Process vs. results, part 4183 in a continuing series: the myth of the 3-0 double

January 26th, 2007 → 12:03 pm @ // No Comments

Longtime readers will know that Murray ain’t my only obsession; I’ve also been fixated on the notion of process versus results, especially as it relates to baseball (and stock picking). Honestly: who else do you know that could incorporate Robert Rubin’s economic policy and why the Boston media doesn’t write about the positive things happening in Red Sox Nation? (On two seperate occasions, no less?)

There’s a strained way that this relates to Trot Nixon and one of the most discussed at-bats of the 2004 World Series. The scene: Game 4, 3rd inning, bases loaded, 2 out, Sox leading 1-0, Nixon at the plate with a 3-0 count. Jason Marquis serves up a meatball that Trot nails; the ball is mere inches away from being a grand-slam. (The fact that that ball didn’t leave the park speaks to Trot’s diminished power…but I digress.) The Sox were roundly praised for giving Trot the green light on 3-0, especially with Marquis struggling and a walk scoring a run. Except Trot wasn’t given a green light; he simply blew the sign. Taking a pitch was arguably the right move: Marquis was struggling, there was nowhere to put Trot, and Shaggy McShouldaBeenSeriesMVP was on deck. In the end, it didn’t matter, Terry’s a genius, and Trot’s folk-hero status is brought up one more notch. But it’s worth pointing out that the play didn’t go down as planned; it went down despite not being planned…


Post Categories: 2004 Playoffs & Process v. results & Trot Nixon

5 Comments → “Process vs. results, part 4183 in a continuing series: the myth of the 3-0 double”


  1. yerfatma

    17 years ago

    “Ding Honk” is a bit shorter than “Shaggy McShouldaBeenSeriesMVP”.

    Reply

  2. Gee

    17 years ago

    Triple? Wasn’t it a long double?

    Ooops — indeed it was. It would have been a mean feet to pull off a two-run, bases loaded triple…anyway, fixed.
    — Seth

    Reply

  3. ygbluig

    17 years ago

    Shaggy McShouldHaveBeenSeriesMVP is a pretty odd nickname for Keith Foulke, isn’t it?

    Reply

  4. HFXBOB

    17 years ago

    Seth, I just happened to be slogging my way through Johnny Damon’s book (a book that you credit as a reference in FTM). On that double by Trot it says on page 233 ‘He hit it on a 3-0 count. Terry let him hit. Terry has faith in us.’

    Based on the number of factual errors I have found in Damon’s book, though, if he says Terry let Trot hit there it’s probably wrong.

    I am incredulous at the number of mistakes in Damon’s account of the 2004 postseason. Beginning when he describes Bellhorn’s home run in ALCS game 6 going over the fence in right centre field. I thought, wow, that’s weird, everybody saw the replay of that ball going over the left field fence a million times. And that gaffe is just the start. There are some real beauties, culminating in Johnny’s hallucinatory description of the last 3 outs of the World Series:

    ‘Keith got Scott Rolen to hit a long fly ball to right…it didn’t have legs, and Trot caught it. Then for a third time Keith struck out Jim Edmonds looking for out two. Edgar Renteria…hit a slow, easy roller back to the mound. Keith gloved it, and then he started jumping up and down, even though he hadn’t yet thrown the ball to first base.’

    Holy crap, Johnny, that’s amazing-you made 4 mistakes describing 3 outs. It was Kapler that caught Rolen’s fly ball, Edmonds struck out swinging, Renteria hit a sharp one-hopper, and Foulke did no jumping up and down until after he tossed it to first. I heard you guys were having a few nips of Jack Daniels during the games but I never suspected you were dropping acid too.

    Seriously, how could so many obvious, blatant errors get into a book? Even if Damon’s memory was fuzzy, the co-author Golenbock or someone who works at the book company should have fixed it. I would have fixed ‘em all for the price of an autographed ball. Strangely I saw the same kind of thing recently in a book by golfer Johnny Miller, ‘I Call the Shots’. In FTM, on the other hand there was just that one little godson-grandson boo-boo and Seth cleared it up as quickly as possible.

    As for the Series MVP issue, I agree that ‘Shaggy’ was a contender. But I think Foulke should have at least gotten co-MVP.

    Reply

  5. archie

    17 years ago

    Can’t help not saying this somewhere: But I was 25 feet from Nixon when he broke in on Jeter’s one-out flyball to right in the 8th inning of game 7 of 2003 ALCS. With a 3-run lead and and 5 outs to get, nobody on, I noticed that Nixon was playing curiously shallow to begin with. Why Nixon broke in on the warning track double (the ball didn’t hit the wall on the fly). If this happened to Manny Ramirez in left, he would have been called out as lazy, casual, non-chalant, stupid, et al. But it was the dirt dog, the hustler, Trawt. Nobody ever called him out on it. Routine fly-ball to right misplayed into a double and gave the Yankees life; when it should have been 2 outs, nobody on. I’ll never forgive him for this. It was the dumbest play I’ve ever seen in a clutch situation. Goodbye Trot.

    Reply

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