Tiny Little Fractures

The Mets are 6-2! And the two games they lost, David Wright was out with a fractured bone in his little finger. Yesterday he was unable to grip a bat or a baseball. But he came back with a bang today, hitting a home run on the first pitch he saw from the Phillies' pitcher. It seems like a good sign when it looked like he might be heading for the DL. David was out a good two months last season with a stress fracture in his back. These guys can be fragile. As much as they are highly conditioned professional athletes, sometimes it seems like it doesn't take much to take them out of a game. Then again, they are so highly paid, it's quite a risk to keep sending a guy out there when he could have a more serious injury. The Mets have been barraged with injuries in the last few seasons.  So this is nothing new for us. But with such a good start, it's hard not to cross your fingers that nothing goes wrong. Andres Torres, the new center fielder we just got from the Giants, hurt himself on Opening Day. That's the kind of thing that happens to the Mets. But Ruben Tejada is more than filling in as the lead-off hitter. At the plate and at shortstop he's proving everyday that we'll hardly miss Jose Reyes.

A good friend of mine is going to her first ever baseball game later this year. In Atlanta, but she'll be seeing the Mets! So I have been thinking about what is essential for her to know about the rules of the game. It's hard to pare it down. Baseball to me can be so complex and beautiful. And I've been watching it most of my life. I'm so steeped in the language. So this is a challenge. Let's see.

The basics:
There are nine men on each team. They play on a diamond, a base at each corner. Score a run by making it all the way around. The offense has three outs to reach base and score runs in each inning. They play nine innings, unless it is tied after nine, in which case there are extra innings. The defense, led by the pitcher, tries to keep them from scoring.

More advanced:
Batting:
Each batter will either reach base or make an out. They can reach by hitting safely, walking, being hit by a pitch, a fielding error, on a fielder's choice, or on a strike out with a passed ball by the catcher. The batter has 3 strikes to hit the ball. If the pitcher misses the strike zone four times before getting 3 strikes, the hitter walks. The batter can make an out by striking out, hitting a ball which is caught on a fly by a fielder, or hitting a ball on the ground that the fielders can make a play on.

Running the bases:
Once a batter reaches, he becomes the base runner. Base runners can advance from base to base depending on what the next batter does. They can move up on a hit, a fielder's choice, a walk, a hit by pitch, tagging up on a fly ball, etc. They can also steal or move up on a balk by the pitcher. A base runner can move up more than one base depending on where and how the hitter hits the ball. When the ball is hit, the base runner must decide if it's safe to advance, otherwise, he must stay at the current base. The runner must touch all the bases to score. If the batter hits a home run, all runners on base score.

If the fielder makes a play for a force out to the base the runner is moving to, they are out. If they get caught stealing, or picked off a base, they are out. If the baserunner tags up too early after a catch, they are out.  Any other time there is not a force play and the runner is tagged between bases, he is out, such as in a rundown.

Pitching:
The team on defense works together to get three outs on the batting team. The pitcher can make any number of pitches needed to either strike the hitter out, or get him to hit into a play by his fielders. Otherwise, the batter may reach base as described above. The pitcher is restricted to a strike zone which is determined by the height and stance of the batter and the pitch's relation to home plate. It can't be too high, or too low. Or too far to the left or right (inside or outside) depending on if the batter is left- or right- handed. Pitches outside the strike zone are called balls. The decision on balls and strikes is made by the home plate umpire.  The pitcher can throw different pitch types by using a different grip on the ball, using a different arm movement, and varying speed. Common pitch types include the fastball, the curve, the slider, the cutter, the splitter, the change-up, and to a lesser extent, the knuckle ball, each with its different movement. The later the movement on the pitch, the more difficult it is to hit.  Location and speed are also key in getting the hitter out. The pitcher may decide himself what pitch to throw, or he may take signals from his catcher who  crouches behind home plate and receives the ball. Occasionally, the pitches may be called by the coaches in the dugout and relayed via the catcher.

Fielding:
Each position player on the field is responsible for covering an area of the field. Infielders generally field balls hit on the ground. Outfielders generally field balls hit in the air. Depending on situation: base runners, number of outs, balls/strikes, who the hitter is, etc. the fielder may adjust where he is positioned. Fielders must know the situation at all times in order to react by throwing the ball to the correct place (to a base or to a cutoff man), touching the base, or tagging the runner. Plays that result in two runners being out are called double-plays.

And that's it! Easy, peasy right? Well, the great thing is, all these things can happen in a nearly infinite number of combinations over the course of a game. There is no time clock. Games can be short (2 hours or less) or long (over three hours). Three hours is about average. Oh, and the players who start the game can be replaced during the game by substitutes, either as hitters or fielders. And once removed, they cannot return to the game. It's uncommon nowadays for a pitcher to complete the whole game. Pitchers that come in to replace another pitcher are called Relief Pitchers. Relievers can come in to pitch to a single batter, or for an inning or for several innings.

There's more of course. Next time we'll talk stats! Just kidding.

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In other news, I got my pet turtles today! I got all the stuff to set up their tank yesterday so it'd be ready for them. They are so cute. They don't have names yet. I had some names in mind, but the lady at PetSmart couldn't tell me for certain what sex they are. When they get older it will be easier to tell. In the meantime I'll try to come up with some more unisex names.