Foul Fly Ball Lands With Thud, as Do Yankees
By BILLY WITZ MAY 20, 2015 The New York Times
Carlos Beltran ... indolence ...
In the seventh inning ... Beltran pulled up at the last moment and did not slide, dive or otherwise try to catch a Dan Uggla fly ball down the right-field line in foul territory ...
“Once I felt the warning track, I was getting close to the wall,” Beltran said. “You don’t think about diving in that situation.” ...
Beltran has injured himself in the previous two seasons running into walls ...
Whether Beltran might have caught the ball with a greater effort will remain unknown
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| Pete Reiser, Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder by Bowman Gum [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
Baseball fans expect outfielders to run full speed into a wall while looking in the other direction. We won’t implement safer conditions because we thrill at the expected collision and the remote possibility that an outfielder will leap and rob a batter of a home run. So why not take this to the next logical, if unethical, step: gladiator ball? ...
Pete Reiser ... is the legendary 1940s Brooklyn Dodger center fielder whose career was cut short by his repeatedly crashing into walls and suffering concussions. Reiser was carried off the field several times and supposedly one time a priest administered the last rites on the field...
All fields now have a warning track...
Padding was added to the walls...
There are two things that can be done. From my blog:
1. Friday April 4, 2008 Padding
Outfielders used to battle brick walls and other immovable objects in most ball parks. In some cases there was naked chain link fence...
The pole vaulter lands on a big soft cushion. You know, so that injury is avoided. Since that stuff exists, why not use it in baseball parks? ...
2. Thursday, July 9, 2009 Wall protection.
Since MLB does not seem inclined to follow my recommendation and put pole vaulter pads along the walls, here’s a no tech alternative to protect players from injuries due to crashing into the walls. Make the warning track off limits. A fly ball caught after a player has stepped onto the warning track is not an out but is in play. Yet another devilishly clever way to improve baseball. What’s really amazing is that even simple stuff like this is beyond the grasp of baseball people, both fans and professionals.
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Why do you oppose safety for the players? Wednesday, July 23, 2014
You say you do but you really don't.
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Miami vice: warning track doesn't warn. Thursday, September 4, 2014
It's the same synthetic material as that on the rest of the field but painted brown...
Players are expected to run at full speed into a wall while looking in the opposite direction, all for our amusement.
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