Home Run Derby was a television show that aired for one season back in 1960, ending abruptly when the announcer died of a heart attack. The show pitted two major league sluggers against each other for a chance to win 2 g’s. Two grand in that era was perhaps 5 to 10 percent of a ballplayer’s salary so the best and the biggest participated. Mickey, Willie, Hank etc. In that arrangement, the pitcher, a retread former hash slinger from the minors, tossed eat me lobs at these hall of famers and in all of the couple dozen or more contests that aired into the summer, no one really went crazy, as Aaron Judge did in this year’s derby at the all star game in wherever the hell it was held. In an hour plus, Judge hit something like fifty homers to win by a wide margin. In 1960, Jackie Jensen, a real piece of work that guy, managed a show best total of only 14 taters in his contest.
The point is, even the greats couldn’t turn it up like today’s stars do, which I guess is testament to the way players are developed today and the modern approach to an at bat.
So, what would a POM’er see in this nonsense? Well, the home run derby that has replaced real baseball for the 2017 edition of the World Series, takes its act back to Chavez Ravine for the final two episodes in this “reality” series, already sporting the record for most home runs in one World Series.
So why no chin music?
From what I have seen, the bat flipping, cartwheels and full body handshakes/slams that attend these cheap shots into the cheap seats carry no retaliatory implications. Collisions at home plate were banned a couple or so years ago. Contact at the keystone during a double play pivot has also been leashed in. I have to believe a discreet directive circulated throughout baseball that pitching inside on purpose would not be tolerated. Consequently, home runs were up across the board this year for every team, a new record for total taters from every direction was also set.
Chin music has obviously been banned in favor of the clown show we are witnessing today. Rabbinical beards, tattooed strong men only a traveling circus would have employed 50 years ago, and prancing thoroughbreds tricked out for a parade is now de rigueur for the no longer Grand Old Game.
(How’s this crusty old sportswriter gripe working for you?)
Which brings me in sideways to the point of the title: While we here at POM, for the most part, are convinced professional sports are rigged, the main questions still carrying doubt concern the techniques employed to render a prearranged outcome while maintaining the appearance of a clean competition.
One huuuuge clue for me was the at bat by Jose Altuve of the Astros that resulted in a game tying three run homer in the fifth inning of game five.
The first pitch from Dodger right hander Kenta Maeda was low and away and yet Altuve took a majestic swing, missing the pitch by at least two feet, his left foot in the bucket as they used to say. That swing pulled my nose out of my beer because it looked so odd. Jose Altuve may be the shortest guy in the game, but he was arguably the best player in all of baseball this year. The biggest guy in the league, Aaron Judge, may steal the MVP from Altuve, but the li’l feller was the better player in my view.
Regardless, the midget who has won three of the last four batting titles in the American League watched a couple more pitches from Maeda come in, each getting closer to Altuve’s wheelhouse.
Well, sure enough, Maeda gave the squirt what he wanted and the pipsqueak launched. That’s it! I hollered to my fellow inebriates: That first, inexplicable swing was Altuve signaling to Maeda where to throw the pitch that would result in the home run the unseen on high directing this farce ordered up. That second swing was an exact replica of the first. There was no way that would happen in a real game- Maeda would never come up and in so Altuve could put his best swing on the ball unless Maeda was told to do that.
No one was buying. Not even a beer to shut me up.
I’m certain I’m right on this one. The rest of the game spilled all over the floor, the Astros and Dodgers screwing around until whatever ad money quota was reached signaled all to wrap it up. Kenley Jansen dutifully laid down a batting practice special to Alex Bregman, whose nickname should be ‘Typo’, and the windows and doors were opened to let out the stench.
Also- I think roster management plays a huge role in steering the course of a season for MLB. Kershaw has been crap in post season, at least by his lofty standards, so they gave him a month off with a “bad back” so he’d have some gas left in the tank for October. I have serious doubts these elite athletes are so brittle as to constantly fill up the disabled lists as they do. Teams that are not scheduled to win anything for the year have their rosters culled to keep them from contending.
