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Thursday, August 24, 2006 - Page updated at 10:59 a.m. The Art of Baseball is an occasional series by Larry Stone that explores different facets of the game.
The Art of Baseball: Flipping the switch Switch-hitting has transformed and even made careers for some players. All it takes to make the switch is a suggestion from a coach, a willingness to work twice as hard on your swing — or a father that worships Mickey Mantle. (Sun, 7/16) Art of baseball: Radio deities who call the shots Marty Brennaman, longtime voice of the Cincinnati Reds, has a new fan in Bath, England. The far-flung fellow, who e-mails Brennaman periodically... (Sun, 6/04) MLB The Art of Baseball: A tradition of superstition Call them rituals or routines, but don't forget to perform them — unless you want to lose the game. (Sun, 9/25)
They are a punch to the gut, a blow to the psyche. They are humiliating, humbling and hurtful.A player in a slump is a sad sight to behold, equal parts wild-eyed desperation and puppy-dog bewilderment... [June 2005] Baseball is a game of pauses, of leisurely interludes that frame the action. It is, for that reason, also the most social of games. That goes not only for those in the stands... [July 2005] In terms of career impact, outfielder Kevin Rhomberg barely caused a ripple in the majors, during which he appeared in a grand total of 41 games for the Cleveland Indians, circa 1982-84... [September 2005] The art of Ichiro: Right hitter, right time He's a leadoff man who rarely walks, a left-handed-hitting speedster who has a nuclear burst out of the batter's box, and a person who long ago showed that he could stand up to scrutiny and pressure that would wilt most players... [September 2004] You will not find the book (or, more accurately, The Book) on Amazon, no matter how adroitly you manipulate their search engine. Even the most massive Barnes and Noble outlet doesn't... [June 2004] There's just something about the smell of a new mitt (or even better, an old mitt) — "the smell of baseball," as former Mariners infielder Rafael Bournigal once said. There's just something about... [May 2004] Pitching rotation: Money 5, Purists 4 With five-man rotations protecting — some would say coddling — multi-million-dollar mound investments, the guts and glory days of 300-inning pitchers in a four-man cycle stay buried in the past. [April 2004]
Major-league baseball came to Seattle in 1969, then returned in 1977. Pennant-race baseball arrived, unexpectedly, in the fall of 1995, and fans here found out just how tense and exciting and wonderful is life in the maelstrom of a stretch drive that means something. [August 2003] Baseball's vast web of record-keeping, its never-ending cycle of daily box scores and accumulation of statistics, both arcane and essential — it all begins with the official scorer, ruling on a play, and then filling out the paperwork afterward. [July 2003]
You can live in a clubhouse. When he served as Mariners coach in 1979-80, Bill Mazeroski, a future Hall of Famer, indeed lived in Seattle's home clubhouse at the Kingdome, concluding that the facilities available there beat any hotel he could find. [June 2003]
Sign language is game's lifeblood It all looks so innocent, at times even comical. Yet all the exaggerated gyrations, the clandestine touches and subtle movements that make up baseball's secret language of signs, open a door into a fascinating and complex culture (and controversial subculture) of the sport. [May 2003]
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10 moments in slump history
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