right field corner, Giambi rounds third. Spencer throws the ball desperately towards home hoping to prevent the tying run from scoring. His throw was so far off the mark that it could have possibly hit Ramon Hernandez who was standing waiting to hit, had it not been for Derek Jeter. Jeter seemingly comes out of nowhere to cut the ball off on the run and makes a perfect back flip to Jorge Posada at home, who tags Giambi just in time for the third out. I remember seeing it on television when it happened. I was completely blown away. I’m still amazed every time I watch it. I don’t believe such a play will ever happen again in a major league playoff game. See it for yourself:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=3134880

Read more about it here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=moments/45

Derek Jeter is a major league baseball player. And you might be thinking he’s paid to make such plays, however remarkable they may be.

Consider this however. In the first meeting between Japan and Chinese Taipei during the 2012 Little League World Series, the game ultimately hinged on the alertness of the Japanese left fielder. I don’t know for certain how old the Japanese left fielder was at the time. But I do know that by rule he couldn’t have been older than 13 years old. And he certainly wasn’t getting paid millions of dollars to play baseball.

Little League baseball games are six innings long. This one went nine.

With a runner on first with one out in the top of the ninth, a Chinese Taipei player tried to go from first-to-third on a sacrifice bunt. The catcher, pitcher, and third baseman for Japan all collapsed on the bunt, leaving third base seemingly vacant for the Chinese Taipei runner to take. But, in a play you rarely ever see executed, the Japanese left fielder covered third base, took a throw from the first baseman and tagged out the Chinese Taipei player trying to advance. Wow. The game ultimately ended with a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth. See it for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4tXqWWnJLI&feature=youtu.be

The baseball field is a stage
And all the players are performers
They get called into the game and sometimes get pulled
And one player in his time plays many positions

Baseball is not a spectator sport for the players. So don’t stand around on the field watching the game.