Class act.

And that was just 1903. In one game against the Athletics, Waddell was at bat in the eighth inning with two out and a tying run on second. The catcher threw to second, trying to pick off the runner, but overthrew, and the ball went into the outfield. The runner took off for home. As he rounded third, the center fielder hurled the ball in to home plate …

… and Waddell, to everyone’s horror, knocked it out of the park.

He was declared out for interference. "They’d been feeding me curves all afternoon," he told a flabbergasted Connie Mack, "and this was the first straight ball I’d looked at!"

From futilitycloset.com

Pujols looking good for the sabermetric triple crown.

Via BTB

Interesting, but still Meh.

For a week, 7/11 through 7/18.

Check out the link for a cool optical illusion.

Description:

"In baseball, a curveball creates a physical effect and a perceptual puzzle. The physical effect (the curve) arises because the ball’s rotation leads to a deflection in the ball’s path. The perceptual puzzle arises because the deflection is actually gradual but is often perceived as an abrupt change in direction (the break). Our illusions suggest that the perceived "break" may be caused by the transition from the central visual system to the peripheral visual system. Like a curveball, the spinning disks in the illusions appear to abruptly change direction when an observer switches from foveal to peripheral viewing."

Some great pictures from the Post DIspatch. You can order prints online.

Germany Schaefer stole first base. On Aug. 4, 1911, playing for the Washington Senators, Schaefer stole second base conventionally, hoping to draw a throw from the catcher so a teammate could steal home. The catcher didn't throw, so on the next pitch Schaefer ran back to first.

That was legal at the time, but rule 7.08i now forbids a player to run the bases in reverse order "for the purpose of confusing the defense or making a travesty of the game."

From http://www.futilitycloset.com/2008/11/25/clockwise/ , a great site in case you haven't heard of it before.

"Nate Silver is a number-crunching prodigy who went from correctly forecasting baseball games to correctly forecasting presidential primaries—and perhaps the election itself. Here’s how he built a better crystal ball."

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/
Mission:
"Most narrowly, to give you the best possible objective assessment of the likely outcome of upcoming elections."

"During the baseball playoffs, the best place to see comprehensive highlights of all the games is ESPN's Baseball Tonight. Just make sure to watch with the sound off, lest lead analyst John Kruk pulverize the parts of your brain responsible for logical reasoning..."

Article on Scientific American about Jet Lagged baseball teams.