The essence of BASEBALL CONFIDENTIAL: The choreographed ballet of Major League Baseball (MLB) extends far beyond the visible athleticism and strategic plays witnessed by fans. Beneath the surface of this esteemed sport lies an intricate web of communication, pivotal for the orchestration of each game. This piece aims to illuminate the unseen dialogues and silent signals that constitute the backbone of baseball, emphasizing their role in the seamless execution of this beloved American pastime. From the clandestine exchanges between pitcher and catcher to the strategic discussions in the dugout, this exploration will delve into the various modes of communication that are as integral to baseball as the bat is to the ball. This book is available at your favorite bookseller. Play Ball!

AS WRITTEN IN THE NEWLY RELEASED BOOK: BASEBALL CONFIDENTIAL (Available on Amazon):

Zack Grienke has had his share of games in the spotlight, both good times and not so good times. He has pitched in big games and been a star. He also has been a goat as in goat, not meaning greatest of all time. Behind the scenes and under the skin Grienke was probably a lot calmer on the pitcher’s mound was much more peaceful and tranquil than met the eye or that the general fan knew. 

This is his story as he told MLB Network Radio.

A little background for this story. Zack Grienke was heavy into fantasy football. He is known as being the type of person that when he chooses to get involved with something, he goes all in. He had a reputation with teammates, and fantasy league opponents as being a wheeler dealer. He gained the nickname, Trader Zack. He was always reconstructing his roster, making trades, and implementing strategies. He really was enjoying being as much the general manager as much as football. Zack was known as a guy who would work the clubhouse and work the league, for his fantasy football endeavors. 

First it was at a game at Dodger Stadium. Grienke was warming up in the bullpen, about ready to start the game. Right before heading to the pitcher’s mound to throw the first pitch, still in the bullpen. A.J. Ellis was Grienke’s warm up catcher in the bullpen and would be catching him during the actual game. Ellis tells, in his report to The Athletic that all of a sudden Grienke stops his warmup pitches and starts walking toward me, as I was crouched in my catcher position. I pop up from behind the plate and meet him before he gets all the way there. He looks at me and says, “I’ve been thinking.” I immediately thought right then, “I wonder what this is about. It could be about anything.” Grienke proceeds to engage Ellis, “I’ve been thinking. You guys have this quarterback injury issue going on now. I’ve got a ton of quarterbacks on my roster, and I noticed you’ve got a bunch of wide receivers on yours. I think we match up really well so I think you guys should make a trade. We’ll talk about it a little bit later.” Of course, this had nothing to do with the game that was about to start. Grienke was in fantasy football mode. Grienke, then did a complete about face and walked back to the bull pen pitcher’s mound.

The game started. Grienke was pitching mostly well. At an unexpected moment, A.J. Ellis made a mound visit. There were runners on base and the situation was more tenuous than situations earlier in the game. 

Instead of discussing the game, the situation or pitching/game strategy, Grienke took the mound visit opportunity to propose a trade between his fantasy football team and Ellis’ team. Ellis certainly didn’t expect that as he trotted out to the mound. Ellis thought he was visiting the mound to talk pitch strategy or to give Grienke a breather.  Grienke offered his catcher a fantasy football trade in the middle of a game.  That’s not something any one thought would be part of Baseball Confidential mound visit conversations. 

As written in the newly released book, BASEBALL CONFIDENTIAL: Casey Stengel approached the mound to talk with pitcher Larry Bearnarth, a New York native. There were two on, no outs and future Hall of Famer, Orlando Cepada was up to bat next. Cepada, at that time was a feared batter. The situation called for a mound visit by Stengel. It was short and sweet. He went to the mound, looked right at Bearnarth and all he said was. “Tra-La-La.”  Who knows what that meant at that point in time. Stengel said it and turned around and walked off of the mound. Bearnarth was puzzled but continued to pitch. Bearnarth threw the ball, power hitter Cepada grounded into a rare triple play to end the inning. Bearnarth, relieved, walked to the dugout and found Stengel. It was at that point that he asked Stengel what he meant by, “tra-la-la?” Casey’s reply was staccato like and to the point. He told Bearnarth it meant, “Triple Play.” That was a classic case of making the story fit the situation. That’s Casey Stengel. That’s baseball and that’s a little bit of Casey Stengel, confidential.  

Thank you Sandy Koufax!

Umpire, Dale Scott spent more than three decades in Major League Baseball umpiring from 1985 to 2017. Asked about conversations around pitcher’s mounds that and Scott referred to one incident that he classified as humorous. It was a time when Buck Showalter visited the mound. 

Buck is a very experienced manager and has made literally thousands of mound visits and is no slouch when it comes to communication. Buck Showalter is a two-time American League Manager of the Year. There are many stories of his interaction (some prefer the term run ins) with umpires. Buck is a former minor league player who never made it to the majors, known for a strong will and an obsession with fundamentals, details and preparation. You can bet he was more than prepared for any mound conversation or interaction with an umpire that was to happen.

