"The Pitch That Killed The Pitch That Killed: Carl Mays, Ray Chapman and the Pennant Race of 1920 is a non-fiction baseball book written by Mike Sowell and published in 1989. The book concentrates on the 1920 major league season, especially the events surrounding Ray Chapman's death from a pitch thrown by Carl Mays. It won the CASEY Award for best baseball book of 1989 and was selected as a ""New York Times"" ""Notable Book of the Year."" Mike Sowell's book has been optioned by Come Aboard Productions. The production company is in development on a feature film based on"
"Pitch (baseball) In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be literally ""pitched"" underhand, as with pitching horseshoes. Overhand throwing was not allowed until 1884. The biomechanics of pitching have been studied extensively. The phases of throwing include windup, early cocking, late cocking, early acceleration, late acceleration, deceleration, and follow-through. Pitchers throw a variety of pitches, each of which has a slightly different velocity, trajectory, movement, hand position, wrist position and/or arm angle. These variations are introduced to"
"the defensive team is the ""fielding team""; the offensive team is ""at bat"" or ""batting"" and is trying to score runs. Play often, but not always, begins with the umpire saying ""Play Ball"". After the batter is ready and all fielders (except the catcher) are in fair territory at their respective positions, the pitcher stands at the pitching plate and attempts to throw the ball past the batter to the catcher behind home plate. The throw, or pitch, must be made with an underarm motion: the ball must be released below the hip when the hand is no farther from"
"batter and the pitcher face each other in the home base, on opposite sides of the circular plate. The pitch is delivered by throwing the ball directly upwards above the plate, at least one meter over the head of the pitcher. The batter has three strikes available during their turn at bat. A fair hit does not require the batter to reach base; all three strikes can be used before the batter must reach first base. A pitch counts as a strike if the batter takes a swing at the ball and the umpire rules the pitch legal. When a"
"game to game, to fit the game to an allotted time; when outs are not counted each inning is longer, and so fewer innings are played. As in kickball, a ball is put in play when the pitcher rolls it to home base and the kicker kicks it into the designated field of play. The kicker must then run to at least first base. In most cases, when a player steps off a mat, sometimes just with one foot, that player must continue to the next base, though an exception is often made for an incoming runner whose momentum carries"
"Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two opposing teams who take turns batting and fielding. The game proceeds when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball which a player on the batting team tries to hit with a bat. The objectives of the offensive team (batting team) are to hit the ball into the field of play, and to run the bases—having its runners advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called ""runs"". The objective of the defensive team (fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent"
"each half-inning, the nine players on the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound. The pitcher begins the pitching delivery with one foot on the rubber, pushing off it to gain velocity when throwing toward home plate. Another player, the catcher, squats on the far side of home plate, facing the pitcher. The rest of the team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielders—who set up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines (basepaths) between first, second, and third base—and three outfielders. In the standard arrangement,"
"more runs (points) than the other team by batting (hitting) a ball into play and running around the bases, touching each one in succession. The ball is a sphere of light material, covered with leather or synthetic material. It is (or, rarely, ) in circumference. The game is officiated by one or more neutral umpires. Players and umpires are generally free to ask for a brief stoppage at any time when the ball is not in play (called a time out), or immediately following a play once its outcome is clear. The game is played in usually seven innings. Each"
"effective. The most common changeups are: Other pitches which are or have been used in baseball are: The most common pitching delivery is the three-quarters delivery. Other deliveries include the submarine (underhand) and the sidearm deliveries. There is also crossfire pitching technique (delivery de facto) which only works for sidearm delivery. A pickoff move is the motion the pitcher goes through in making pickoff. There are two legal pitching positions: Typically, pitchers from the set use a high leg kick, but may instead release the ball more quickly by using the slide step. Pitch (baseball) In baseball, a pitch is"
"team must score more runs than the opponent's team by the end of the game. The game consists of nine innings and takes place on a simplified baseball diamond. Player 1 always plays as the visiting team and bats at the top of the innings, with Player 2 playing the home team and batting at the bottom of the innings. The pitching player selects a pitch to throw by pushing the controller in one of eight cardinal directions, each representing a different speed and direction for the pitch. The batting player then attempts to hit the ball into play and"
"the winner. This is known as a walk-off. The basic contest is always between the ""pitcher"" for the fielding team, and a ""batter"". The pitcher throws—""pitches""—the ball towards home plate, where the ""catcher"" for the fielding team waits (in a crouched stance) to receive it. Behind the catcher stands the home plate umpire. The batter stands in one of the batter's boxes and tries to hit the ball with a bat. The pitcher must keep one foot in contact with the top or front of the pitcher's rubber — a 24×6 in (61×15 cm) plate located atop the pitcher's mound"