Once the playoffs arrive with the right teams, I suspect players and umpires are given a script with multiple options on how to steer the game in real time, while the managers wait for instructions on how to decimate their bullpens and keep the conga line moving around the bases.
Piece of Mindful 
Great observation!
There is plenty of evidence that the ball itself has been altered in some way, and home runs were hit at a record rate this season.
The playoffs, and especially the World Series have been especially “power friendly.”
Personally, as a baseball fan, I hate the emphasis on home runs that we are currently seeing.
Though the implications of game fixing and throwing batting practice during games to allow for the fireworks spoils it even further.
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I’m sure that we USA’ers know that The League can and does
make the balls with differing inner formulas , that does
change how far and high the ball goes .
Umps keep the balls and in the playoffs each pitch has it’s
own new ball . Easy rigging there .
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I believe this different ball stuff is a brilliant deflection technique by the script writers.
On Monday after that ridiculous game on Sunday night, the next day on Kelly and Ryan Live, Ryan Seacrest said that there is some talk that the ball is slicker causing these home runs. When he said that I realized he has been told to say that, that game was way too funky, some people could have started to question is baseball fake. gotta head those thoughts off at the pass, gotta come up with a distraction like slippery ball.
its simple now that i can see clearly, it is scripted. the batter is told what pitch is going to be thrown and where it is to be thrown. also, a few mph could be taken off the pitch.
btw i never thought about that fake disabled list to remove key players. that is a great way to skew the outcome of the games to a disadvantage to one team. this way you only have give up one run per game to the desired team to really skew the outcome to the team you want to win.
note:
the best teams win 61.5% of their games
a really good team wins 58% of their games
the wild card team wins 55% of their games
1.5 runs per game changes the win probability from 45% win to 65% win for Houston in tonights game
also note: a really good hitter hits 300
so if you have 3 really good hitters that hit 300 all come up in a row the probability of all three getting a hit in a row is 2.7%. think about that when two guys get hits and the third gets a home run. a home run is 1/10. so two hits and then a homer is 1% probability.
ITS SCRIPTED IT HAS TO BE
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There is something wrong with that logic … not sure what. Statistics was not my strong suit in college, as I was in love with a girl in one of the classes, and my brain had turned to oatmeal.
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this is in a row! you use extended multiplication rule.
probability of event A times probabiiity of event B times probability of event C
if each hitter hits 300, that means each guy has a 30% probability of getting a hit
.3.3.3=.027 or 2.7% 3 hits in a row
I am not smart enough to figure out 3 hits/inning using all 3 outs. maybe somebody here is.
now getting a hit, another hit and then a homerun in a by 3 300 hitters all done in a row
if a home run is hit 10% of the time
wouldn’t it be .3x.3x.1 or 0.9% chance or 1/100
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I can understand that, but I use the terms dependent and independent events. It seems to me that three 300 hitters getting three hits, while not likely, is not the same as a coin toss … many outside variables including quality of pitching. But I trip and stumble with this stuff, that damned girl.
[Addendum] At least part of my problem is that with coins there are but two outcomes, while with batters a host of possibilities. So .027 does not work for me.)
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btw its going to 7 games, you called it
you should have bet the farm (lol)
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My wife and I were talking about those ugly scraggly beards some of the players wear. We didn’t know what to make of it as it is not a fashion statement. It makes them look like apes. Your word, “rabbinical,” nailed it. Of course!
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And, of course you guys noticed the score at one point read Dodgers 9 on top with the Astros 11 below. So, 9-11. The Bushes were in the house, too. The Sports Entertainment Industrial Complex is pulling out all the stops now!!!
