How ‘Scientific Baseball’ Has Changed the Game
From SABR member Larry Granillo at Baseball Prospectus on May 3:
The illustrious Tommy Bennett passed along a link yesterday that could only be more in the Wezen-Ball wheelhouse if it was about Ferris Bueller doing a home run trot while reading Peanuts. Needless to say, I couldn’t help but write about it.
Every Sunday, the website Sunday Magazine publishes interesting articles that appeared in the Sunday issue of the New York Times exactly 100 years ago. Over the weekend, they finally got around to publishing articles from the April 30, 1911, edition of the paper. Among the stories featured was a well-illustrated article called “Scientific Baseball Has Changed The Old Game”. That’s right. “Scientific baseball” has changed the “old game”. In 1911.
The uncredited author of the piece explains his point in the initial paragraphs:
Scientific baseball of to-day — “inside ball” they call it — consists in making the opposing team think you are going to make a play one way, then shift suddenly and do it another.
The modern game has developed quick thinkers and resourceful players such as the pioneers of the game never dreamed of. There are few of what were known as “good all-around” players nowadays. The inside game has developed teams made up of baseball specialists. They excel in one position, are trained with that object in view, and are never called on to play in any other position.
Read the full article here: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=13789
Originally published: May 3, 2011. Last Updated: May 3, 2011.