"to sabermetrics—first among fans, only later among baseball professionals. Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two opposing teams who take turns batting and fielding. The game proceeds when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball which a player on the batting team tries to hit with a bat. The objectives of the offensive team (batting team) are to hit the ball into the field of play, and to run the bases—having its runners advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called ""runs"". The objective of the defensive team (fielding team) is"
"throws (""pitches"") the ball towards home plate using an underhanded motion. In fastpitch, the pitcher must have both feet in contact with the pitching rubber at all times. In slow-pitch, the pitcher is allowed to take one step back prior to releasing the ball during the forward movement. The batter attempts to hit the pitched ball with a bat, a long, round, smooth stick made of wood, metal or composite. If the pitcher throws three strikes against a batter, then the batter is out and the next batter in the order comes up to bat. A strike is recorded any"
"percentage. A batter hit by a pitch with the bases loaded is also credited with an RBI per MLB rule 10.04(a)(2). A pitch ruled a hit by pitch is recorded as a ball in the pitcher's pitch count, since by definition the ball must be outside the strike zone and not have been swung at. The rule awarding first base to a batter hit by a pitch was instituted in 1887. Inside pitching is a common and legal tactic in baseball, and many players make use of brushback pitches, or pitches aimed underneath the chin, commonly referred to as ""chin"
"a particular game based on the starting pitcher. Together, the pitcher and catcher are known as the ""battery"". Although the object and mechanics of pitching remain the same, pitchers may be classified according to their roles and effectiveness. The starting pitcher begins the game, and he may be followed by various relief pitchers, such as the long reliever, the left-handed specialist, the middle reliever, the setup man, and/or the closer. In Major League Baseball, every team uses Baseball Rubbing Mud to rub game balls in before their pitchers use them in games. A skilled pitcher often throws a variety of"
"pitcher. Each plate appearance consists of a series of pitches, in which the pitcher throws the ball towards home plate while a batter is standing in the batter's box (either right or left). With each pitch, the batter must decide whether to swing the bat at the ball in an attempt to hit it. The pitches arrive quickly, so the decision to swing must be made in less than a tenth of a second, based on whether the ball is hittable and in the ""strike zone"", a region defined by the area directly above home plate and between the hollow"
"rules are based loosely on baseball. The object of the game is to score the most runs in 9 innings. One player is the ""batter"" and the other players the ""fielders"". The batter stands immediately in front of the stairs while the fielders stand behind the batter across the sidewalk on to the street. The ""batter"" throws a pink rubber ball (either a ""spaldeen"" or ""pensie pinkie"") at the stoop. The ball flies back towards the fielders, who are also facing the stoop. The objective is to hit the ball at such an angle and velocity so that it bounces"
"one of three different ways. Pitched by a teammate, side tossed by a teammate or tossed by the batter themselves. If the ball is put in play and hits or is touched by the pitcher it is an automatic out. Only infielders can field balls in the infield and only outfielders are allowed to field balls in the outfield. If in any case an infielder plays a ball in the outfield or an outfielder plays a ball in the infield it is an automatic double (two points). 3 strikes equals an out and 4 balls equals an out so that"
"game thrown in a Little League World Series championship was by Angel Macias of the Monterrey, Mexico, team in 1957. Perfect game A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher (or combination of pitchers) pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher (or pitchers) cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any other reason and the fielders cannot make an error that allows an opposing player to reach a base; in"
"Pitch (sports field) A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term ""pitch"" is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field. In most sports the official term is field of play, although this is not regularly used by those outside refereeing/umpiring circles. The field of play generally includes out-of-bounds areas that a player is likely to enter while playing a match, such as the area beyond the touchlines in association football and rugby or the sidelines in American and"
"single game each team will frequently use from two to five pitchers. In the 2005 ALCS, all four of the Chicago White Sox victories were complete games by the starters, a highly noteworthy event in the modern game. While delivering the ball, the pitcher has a great arsenal at his disposal in the variation of location, velocity, movement, and arm location (see types of pitches). Most pitchers attempt to master two or three types of pitches; some pitchers throw up to 6 types of pitches with varying degrees of control. Common pitches include a fastball, which is the ball thrown"
"Kickball Kickball (also known as soccer baseball in most of Canada) is a game and league game, similar to baseball, invented in the United States by Nicholas C Seuss. As in baseball, one team tries to score by having its players return a ball from home base to the field and then circle the bases; while the other team tries to stop them by tagging them ""out"" with the ball before they can return to the home base. Instead of hitting a small, hard ball with a bat, players kick an inflated rubber ball; this makes it more accessible to"