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All athletes in professional sports are Artists. They can make anything happen they choose to. Almost everytime. For example, hit homeruns at will. Hit the ball wherever they want at will. Pitch the ball to any spot they want at will. Same with the rest of the team. They are not playing scripted sports because they make mistakes. They are in these leagues and on these teams because they DON’T make mistakes, unless asked to do so. You can’t control or script leagues if you don’t know what to expect from the player, can you? No you can’t. Think of MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL as you would think of Minnesota Fats or any top billiard player. These billiard players can make the most incredible shots with seemingly little or no effort. Consistently. Same with these professional sports leagues. You have to be a magician on the baseball diamond, on the football field, basketball court (although they utilize magnetic rims to help shooters) etc. You have to be able to be counted on to hit homeruns at will (with cooperation of opposing pitcher of course). And by at will I mean 9 out of 10 times. You don’t make it to the top of anything withou being consistent. Baseball is easy to script. Hard to imagine but true. All pro sports are easy to script. These players are the best at what they do. Professional athletes are ACTORS with world’s greatest athletic abilities in their profession. If you wouldn’t make a Hollywood movie or National TV show with local Community Theater actors would you? Hell to the Nope.
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I do not think that the players are so good that they don’t swing and miss, strike out, make errors, throw up unintentional gopher balls … all they are is people with good genes that have worked very hard on their skills, thousands upon thousands of reps. But even with that, they screw up.
But I do think in money games, as the World Series is, that there is some cooperation between then to make sure the series goes seven games and that there is late inning excitement. As to who will win … pick ’em.
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Not so sure. Think of those “thousands upon thousands of reps”….like say a jugler, magician, or acrobat sans net who repetitiously performs tasks and can put on a perfect display every time they go on? I had never considered it before, but I think there may be something to the idea of top echelon batters being able to put a baseball wherever they want.
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What is your opinion on the lotteries? Many states are going bankrupt. I know real people win the little ones, small prizes. However the bigger ones like the mega million ones seem like they could be staged.
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“The Lottery, with its weekly pay-out of enormous prizes, was the one public event to which the proles paid serious attention. It was probable that there were some millions of proles for whom the Lottery was the principal if not the only reason for remaining alive. It was their delight, their folly, their anodyne, their intellectual stimulant. Where the Lottery was concerned, even people who could barely read and write seemed capable of intricate calculations and staggering feats of memory. There was a whole tribe of men who made their living simply by selling systems, forecasts, and lucky amulets. Winston had nothing to do with the Lottery, which was managed by the Ministry of Plenty, but he was aware (indeed everyone in the party was aware) that the prizes were largely imaginary. Only small sums were actually paid out, the winners of the big prizes being nonexistent persons.”
― George Orwell, 1984
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Other than World Series, pick ‘em?
That’s ridiculous. Vega$ could not maximize profit in any sport via Pick’em aka Let Them Play. And MLB NFL NBA NHL etc could not maximize profits via Pick’em aka Let Them Play UNTIL World Series, Super Bowl etc.
And it’s beyond absurd to think every game couldn’t or wouldn’t be controlled, fixed, and scripted.
Look at the Psyops you cover, not to mention Miles Mathis.
Are you telling me Psyops (AND THE TONS OF PLANNING INVOLVED ) can fool the 95%, yet the major sports leagues couldn’t pull off rigging or scripting every single one of their games?
Seriously, Pick’em?
Also, I’m not clear why you’re overlooking INTEL being involved in the scripting of major sports leagues?
Revisit your post of a year ago regarding American sports.
Revisit the comments by MH.
With out much effort he spells out obvious Intel connections to these Leagues.
I think maybe you’re choosing all encompassing denial about these Leagues because you want to think some part of sports is still sacred or to be enjoyed as real?
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I had posted this in the football thread , for this thread ,
perhaps it shows how the right people can be put in place ,
as Tyrone puts it – Tipping one’s hand .
And the Phillies have indeed hired untested manager Gabe Kapler .
After the disaster of our last kosher manager Ryne ! Dee ! Sandberg ,
the Phillies will hire a new manager .
We also had Dallas Green (Greenburg) as Phillies manager , late 70’s
and wins World Series Championship 1980
here’s were it gets weird with him :
” Personal life:
n January 31, 1958, Green married Sylvia ! Lowe ! ! Taylor ! at Calvary United Presbyterian Church in Hayden Park, Delaware.[23] The couple had four children, and remained married until his death.[15]
Green’s nine-year-old granddaughter, Christina Taylor-Green, was killed in the 2011 Tucson shooting that critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Her interest in government prompted a neighbor to take her to the event with the congresswoman. Green, after receiving the news of his granddaughter’s death, said that this was the worst thing that has ever happened to his family.[24][25] ”
2017 – Phillies have named new manager , Gabe Kapler
He has never managed any baseball team .
