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Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?
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Author:  mtarnowski [ Mon May 24, 2010 9:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

Can a testy baseball watcher tell me if the first pitch thrown at a baseball game by a famous person is counted as a real pitch? Does the batter swing, assuming the pitch reaches the plate? And if it doesn't, is the pitch counted as ball one?

Author:  Phillip Blanchard [ Tue May 25, 2010 1:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

No, no and no. (There is no batter.)

Author:  Editer [ Tue May 25, 2010 10:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

Correct. The game has not officially started, so the ball is not in play, if you want the technical details.

Author:  mtarnowski [ Wed May 26, 2010 7:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

So, it's incorrect for my newspaper to tell readers the governor will "throw out the first pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays game." He's not going to throw the first pitch of the game. If it were the first pitch of the game, it would count.

Now, I know it's poor practice to check Wikipedia first, but not having a baseball almanac handy, I did this. That source is confusing on this question. Although the entry is "Ceremonial First Pitch," it says the pitch is to the hometeam, and the entry goes on to list which team won various games that presidents have tossed for. Those of us who didn't know there wasn't even a batter there (thanks, Phil) are left with the impression that somehow that pitch influenced the ultimate outcome.

Copy editors are good.

Author:  Phillip Blanchard [ Wed May 26, 2010 7:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

A world based on Wikipedia would be topsy-turvy. Perhaps it already is.

Author:  Rio [ Wed May 26, 2010 1:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

mtarnowski wrote:
So, it's incorrect for my newspaper to tell readers the governor will "throw out the first pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays game." He's not going to throw the first pitch of the game. If it were the first pitch of the game, it would count.


This exercise in hair-splitting has a flaw. Your paper didn't say the guv would throw the first pitch, it said he would throw out the first pitch. Unless you're writing for an audience that has never been exposed to baseball, the latter is clear and doesn't require elaboration. Just as it's not necessary to explain what you mean when you write that a football team "won the coin toss."

Author:  Wayne Countryman [ Wed May 26, 2010 5:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

It wouldn't occur to me that this needs to be explained in a newspaper, and I definitely wouldn't do it in the sports section.

But maybe non-sports fans reading a politics story would need it spelled out -- succinctly.

Author:  Rio [ Wed May 26, 2010 9:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

We might disagree on how much this needs to be "spelled out," but if you must elaborate, saying the governor (or whoever) threw out the ceremonial first pitch would cover it, I think.

Author:  jjmoney62 [ Thu May 27, 2010 10:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

The idea of a Baseball forum around here is about as quaint as Dear Abby next to Ziggy.

Speaking as the moderator .....

Author:  mtarnowski [ Fri May 28, 2010 8:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

I hope it wasn't anything I said.

Author:  jjmoney62 [ Sat May 29, 2010 10:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

mtarnowski wrote:
I hope it wasn't anything I said.


No. It's something I've been thinking for a while now.

Author:  Phillip Blanchard [ Sun May 30, 2010 2:19 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ceremonial First Pitch -- does it count?

The baseball forum was set up to get baseball chatter out of the other forums. It has served its purpose well.

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