Rich talks about the use of video analysis for hitting and pitching.
Monday, August 29, 2022
Friday, August 26, 2022
Etymology of the Ballpark
Baseball was originally played in open fields or public parks. The genesis of modern baseball is conventionally connected with Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, a large public park where the businessmen of New York City gathered from time to time to play organized baseball games and cricket matches, starting around the mid-1840s. The name "Field" or "Park" was typically attached to the names of the early ballparks.
With the beginnings of professional baseball, the ballfield became part of a complex including fixed spectator seating areas, and an enclosure to restrict access to paying customers, as with a fairgrounds. The name "Grounds" began to be attached to ballparks, starting with the Union Grounds in 1862. The suffixes "Field" and "Park" were still used, but many professional ballparks were "Grounds". The last major league "Grounds" was the Polo Grounds in New York City, which was razed in 1964.
Read more, here.
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Variations of the Field
Distinctive from "goal games" such as football and basketball, which have fixed-size playing areas, the infield is the only rigidly laid-out part of the field. Like its English relative, cricket, there is significant flexibility in the shape and size of the rest of the playing area.
Baseball leagues may specify a minimum distance from home plate to the outfield fences. Generally, the higher the skill level, the deeper the minimum dimensions must be, to prevent an excess of home runs. In the major leagues, a rule was passed in 1958 that compelled any new fields built after that point to have a minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field, and 400 feet (120 m) to center. (Rule 1.04, Note(a)). This rule was passed to avoid situations like the Los Angeles Coliseum, which was 251 ft (77 m). down the left field line.
However, with the opening of Baltimore's Camden Yards (1992), the "minimum distance" rule began to be ignored. One factor may be that the quaint, "retro" look of Camden Yards, with its irregular measurements, proved to be very popular, along with a traditionalist backlash against the symmetrical, multi-purpose, "cookie-cutter" stadiums. Since the opening of Camden Yards, many other "retro" stadiums have been built, each with asymmetrical fences. These distances vary from park to park, and can even change drastically in the same park. One of the most famous examples is the original Yankee Stadium, whose odd-shaped plot of land caused right field to be over 100 feet (30 m) shorter than left, although this difference lessened over time. The rectangular Polo Grounds had extremely short distance down the lines, 258 ft (79 m). to right and 280 ft (85 m). to left. In contrast, the deepest part of center field was nearly 500 ft (150 m). from home plate.
Older ballparks, such as Fenway Park, were grandfathered in and allowed to keep their original dimensions. Also, new parks have sometimes received special dispensation to deviate from these rules. For instance, the second Yankee Stadium, built 2009, used the same dimensions as the original Yankee Stadium.
The heights of the fences can also vary greatly, the most famous example being the 37-foot (11 m)-high Green Monster in Fenway Park's left field. Such tall fences are often used to stop easy home runs in a section of the ballpark where the distances from home are shorter, or where there is little space between the field and the street beyond. Some in-play scoreboards and high fences reached 50 to 60 feet (18 m), whereas a few outfields were even lined with hedges rather than normal fences or walls. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, when set up for baseball, had a 23-foot (7.0 m) right field "fence" that was actually a relatively thin blue plastic sheet covering folded up football seats. It was often called a "baggie" or "Hefty bag".
Some ballparks have irregularly shaped fences. Ballparks may have round swooping fences or rigidly angled fences, or possibly a significant change in direction or irregular angle. For example, the center field stands and the left field stands at Fenway Park meet at an uneven angle, creating an indentation (called "the triangle") that angles sharply back into the stands. In Citi Field and Oracle Park, part of the right field fence juts unevenly into the outfield as if the builders were trying to create an unpredictable ricochet effect for balls hit against it. Some "retro" parks, such as Globe Life Park in Arlington, throw in a sudden and small inward turn (often referred to as a jog) just to give a little quirkiness to the design.[citation needed] Milwaukee's Miller Park was designed, with the help of former player Robin Yount, to promote extra base hits.