Born: (1975-07-31) July 31, 1975
Hollywood, California
” Kapler is Jewish, and to honor his heritage, has a Star of David tattooed on his left calf, with the inscription “Strong Willed, Strong Minded” in Hebrew, and the post-Holocaust motto “Never Again” with a flame and the dates of the Holocaust on his right calf. He describes his background as “culturally Jewish. … I was—and am—proud of my heritage, but don’t practice religion.”[82] !! He has 11 total tattoos !!.[83][84] ” all quotes from wiki
And since Kapler is an ‘ analytics guy ‘ does this show what that whole
analytics thing is , the faking control rooms .
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I have a friend who is a notable tattoo artist in Paris. Years ago while she was apprenticing here in SF, the Rangers were in the area to play Oakland and Gabe Kapler came in to her parlor. She inked him something on his calf- I can’t recall what it was but she told me he had several tattoos already. He also told her Jews were forbidden to get tattoos because of the green numbers that were tattoo’d on the arms of the camp prisoners but ,obviously, he wasn’t following that commandment. I’d be curious what he really thinks went on back there and then…
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it was a commandment way earlier than that, my excellent crusty writer… It’s in the Law, the Mosaic Law that is… Leviticus 19:28.
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I’m not surprised, but that’s what Kapler told my friend.
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Yes, got it. Your writing was clear enough. I passed the info just as an FYI. BTW, I noticed how strange was José Altuve’s swing to Maeda’s first pitch, but did not make the connection, but now that you mentioned… Eureka! The other circus was around Yulieski Gourriel… I know that guy since 2006… he was considered the best cuban baseball player at the time and played for the cuban team that went on to play in the final of the First World Baseball Classic. Cuba lost in the final to Japan 10-6. The J-pitcher: D. Matsuzaka… I highly praise your baseball knowledge as well, enjoy every comment you make about it, be it a statistic, an anecdote or an astute commentary like Altuve’s.
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“Witness” to Manhattan “Truck Terror.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKILUye3Uik Nice cap,eh?
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Isn’t there something in baseball about a batter having to try to avoid being hit by a pitch? I just watched Utley calmly take one on the shoe, no effort at all to avoid it.
[Who names their kid “Chase”?]
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Yes,you are supposed to make an attempt to avoid being hit by a pitched ball.See Dick Dietz of the Giants in 1968.The incident is recalled in his 2005 obituary. http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jun/30/local/me-dietz30
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Bankers ? we should look at his wife’s names .
They are huge ‘ philanthropes ‘ here in Philly ,
but then again so are the Annenbergs – cough , taxcheats , cough .
Utley would have taken one to the face to get on,
he’s just that kind of player , always has been .
Remember , he is the cause of the interference rule at 2nd base .
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Hey, Dave, I would like to hear your take on former Phillie/Truther, Darren Daulton who recently passed away. Any thoughts to share?
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Here is one of the ‘ theories ‘ on that :
http://thebiglead.com/2017/08/15/former-phillies-are-getting-brain-cancer-at-an-unusually-high-rate-and-nobody-knows-why/
Or was the stadium complex built on Delaware Indian burial sites ,
some real bad Karma going on there for sure .
If his death/life were faked , to me he’d have to go down as one
of the all time acting greats . Real tears from his wife for sure .
I’d say the poisoned Vet. Stadium is a logical choice .
What now gets me , if the totality of fakery was in play ,
in the 1993 World Series and Mitch Williams served up a softball
on purpose to Joe Carter to throw that last game ,
that is proposed , my mind would be blown .
Sometimes you find out your heros are bastards and it hurts .
I met Dutch while shucking clams at a country club ,
he didn’t have to stand around and talk to me or sign something
for me to give my dad , but he did , and thousands of people here had
that with him , so ?
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As far as the Truther aspect goes , he backed away from
his UFO story , that was in his book .
He had a radio call in sport show and
callers were not allowed to ask about it .
