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 5th, 6th and 7th 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