Monthly Archives: March 2009

British University Baseball Association Hits Another Milestone

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I had a discussion with someone about a UK University baseball league a number of years ago but ultimately the idea never came to fruition.  Then in 2007 the British University Baseball Association (BUBA) suddenly appeared on my radar. It took the hard work and collaboration of three university baseball teams, Nottingham, Southampton and UEA, to get to that point. In the last couple of years, the association has continued to grow.

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Final week of Spring Training

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Players, managers and fans alike are all ready for the regular season to begin.  Spring Training has gone more quickly this year thanks to the excitement of the World Baseball Classic, but it still seems to be a week or so too long.

Yet no doubt there will be a game soon enough that leaves you pacing around the room, verging between joy and despair, ending with frustration and quiet sorrow.  ‘Oh for those days when the results didn’t matter and you could relax while watching a game’, may be your cry.  So take some time this week to just sit back and enjoy a leisurely spring match or two.  This is your guide to the contests available on MLB.tv over the next five days (or three days, as it turns out).  Continue reading →

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: One week and counting

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The clocks have gone forward an hour, the MLB season opener is a week away and it looks like there will be no MLB coverage on terrestrial TV.  The latter is a real disappointment, but WHGB will help to take our minds off the problem briefly with news of a pitcher retiring, the ever-present problem of injuries and some impressive Spring Training home run hitting feats.  Continue reading →

‘Baseball on Five’ comes to an end

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Sadly, the rumours have been confirmed. After over a decade of bringing us insightful and entertaining coverage of MLB, Five have decided to drop the ‘Baseball on Five’ show for the 2009 season.  The news is made worse for British baseball fans as no other free-to-air channel has picked up the rights (as yet).

The chances of being able to watch the Braves-Phillies game next Sunday if you don’t have an ESPN America or MLB.tv subscription appear slim.  Continue reading →

You Are the Scorer: Number 21

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YouAreScorer

Scenario: With none out and runners on first and third, the batter hits a ground-ball to the shortstop, who throws it to the second baseman to force the runner out heading towards second. The second baseman then makes a good throw to the first baseman that is in time to retire the batter-runner, but the fielder drops the ball, enabling the batter-runner to reach safely. While this is happening the runner who was on third comes home to score.

As the official scorer, would you credit the batter with a run batted in?

A – Yes.
B – No.

Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:

Answer: B – No.

Rule 10.4(b)(2) states:
[The official scorer shall not credit a run batted in] when a fielder is charged with an error because the fielder muffs a throw at first base that would have completed a force double play.

Cuba remain top of the IBAF World Rankings

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Cuba have retained their position as the leading baseball nation despite a disappointing showing in the World Baseball Classic.  That’s the message from the International Baseball Federation’s rankings, updated yesterday to reflect performances at the most recent major international tournament.

However, Korea and Japan are gaining ground and that hasn’t gone unnoticed in Havana.  Continue reading →

Japan win the 2009 World Baseball Classic

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Japan retained their World Baseball Classic title in the early hours of this morning in a thrilling extra-inning 5-3 win over Korea. 

Such eagerly anticipated contests can often turn out to be a disappointment; the enormity of the occasion leading to a cagey affair in which neither team performs under the pressure.   The 2009 WBC final was an exception to this rule.  Continue reading →

World Baseball Classic 2009 Final – A Preview

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After thirty-eight exciting games, sixteen teams have been reduced to just two. They will compete in the early hours  of Tuesday morning British time (a 1.00 start with first pitch at around 01.30) in a game ‘thirty-nine’ that everyone can look forward to.

 

Japan and Korea have emerged as the finalists of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, bringing together the reigning WBC champions and the reigning Olympic champions.  Continue reading →