Sunday, July 29, 2007
Don: Waiting on 755 & 500
Right now it is Sunday night and Barry Bonds is still trailing Hank Aaron on the all-time home run list by one (he is idle at 754) and Alex Rodriguez is still sitting on 499 home runs. Besides the obvious, let me tell you why these milestone chases are annoying me.
Every time Bonds or A-Rod comes up to the plate, a ball boy brings the umpire a new set of balls to be used during that at bat. The balls are specially numbered and have a holographic logo on it. Then after the at bat, the ball boy comes back and takes away the special balls and replaces them with the regular ones. The reasoning is so MLB knows that the milestone HR ball is authentic when it is donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame (insert your own laughter here) or sold for a ridiculous amount of money.
It is so annoying though watching this happen for each and every at bat. Now I am sure it is the same for Bonds but I haven't seen all of his at bats like A-Rod, but they have been doing this for Rodriguez at bats since he hit his 495th HR. I have been wondering if this is even fair. I think that this practice would give the hitter a slight advantage because these balls are new and white. Now the average lifespan of a Major League baseball is only 6 or 7 pitches, but with this procedure, there is no chance that a pitcher gets a good feel of a specific ball.
What has been hysterical is when the new balls are put in play with one of them up with first base open, and it is so obvious that they are going to be intentionally walked. It is such a waste of time, and it is even more annoying hearing the broadcasters comment on it each and every time.
I hope A-Rod gets the HR soon. Since he hit number 499 on Wednesday, he has gone hitless! As for Bonds, if he stayed at 754 forever, that would be phenomenal...but it won't happen, but if it does happen this week, I look forward to seeing how the Los Angeles crowd treats his record as San Francisco is visiting there this week.
On a personal note, I would like to congratulate my good friends Charles and Erin who were just married yesterday. We had a blast, the food was delicious, and I'm glad that Eddie Money made the set list!
Every time Bonds or A-Rod comes up to the plate, a ball boy brings the umpire a new set of balls to be used during that at bat. The balls are specially numbered and have a holographic logo on it. Then after the at bat, the ball boy comes back and takes away the special balls and replaces them with the regular ones. The reasoning is so MLB knows that the milestone HR ball is authentic when it is donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame (insert your own laughter here) or sold for a ridiculous amount of money.
It is so annoying though watching this happen for each and every at bat. Now I am sure it is the same for Bonds but I haven't seen all of his at bats like A-Rod, but they have been doing this for Rodriguez at bats since he hit his 495th HR. I have been wondering if this is even fair. I think that this practice would give the hitter a slight advantage because these balls are new and white. Now the average lifespan of a Major League baseball is only 6 or 7 pitches, but with this procedure, there is no chance that a pitcher gets a good feel of a specific ball.
What has been hysterical is when the new balls are put in play with one of them up with first base open, and it is so obvious that they are going to be intentionally walked. It is such a waste of time, and it is even more annoying hearing the broadcasters comment on it each and every time.
I hope A-Rod gets the HR soon. Since he hit number 499 on Wednesday, he has gone hitless! As for Bonds, if he stayed at 754 forever, that would be phenomenal...but it won't happen, but if it does happen this week, I look forward to seeing how the Los Angeles crowd treats his record as San Francisco is visiting there this week.
On a personal note, I would like to congratulate my good friends Charles and Erin who were just married yesterday. We had a blast, the food was delicious, and I'm glad that Eddie Money made the set list!
Posted at 9:13 PM by Don
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