In this instance, Showalter visited the pitcher’s mound and started talking to Umpire Scott, not his pitcher. Manager’s sometimes do this for two reasons. One is to give a firm message about the way the manager is viewing the game and the decisions the umpire is making (mostly in disagreement). The other reason is to stall for time in order to give a warming up bull pen pitcher more time to get ready to come into the game. 

On this visit Showalter started talking to Dale Scott and said, “Dale, I don’t know what to do here. I could bring a right hander and that would make sense. This guy really pitches well to the next batter but I’m not sure. I’m really in a predicament here. What do you think?” Umpire Dale immediately knew what was going on there. Buck Showalter was stalling and doing whatever he can to extend the time for his bull pen pitcher to get extra warm up time in. Pitchers, whether starters or relievers, need to warm up their body to get ready to pitch. The old adage when thinking about warming up is pitchers should warm up the body to pitch, not pitch to warm up. That’s why Buck wanted more time for his pitcher in the bullpen. That’s why Showalter feigned the conversation with Umpire Scott. 

Umpire Scott had a classic, rote for umpires, response to Showalter. Scott replied, “Buck, let’s be clear about one thing. The reason I am an umpire is because I couldn’t play the game. I was terrible at throwing, catching, and batting. My opinion here would surely be catastrophic, so Buck, you are going to have to do this on your own.”

Scott went on to finish, “Here is one thing I can tell you: I have to know your decision right now. (The umpire is charged with keeping the game moving). We need to go. What is it.” Showalter indicated that the Umpire was no help to him in this situation so he would go with the right hander in the bullpen. Buck was stalling using a little bit of humor. Good for him but good for Scott for keeping the game moving. 

THIS IS WHAT INSPIRED THE WRITING OF BASEBALL CONFIDENTIAL.

I went to my first game at age8. I understood most of what was going on, in between popcorn, peanuts, and hotdogs. One thing, though, baffled me, at my young age and caused me to wonder for a few years after that. That bewildering scenario happened later in the game around the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th inning. The catcher, who was Johnny Edwards, another favorite of mine (Johnny was my childhood nickname), would call time out and trot to the pitcher’s mound. I thought, at that time, what is he and pitcher O’Toole talking about? Is he asking questions? Is he suggesting something to do? What were they talking about? I asked my Dad at the time, who took me to the game, what that mound visit was all about and he told me that happens in baseball for many reasons leading to many types of conversation. I was perplexed, amazed and in wonderment all at the same time. I wanted to hear those conversations. I wanted it blasted over the ballpark loudspeaker system. Don’t leave me, an 8-year-old fan, out in the dark about that interaction. 

Here I am, many years later, often wondering and guessing what is said. I’ve seen many more mound visits since then but still have to guess and figure out what was said during those visits. Sometimes the manager walked out to the mound along with the catcher and sometimes he didn’t. Sometimes others joined in and sometimes others didn’t. Was the conversation different or the same, each time?  

 This is one of many inside, baseball wonderments that exist. I found it time to find out more about those conversations. That all led me to wonder what managers say during different game situations

From the new book, Baseball Confidential, there is a chapter about Eddie Guardado asking his catcher for the next pitch suggestion. After the suggestion the conversation continued.......Guardado even asked Steinbach at that time, “Is that the best idea you have? Right down the middle? We are talking about Edgar Martinez here.” Steinbach sheepishly laughed and asked the pitcher what else he wanted to do, realizing options were limited. Steinbach suggested, “Let’s take a chance!”

Steinbach retreated back to his catching position, got into the proverbial catcher’s crouch knowing it was a full count on the powerhouse batter. Pitcher Guardado threw the best, down the middle, splitting the plate in half pitch that he had ever thrown, fearing it was about to get smacked out of the park for a home run. That didn’t happen. Edgar Martinez swung right through the pitch for strike three. The inning was over. Guardado said many, many “Holy ____” after that pitch and was amazed that Martinez swung right through the pitch. 

Guardado later asked catcher Steinbach if he noticed something in the batters approach or swing at that moment? Steinbach said no. His rationale for the suggestion was that batters like Martinez and pitchers pitching to him are always looking for and at pitches that are in and out, breaking to one side or another, never right down the middle. When a pitch came right down the middle in the perfect spot, in a split second, Martinez got excited, and at the same time probably couldn’t believe that he was getting the perfect pitch to hit and he swung through it. He didn’t see the left-side or right-side breaking ball that he was expecting. Steinbach’s suggested strategy worked. One never knows what’s going to happen with a pitch. Sometimes batters guess right and sometimes they don’t. That’s the same with the average fan. They try to guess the next pitch type and sometimes are right and other times they are wrong. That’s baseball and that’s why Guardado got away with the classic pitch he threw. 

The Guardado/Steinbach exchange is one type of conversation in the game: strategic but very much in the moment. 

