Word: batterics
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Throughout the most painful week of Gerald Ford's fledgling presidency, public protest continued to batter the White House. Far from easing after the first shock of Ford's precipitate pardon of Richard Nixon for any and all federal crimes committed during his presidency, the controversy grew. It was fed partly by Ford's refusal to explain further his mysterious reversal on his Executive intervention, partly by White House fumbling on whether all the other Watergate offenders might also be pardoned. Ford's inexperienced aides ?almost all of whom had opposed the timing of the pardon?were left scrambling...
There is no other delivery like it in baseball. After winding up with a spasmodic ensemble of twitches, hesitations and jerks, Boston Red Sox Righthander Luis Tiant turns his back to home plate, kicks toward third, then spins around to ward the batter like a pirouetting ballerina high on amphetamines. As if that were not enough, Tiant finally releases the ball anywhere from over his head to just above his knee. The motion is so wild that Comedian Don Rickles has incorporated it into his act. "I think I confuse the hitters," Tiant explains. "They can't tell where...
...veins," says Dodger Manager Walter Alston. "Mike does." Despite his seeming nonchalance, Marshall is a serious student of baseball. He keeps his own personal "book" on every hitter in the league and reviews every pitch he throws during the season, noting its type and how well the batter handled it. Unlike most other relievers, who relax in the outfield bullpen during the early innings of a game, Marshall stays in the dugout where he can study opposing batters at close range...
...There is nothing in sport like the head-to-head combat between pitcher and batter," he says. Nonetheless, if Marshall had his way, he would not be in baseball at all. "I wish I could get the great hitters of today-Joe Torre, Willie McCovey, Hank Aaron-to drop by Michigan State so I could pitch against them on weekends," says Marshall. That way he could concentrate on his first love: education. While learning how to pitch in the minor leagues, Marshall managed to complete the requirements for a master's degree in physical education at Michigan State...
...sleepless nights in September when the pain from the constant pounding keeps you up all night. After you hit 80, the other players gun for you. The first baseman slams you with his mitt on pick-off attempts, the pitcher concentrates on getting you instead of the batter, and the catcher isn't even behind the plate. On my last steal in 1962, the catcher was over in the batter's box waiting to throw...