If he wrote/talked about other Truth things ,
I had not heard about it Kev .
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O.K. thanks, Dave. Truther was a poor choice of words. I see his book was about occultism and metaphysics. I liked him too.
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The whole anthem, stand, sit, kneel shenanigans are IMHO a psy-op to foment race discord and also drum up patriotism. The NFL does not have our best interests at heart, other than keeping the sheeple distracted with mindless entertainment. I am compelled to add a comment below from my astute 34 year old son who long ago realized the absolute futility of getting involved in fantasy football and saw the shenanigans of the NFL for what they are: scripted, rigged drama. Not good for the soul; not good for the psyche.
These sports anthem protests are not some organic, grass roots inspired social justice phenomena (which I never believed for one minute by the way); everyone is acting their role as they are directed to do. Nor did my awakened thirty-something sons accept any of this at face value – they began to see through the phoniness a long time ago like many here at POM and they schooled me. I only mention my sons because I am handing off this world to them and they make me proud simply because they are awake. I am honored they are my sons, and I am honored to read the thoughts of awakened souls on this blog.
Here is my son’s astute comment – take it or leave it, but I offer it up because he’s very observant and smart “kid”:
“Think of it like this: They (the owners) know football does not have a long future due to CTE. So why not sacrifice it (since they own it)? The globalists owned the NFL for a long time. It’s a multi billion dollar business annually, so of course they own it. They own all billion dollar organizations. So moving on, if it’s doomed anyway, why not sacrifice it for the sake of fueling division in this country? Even if they take a major financial hit due to loss of support, the way they see it is: you either support the NFL and are against racism, OR you turn your back on it because you ARE a racist. So there, you’re either racist and patriotic, or you’re not racist and against what patriotism stands for (which is racism and a racist beginning). There you have your division and there the America as we knew it will fall.”
And Ken over at Redefininggod.com had a good take on the whole anthem drama as well:
“This brouhaha over the kneeling is part of the globalist effort to simulate a crypto-communist (“progressive”) revolution in the United States. And activities such as the kneeling at NFL games and the Antifa thuggery at Trump rallies are meant to shock, infuriate, and traumatize the general public. “What the hell has happened to our country,” we’re meant to ask ourselves, “and when will this insanity end?” It will end after the current worldwide crisis comes to a climax. The globalists are deliberately subjecting us to insanity, lawlessness and chaos so we’ll be profoundly relieved and thrilled when sanity, rule of law, and order is returned in the form of the New World Order.”
Cheers,
Grace
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LOL. I see my comment was censored.
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Careful, Cassandra. You have nothing in any if the bins, moderation, trash or spam. We have been overrun by commenters lately, a source of concern, and your accusation, groundless, cannot be disproved, making it appear to be a tactic. Watch yourself. I am watching you and quite a few others, as this sudden influx of comments creates long, long threads which people then ignore, as who has the time?
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I thought I posted. Could have been my mistake though, failing to click the final post button. I promise I wasn’t trying to run a tactic on you by making a groundless accusation. I was just wondering where my post went. But I accept that it was probably my human error.
Back on this topic of scripted sports, the Deshaun Watson injury gave me a flash of suspicion. A young guy comes out of nowhere to be the top performing QB. Then all of a sudden, his season ends. In practice no less.
Granted, accidents happen. But based on this whole thread, I wonder if Watson’s run was getting too good. If Houston wasn’t slated for victory, they had to pull out the “injured” outperforming star. From a gambling perspective, Watson was at a high, and then his stock suddenly crashed. A dramatic move.
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And, by the way, this Watson injury happened following another chapter of drama in the national-anthem-kneeling drama. A week and a half ago the Houston Texans owner said (in a private owners’ meeting) “We can’t have the inmates running the asylum.” The players got offended (“is he saying all black people are convicts?”) and the entire team took a knee. Then the team had the most exciting and close and high scoring NFL game of the season, barely losing in the end. But that was to be the high point. Now the best QB in the league is out and Houston is toast. The whole thing feels scripted. Not just the sports part but the owner’s quote, the players’ taking offense, rekindling the kneeling controversy which was dying down, etc.
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