Deacon White was born on this date in 1847, making him the oldest player in the Hall of Fame. Baseball differed slightly in the 1870s, when not even the catcher wore a mitt, but White played all around the diamond, hit .312 and accumulated nearly 1,000 RBI from 1871-1890.

📷: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Baseball and Philosophy- Thinking Outside the Batter’s Box

Philosophy is sometimes strictly logical, sometimes mystical. Likewise baseball.

A deeper appreciation for philosophical reasoning and a more informed respect for the greatest game on earth.

The Ancient Greeks believed that true philosophers should have sound minds and sound bodies. They understood that loving wisdom means sharpening your analytic tools along with your hand-eye coordination. Baseball, like philosophy, is a complicated process of ideas and achievements, set-backs and stars.

Why do we root for teams against all odds? Who are we as Americans, and why is baseball our national pastime? What do batting averages have to do with a hitter’s ability? Who makes the rules? Why is the hidden ball trick legal, while hidden profits on your tax returns is not?

Baseball Confidential talks about pitchers, catchers, players, coaches and managers so I thought this historical tid-bit would be of interest:

On the day, November 19 in baseball history:

1884 - The National League agrees to allow overhand pitching, but rules that pitchers must keep both feet on the ground throughout their pitching motion in order to reduce the velocity of their pitches. They still must throw the ball at the height requested by the batter. In addition, teams are now required to supply a separate bench for each club at their park to limit inter-team fraternization.

1888 - The Joint Rules Committee reduces the number of balls for a walk from five to four, establishing the four balls/three strikes count that remains in effect to this day. It also eliminates an out on a foul tip if the catcher catches it within 10 feet of home plate.

A lot of unwritten rules in baseball are there out of respect. Respect for the game, the field, the players, the opponents, coaches, and managers. We are talking mostly about respect between pitchers and coaches as it relates to mound visits. Respect for the game takes the form of things like, not admiring a home run, making a spectacle of it or displaying an in-your-face bat flip. When you hit a home run, you're supposed to act like you've hit one before.

 Buck Showalter, manager of the New York Mets said, “You have to respect the game. The baseball gods will get you if you're not being true to the game.” Jackie Robinson preceded that respect statement by saying, “I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me… all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” 

Baseball Confidential is a revealing look at behind the scenes communication between players, coaches, and managers at all levels of baseball. The book consists of stories and interviews with former players, coaches, and managers mostly at the Major League Baseball level. This book is written for the baseball fan. More to come...

Peanut Jim was a Cincinnati fixture, with true Midwestern, all American values: hard working with a sense of belief, tradition, and tremendous pride. History tells that Peanut Jim was raised on his father’s peanut farm in Union, South Carolina. With a traveling and entrepreneurial spirit Peanut Jim visited Cincinnati in 1932, spent 75 cents on a roaster, and launched that notable hand-roasted peanut vending business. 

Once past Peanut Jim, I was hit with that famous hot dog aroma, complete with yellow mustard and sometimes sauerkraut. Yes, ballpark franks have a very distinct smell that ingrains itself in your sensory brain forever. I can smell them even as I write this now. 

When you got that whiff you had to find the nearest hot dog vendor walking the stands to make your traditional purchase. 

I was a baseball kid. I was at the game. I had my glove and was in full uniform, but I knew there was nothing better than ballpark food. My friends and I consumed more than one hot dog each, washed that down with a cold Coke and still had room for popcorn, peanuts and probably another dog. Thank you, Dad!

Oh yeah, besides the gastronomic celebration there was a baseball game.

On a hot summer Friday night in Cincinnati, they were facing division foes, the St. Louis Cardinals. Pitching for St. Louis was rookie pitcher Genesis Cabrera. Cabrera entered the game in the eighth inning and successfully retired the side. He returned to pitch the ninth inning for the Cardinals, with the Cardinals winning 7-3, up by four runs. Cabrera immediately allowed two straight singles as the ninth inning opened.  

Manager Marmol wanted to preserve a victory so he did what many managers would do. He made a pitching change. As Marmol strolled to the mound and was almost there, Cabrera would up and smashed the ball into the ground of the mound. It bounced upon impact and manager Marmol caught the rebound. Almost at the same time he grabbed the revolting rookie player and proceeded to have a confrontational discussion, right in his face.  You can bet respect was mentioned during that scold. 

“Your ego can’t get in the way of being a professional,” Marmol later said. “I’ve known him (Cabrera) a long time. He’ll be just fine. We have a good, veteran group that will address it. The kid’s a competitor, he wants to be in there. You can’t fault him for that.” 

Later, one of the more famous veterans of the team did in fact address it. Veteran slugger Albert Pujols spoke to Cabrera as the pitcher sat, with arms crossed, on the bench. It’s not sure exactly what words were said but knowing the respect of Pujols and Cabrera being a fellow Dominican, you can bet his words of wisdom were heard. 

Pujols finished, tapped Cabrera on the top of his cap and walked away. Lesson taught; lesson learned. Baseball Confidential or unwritten rules, the game still revolves around respect.