Wednesday, July 20, 2005

The Little Things Matter

Marc Fisher has a nice little column about observing a baseball game, and how watching some of the subtle things at a baseball game can be more rewarding than following the ball.

I've done what he talks about, and followed a single player around for a game. It really is interesting how they go about their positioning, and many of the signals they'll make to other players.

It can also be interesting to focus on the umpires and how they're constantly adjusting their location and using hand signals to communicate with each other.

It's easy to miss all those things when you're watching on Fox -- especially with their never-ending closeups: Hey look! Derek Jeter needs to blow his nose!

2 Comments:

  • In a strange sort of way, I kind of like the fact that old RFK isn't totally dominated by gigantic scoreboards the way most modern stadiums are.

    We're conditioned in our culture to look at screens and monitors a lot, and I often have to force myself to not do that, because I'd rather be looking at the field and the players. The only time I really want to look at the scoreboard is if my mind drifts for a moment and I forget the count, or if I want to see a replay on a great play.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7/20/2005 12:36 PM  

  • That's a good point, Mr. Anonymous.

    I'm pretty good at noticing small things, but one of the hazards of keeping score all the time, I've noticed, is that I have less time to notice things, because I'm too busy making chicken scratches in my scorepad.

    The easiest way to do that is to go to a game where you're not rooting for an outcome. It's amazing what'll pop out at you then.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 7/20/2005 12:47 PM  

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