With over 40 years as a major league player, manager and broadcaster, Buck Martinez has experienced baseball from all angles. Now in his new role as the Toronto Blue Jays play-by-play announcer, Buck is taking your questions in a weekly blog for sportsnet.ca, Behind the plate with Buck.
NATE ASKS: Hey Buck, thanks for coming back to the Jays. Lots of memories with me and my dad listening to you calling games when I was a kid. My question is on Alex Rodriguez and his walking across the pitcher’s mound during a game last week. I have never heard of this “un-written rule” but I have never really seen a player do this. Was this a case of bad sportsmanship, A-Rod trying to get into the pitcher’s head, or A-Rod just being aloof about everything around him and just trotting across the field?
BUCK: Nate this has been an “unwritten rule” in baseball forever. The mound is the pitcher’s domain and players always respect that. Tom Seaver, when asked about A-Rod not knowing that was a big deal, wondered if Alex would have crossed the mound on Bob Gibson, Don Drysdale or himself. I doubt that. This gets back to some of the questionable things Rodriquez has done in the past. Swiping at the glove of Bronson Arroyo in the playoffs at first base to knock the ball loose or hollering at Howie Clark as he ran past him at third base as Clark was trying to catch a pop up. Makes you wonder why a player of his caliber would choose to do so many silly things.
JIM ASKS: Hi Buck, just wondering do most catchers in the Major Leagues call their own game, or do they get their directions from the dugout? Does this decision depend on how much experience the catcher has?
BUCK: I don’t think there are many catchers in the big leagues that have pitches called for them. It is very difficult from the dugout to tell where the pitches are in relationship to the plate. You can see the height of the pitches from the side, but it is very difficult to tell whether the ball is inside or outside or how the ball is breaking. I once tried to call pitches for the catchers when I was coaching in College, but it was really ineffective. I find it is better to meet with the catchers in between innings and ask him what his plan was as he made the calls. Another aspect of having the catchers call the game is that he has to take ownership of the game to insure he can get the best out of the pitcher. Mike Scioscia has a great method to help teach how to call games. In spring training each year he requires the catchers to recite the pitches he called after every half inning. That forces the player to think about what he calls and how it fits into the game plan. Great idea!
DAVID ASKS: Mr. Martinez, why does U.S. college baseball use metal bats? There is a huge difference in your approach at the plate and if players wish to play in the majors it would seem logical to familiarize one’s self to the equipment used at the higher level or is MLB simply evaluating athletes and not skilled baseball players? Thank you.
BUCK: The metal bats in amateur baseball are for cost more than anything. Wood bats have become very expensive as some are as much as $100 apiece, simply too expensive for teams to supply. The aluminum bats are much lighter and have a bigger “sweet spot” that results in more consistent contact. You are correct in thinking that it would be better if the professional prospects used wooden bats to prepare for their next step since that is what they will have to use. Many of the top prospects buy wooden bats and use them during batting practice and in their summer leagues. The best summer college baseball league is the Cape Cod League which features nothing but wooden bats.
DUANE ASKS: Hey Buck, My question is about the position of catcher. It seems like this must be a difficult position to be crouching for nine innings night after night. Do catchers such as yourself who’ve been at this for years develop any sort of disability or lasting muscular problems in the legs?
BUCK: Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you the years of squatting takes a physical toll. Many former catchers have had problems later in life with their knees, ankles and hips. I know of many catchers I played against over the years that have had knee replacement surgery just to have a normal life. I have been fortunate to avoid any major problems and am happy to say I still ski and play golf on a regular basis.
KENNY KRALY JR. ASKS: Buck, I always wanted to know from watching the game all of these years what the rosin bag is used for?
BUCK: Great question Kenny. As broadcasters we take for granted that the listeners understand some of the nuances of the game like pine tar and the rosin bag, but they really don’t know what the advantages of these items are. The rosin bag adds to the gripping ability of the ball and the bat. Since it comes from pine pitch, it has sticky qualities that allow a pitcher to grip the ball better and make more quality pitches. Hitters also use it for the same reason, to get a better connection with the lumber. Many batters go through a routine of adding pine tar to the handle of the bat then topping it off with a little rosin before they head to the plate.
JOHN DONLEY ASKS: Hi Buck, great to have you back calling games for the Jays again! I have been watching a lot of Jay’s games this year, and am scratching my head with the lack of bunt attempts the Jays have been making. I have seen several games now where the Jays have had no outs, runners on 1st and 2nd, and they just do not want to bunt the runners into scoring position. Do you think this is simply Cito letting his team hit and possibly get a bigger inning or is the bunt dead in the AL all together?
BUCK: John, the bunt isn’t dead at all. As of this week there have been six different situations where the number three hitter in the lineup has used the sacrifice bunt in the first inning to set up a scoring opportunity early. Cristian Guzman bunted in the first inning to set up a ground out RBI for Adam Dunn of the Nationals. That was the only run of the game as Scott Olson won the game 1-0. Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays has bunted from the three hole twice already this year in the first inning. As for the Jays, Cito has always been a big offensive manager that looks for the big inning. This edition of the Jays lineup has a lot of strikeouts in the order and if you sacrifice an out to move a runner the chances of that being followed but a K are pretty high. The Jays haven’t hit well with runners in scoring position so far this season and they have a better chance of scoring with the home run than they do by stringing together a bunch of hits after a sacrifice bunt.
IAIN ASKS: Buck, I remember a number of years ago Devon White hitting a ball in the Kingdome, it looked like it was going to hit the back wall above the top deck. It was a monster shot. Devon was running slow to first about to circle the bases when it hit a speaker and dropped like a rock into shallow center and Devo barely made it to second. Do you know of any parks with oddball ground rules that can produce a strange play like that one?
BUCK: Iain we just left a ball park in St. Petersburg that can produce the kind of play you remember from the Kingdome, Tropicana Field, the home of the Rays. From the field to the roof of the stadium there are four catwalks above the playing surface that can be hit during the course of the game. I did a game there earlier in the month when Evan Longoria hit a high popup that was headed into foul territory when it struck a speaker above fair territory. The ball hit the ground around second base and because Yankees second baseman Robbie Cano was in pursuit of the pop in foul ground, Longoria was credited with a single as the ball landed safely. There are “foul poles” on two of the four catwalks to help the umpires determine fair or foul. If the ball strikes the catwalk in fair territory it is played as a fair ball if it lands on the field in fair ground. Thankfully this is the only park that has that to deal with.
ANNABELLE ASKS: What do you think of the Ryan Howard contract extension (5 years, $125 million)? While he is a great player now, with no DH are they handcuffing themselves in the future?
BUCK: Ryan Howard is a special player that takes pride in being a complete player. Over the last two offseasons he has worked hard on his defence at first and has cut down the number of errors he commits dramatically. This past season Howard worked hard on his physical conditioning, dropping weight to insure he would be able to maintain his high level of production over the long season. When you are contemplating a long term contract with your player of course you try to estimate how long he can remain productive to insure you get the bang for your buck. You also factor in the makeup of the player and how he will handle the aging process and whether he will work to stay in tip-top shape. Ryan Howard is in the same class as Albert Pujols in that area. They both strive to be the best player possible addressing not only the baseball side of the game but the physical challenge of conditioning to maintain their stature as the best offensive players they can be. The signing of Ryan Howard for the long term was a great move by Ruben Amaro and the Phillies.