"[inning]"" (sometimes adding, ""with two outs""), meaning ""there isn't much time to turn things around here"". While inning is the standard baseball term, there is at least one literary instance, of innings being used in a baseball context. This occurs in the story ""Baseball Hattie"" by Damon Runyon, who refers to the seventh innings of a Phillies-Giants game. Inning An inning in baseball, softball, and similar games is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the ""top"" (first half) and the ""bottom"" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with"
"players play in an enclosed rectangular area, called a ""court"". Goals are placed at each long end of the court. At the beginning of the game, the ball is placed in the middle of the court while the players wait behind their own goals. Following a countdown or a whistle, a player from each team charges the ball in what is termed the ""joust"". A player may hit the ball in two ways: a ""shot"" or a ""shuffle"". A shot is made with either end of the mallet head whereas a shuffle is made with the side. In order to"
"Ceremonial first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from his/her place in the grandstand to the pitcher or catcher of the home team, but the ritual changed after President Ronald Reagan threw the first pitch on the field at an unscheduled appearance at a Baltimore Orioles game. Now, the guest stands in front of the pitcher's mound and throws towards home plate. He or she may also"
"and home runs are also called extra base hits. An ""infield hit"" is a hit where the ball does not leave the infield. Infield hits are uncommon by nature, and most often earned by speedy runners. A no-hitter is a game in which one of the teams prevented the other from getting a hit. Throwing a no-hitter is rare and considered an extraordinary accomplishment for a pitcher or pitching staff. In most cases in the professional game, no-hitters are accomplished by a single pitcher who throws a complete game. A pitcher who throws a no-hitter could still allow runners to"
"different pitches to prevent the batter from hitting the ball well. The most basic pitch is a fastball, where the pitcher throws the ball as hard as he can. Some pitchers are able to throw a fastball at a speed over , ex., Aroldis Chapman. Other common types of pitches are the curveball, slider, changeup, cutter, sinker, screwball, forkball, split-fingered fastball, slurve, and knuckleball. These generally are intended to have unusual movement or to deceive the batter as to the rotation or velocity of the ball, making it more difficult to hit. Very few pitchers throw all of these pitches,"
"Bat-and-ball games Bat-and-ball games (or safe haven games to avoid being confused with club games such as golf and hockey) are field games played by two opposing teams. The teams alternate between ""batting"" (offensive) roles, sometimes called ""in at bat"", and ""out in the field"" (defensive), or simply in and out. Only the batting team may score, but teams have equal opportunities in both roles. The game is counted rather than timed. A player on the fielding (defensive) team puts the ball in play with a delivery whose restriction depends on the game. A player on the batting team attempts"
"to swing, but then stops the swing short. If the batter successfully checks the swing and the pitch is out of the strike zone, it is called a ball. There are two legal pitching positions, the ""windup"" and the set position or ""stretch"". Either position may be used at any time; typically, the windup is used when the bases are empty, while the set position is used when at least one runner is on base. Each position has certain procedures that must be followed. A balk can be called on a pitcher from either position. A power pitcher is one"
"inning is divided into a top half, in which the away team bats and tries to score runs, while the home team occupies the field and tries to record three outs; then a bottom half, when the teams' roles are reversed. Some leagues play with a reduced number of innings or with a time limit, rather than the traditional seven innings. To start play, the offense sends a batter to home plate. The batting order must be fixed at the start of the game, and players may not bat out of turn. The defense's pitcher stands atop the rubber and"
"sports in that the defense is given control of the ball. Additionally, the number of players on the field at any given time is lopsided in favor of the defense which always has nine players on the field; the offense has between one and four. Historically, each player on the team had a role both on offense and defense. Most amateur and professional leagues have adopted the designated hitter (DH) rule introduced by the American League of Major League Baseball. In leagues that use the DH, pitchers usually do not bat, and the DH bats in lieu of the pitcher"
"that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an inning. A game consists of nine innings (seven innings at the high school level and in doubleheaders in college and minor leagues, and six innings at the Little League level). One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning. The other team—customarily the home team—bats in the bottom, or second half, of every inning. The goal of the game is to score more points (runs)"
"batter to hit the ball with the bat. A successful pitch is delivered in such a way that the batter either allows the pitch to pass through the strike zone, swings the bat at the ball and misses it, or hits the ball poorly (resulting in a pop fly or ground out). If the batter elects not to swing at the pitch, it is called a ""strike"" if any part of the ball passes through the strike zone and a ""ball"" when no part of the ball passes through the strike zone. A check swing is when the batter begins"