Sunday, March 20, 2016
Pine Buff, Arkansas

This week amateur basketball is peaking out and next week will go into hibernation until next fall.  While basketball was in full swing, baseball and softball teams were starting their practice, and for a few weeks the basketball and baseball seasons overlapped.  Having some recent images from each sport, this week we take a look at both sports — up close and personal.

One Run for the Home Team

In the race for the plate, the runner wins.  His hand is about a half-inch from home plate and the ball in the catcher’s mitt is about a foot away.  Do the math — and score one run for the home team.  The little specks are raindrops that were currently falling on the heads of players, umpires, and photographers.

How fast is a slide?

If you’ve never clocked a slide, the two images below give you an idea of how fast a slide really is.

The second baseman is in the air anticipating arrival of the ball as the runner hits his slide at full speed.

1/3200 of a second later, the runner arrives at second base and the second baseman is still in the air, anticipating the ball, which arrived way late.  The runner is safe.

Something Is Amiss.

E-4

One of life’s most embarrassing moments for a second baseman.  The runner is tagging up on the base, while the ball, which you were supposed to catch prior to the arrival of the runner, is playing hide-and-go-seek behind your left foot.  To make matters worse, you look like the ball struck you in the ‘package,’ but it didn’t — it was a pure miss.  As a consolation prize, the white team thoroughly whooped-up on the purple-gray team.

‘Rat Chilly’

While baseball is allegedly a spring-summer sport, you could not prove it by the actions of these fans.  They would stick their heads out occasionally to look at the action.  A few seconds later, the dude to the right went back into the tent mode like his compatriots to the left.  I shot the game wearing a sock cap, jacket over a sweater, gloves and ‘long-handles’ on my boney legs — and still was not absolutely comfy.  I’m not sure what the wind chill factor was, but it was ‘rat chilly.’

There you have it, two of the nation’s favorite sports — and you never had to set a foot outdoors.  Such a deal!