Originally (mostly in the old jewel box parks) these variations resulted from the shape of the property where the park was constructed. If there was a street beyond left field, the distance to the left field fence would be shorter, and if the distance was too short, the fence would be higher. For example, in the old Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., part of center field had to be built around a cluster of apartment houses and the result was a rather large angular indentation in the left-center field fence. Now, these variations are mostly influenced by the specifications and whims of the designers. New "retro" parks, which try to recapture the feel of the jewel box parks, are often designed to have these quirks.
Read more, here.
Saturday, August 20, 2022
How To Grip A Bat Properly - The Baseball Barn
Rich from The Baseball Barn goes over proper grip technique when batting.
6963 Gibson Canyon Road
Vacaville, CA 95688
Email: linda@36oaks.com
Call 707-447-8037 to book today!
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Seating in the Baseball Park
Today, in Major League Baseball, a multi-tiered seating area, a grandstand, surrounds the infield. How far this seating extends down the baselines or around the foul poles varies from park to park. In minor league parks, the grandstands are notably smaller, proportional to expected sizes of crowds compared with the major leagues.
The seating beyond the outfield fence generally differs from the grandstand, though some multi-purpose or jewel box parks have the grandstand surround the entire field. This area could contain inexpensive bleacher seats, smaller grandstands, or simply inclined seating. In local ballparks, there are often simply a set or two of aluminum bleachers on the first-base and third-base sides.
Read more, here.
Sunday, August 14, 2022
Ballpark
A ballpark is a place where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to place.
Larger venues are usually called baseball stadiums, a term which includes the playing field, spectator seating areas, pedestrian walkways, bathrooms, dining areas, vendor areas, offices, and recreational areas.
Read more, here.
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Pitching and Throwing Without Pain - The Baseball Barn
Rich from The Baseball Barn talks about teaching proper pitching and throwing techniques to reduce pain and injury.
6963 Gibson Canyon Road
Vacaville, CA 95688
Email: linda@36oaks.com
Call 707-447-8037 to book today!
Monday, August 8, 2022
Come See Us!
Check out our Facebook page for hours of operation.
777-D Elmira Rd
Vacaville, CA 95687
(707) 290-9731
E: info@vvbaseballbarn.com
Make your reservations, here.
Friday, August 5, 2022
History of the Baseball Field
The basic layout of the field has been little changed since the Knickerbocker Rules of the 1840s. Those rules specified the distance from home to second as 42 "paces." The dictionary definition of a "pace" at the time was 30 inches, yielding base paths of approximately 75 feet; however, if a "pace" of three feet was meant then the distance would have been 89 feet. It is not implausible that the early clubs simply stepped off the distance. 30 yards (90 feet) between the bases was first explicitly prescribed by the NABBP Convention of 1857. Through trial and error, 90 feet had been settled upon as the optimal distance. 100 feet would have given too much advantage to the defense, and 80 feet too much to the offense.
The original Knickerbocker Rules did not specify the pitching distance explicitly; the 1854 Unified Rules stated "from Home to pitcher not less than fifteen paces." By the time major league baseball began in the 1870s, the pitcher was compelled to pitch from within a "box" whose front edge was 45 feet (14 m) from the "point" of home plate. Although they had to release the ball before crossing the line, as with bowlers in cricket, they also had to start their delivery from within the box; they could not run in from the field as bowlers do. Furthermore, the pitcher had to throw underhand. By the 1880s, pitchers had mastered the underhand delivery—in fact, in 1880, there were two perfect games within a week of each other.
Read more, here.
(707) 290-9731
777-D Elmira Road
Vacaville, CA 95687
Website
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Kinetic Chain as it pertains to the baseball swing - The Baseball Barn
Rich goes over the kinetic link in a proper baseball swing.
6963 Gibson Canyon Road
Vacaville, CA 95688
Email: linda@36oaks.com
Call 707-447-8037 to book today!
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