August 8th, 2006 → 8:27 pm @ Seth Mnookin // No Comments
“Mark Loretta may be the toughest out in that Red Sox lineup.”
— Royals broadcaster Bob Davis in top of the first inning of tonight’s Royals-Red Sox game. Loretta is fifth (out of eight) in on-base percentage among regular position players–behind Manny Ramirez, Kevin Youkilis, Trot Nixon, and David Ortiz.
Post Categories: Broadcasting
Kevin
18 years ago
Maybe that’s why they plunked him? Either that or a lack of pitch control. Same thing.
kml1258
18 years ago
Seth, as you know from your paternal roots, Midwesterners ain’t the smartest of the bunch.
johnw
18 years ago
“Toughest out” is code for “doesn’t strike out very much.” It’s essentially identical to “bat control.” Both terms arise from the old-baseball theory that if a batter strikes out, it’s somehow much more damaging to the offense than if he grounds out to second base.
With more and more baseball executives employing the tools of statistical analysis, the broadcast booth has become one of the last refuges of old-baseball thinking. You often hear broadcasters call for a sacrifice bunt or a hit-and-run whenever there’s a man on first, whether the situation warrants or not. Tim McCarver is one of the worst offenders.