Why don't pro baseball players run through first?

Big Poppa Smurf · #1 07-13-2007, 03:02 PM

Hey guys,

I figured this was the best place to ask this question. One of the fundamental things that all kids learn when playing baseball is that you always run through first. So what's up with pro ball players who don't run through first? They get like, what, 4-5 at bats a game? Figuring someone batting 0.333 and rounding to 6 at bats for ease of math, that's twice in 3-4 hours that they have to run to first (and I feel I'm overestimating here) and no one does it. It absolutely kills me that professional athletes making more money than most people can dream of don't even exert themselves enough to run through first.

What ever happened to players like this? Does this bother anyone else?

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DiMaggio was renowned for never slacking on the ball field. When asked why he played so hard, he replied: "Because there is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time. I owe him my best."

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Benholio · #2 07-13-2007, 03:10 PM

The amount of money they make probably contributes to the problem, actually. Do you want your $18m a year slugger pulling a hammy running out a routine grounder? It might be lame, but probably smart sometimes.

I seem to remember Aramis Ramirez getting a bunch of heat for not running out grounders, and then revealing that it was at the coaches/training staff's request that he take it easy on plays like that.

AbreuTime · #3 07-13-2007, 03:18 PM

It's also a function of a guy's strength as a player. Some hitters are so slow (even giving full effort) that the fielder can bobble the ball and still throw him out. Pitchers are this way. So when the bases are empty, they dont run out routine groundballs. You'll also notice they will run the entire way if they have a reasonable chance of making a difference (ie. 1st and 3rd, 0 or 1 out. They dont want to lose the RBI!!) The previous poster also pointed it out, that the risk of injuring a hamstring is greater than the reward of being safe 1/200 times. After all, these athletes are not properly stretched if they only do 3-4 sprints over the course of 3 hours.

You dont want your ace starter pulling a hamstring sprinting to first if the ball has already been fielded cleanly.

Well paid sluggers and pitchers are the ones who dont leg out balls. Others should/will be benched.

Edited to add: It used to bother me more, until I saw a couple players (Howard comes to mind) legging out a groundball. Most players should be running every ball out...

dlk9s · #4 07-13-2007, 05:05 PM

The best "running one out" I saw was a couple years ago when Nick Johnson hit a dinker along the first base line in Atlanta. Adam LaRoche, playing 1B, ran in and fielded it as Johnson was coming up the line. LaRoche proceeded to jog it back to first. Johnson saw early on that LaRoche was going to lollygag it, so he sprinted down the line - LaRoche was oblivious to this since his back was now turned towards Johnson. Johnson beat it out and started a four run rally.

Karak567 · #5 07-13-2007, 05:11 PM

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The best "running one out" I saw was a couple years ago when Nick Johnson hit a dinker along the first base line in Atlanta. Adam LaRoche, playing 1B, ran in and fielded it as Johnson was coming up the line. LaRoche proceeded to jog it back to first. Johnson saw early on that LaRoche was going to lollygag it, so he sprinted down the line - LaRoche was oblivious to this since his back was now turned towards Johnson. Johnson beat it out and started a four run rally.

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replays showed he was out, though, if i remember correctly

either way that was some funny [censored]

wasnt laroche rocking like a .300 OBP at the time too?

EricLindros · #6 07-13-2007, 05:48 PM

Along those same lines, I saw Chase Utley beat out a very routine ground ball out to the second baseman, only because the 2nd baseman expected him to jog down the line.

FoldYourLife · #7 07-13-2007, 08:25 PM

I thought this thread was going to be about why some players still think they can get to 1st faster by sliding rather than running through the bag.

Big Poppa Smurf · #8 07-13-2007, 08:31 PM

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The amount of money they make probably contributes to the problem, actually. Do you want your $18m a year slugger pulling a hammy running out a routine grounder? It might be lame, but probably smart sometimes.

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No offense but this is a dumb argument imo. I want my $18m a year slugger in good enough shape that he doesn't hurt himself running to first. I mean seriously if you can't sprint 90 feet without hurting yourself, you don't deserve to be called a professional athlete.

Benholio · #9 07-13-2007, 09:11 PM

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The amount of money they make probably contributes to the problem, actually. Do you want your $18m a year slugger pulling a hammy running out a routine grounder? It might be lame, but probably smart sometimes.

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No offense but this is a dumb argument imo. I want my $18m a year slugger in good enough shape that he doesn't hurt himself running to first. I mean seriously if you can't sprint 90 feet without hurting yourself, you don't deserve to be called a professional athlete.

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Yeah well I want a toilet made of gold, but sometimes you have to take what you can get. If you have a big fat slugger who produces a ton of runs for your team but is bulky and injury prone, you allow him to jog on a routine groundout because having him in the lineup creates wins for your team.

gehrig · #10 07-13-2007, 09:21 PM

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The amount of money they make probably contributes to the problem, actually. Do you want your $18m a year slugger pulling a hammy running out a routine grounder? It might be lame, but probably smart sometimes.

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No offense but this is a dumb argument imo. I want my $18m a year slugger in good enough shape that he doesn't hurt himself running to first. I mean seriously if you can't sprint 90 feet without hurting yourself, you don't deserve to be called a professional athlete.

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God shut up

It's not that Manny Ramirez or whoever can't sprint for 90 feet. It's that one in every 500 times he does it he'll get hurt, which isn't a good risk to take for a 1 in 200 chance of an infield single. Olympic caliber runners screw up their hamstrings every once in a while sprinting too