Why do I hate pitchers?
Hitting is hard. Everyone throws 97 these days and you’re fighting for your life just to make contact. Pitchers don’t have to worry about these things. They stand on the mound with no responsibilities other than trying to make your life hell. They don’t play defense, they don’t hit, and they can barely run. Pitchers, however, are a necessary evil, because you can’t play without them.
The only thing hitters have to combat their existence is a bat and a chance to make them sad. Besides launching dingers into the ocean, the dream is blasting a liner right up the box as a reminder that the pitcher should be afraid of you, not the other way around. Then this shit happens:
What the fuck, man?
The only thing I respect here is the stirrups, but this should be illegal. A pitcher should never be able to snap this off and make you look like a fool. Catching a comeback liner is one thing, it’s mostly luck and self-preservation, but going behind the back like it’s all a joke? Like Heliot Ramos above, I’d be caught somewhere between questioning the meaning of life and meeting Nick at the foul line with bat in hand. I’d be so tempted to ensure that this never happened again.
The one thing sticking in my mind, however, is why Nick Martinez looked so calm after making this play? I played ball for a long time and I’ve gotten more excited over far less. Is he a psychopath?1 Is there some unwritten rule that prevents pitchers from showing their own surprise at actually playing defense?2
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Oh.
What the fuck, man?