How It's Done

People who don't love baseball can turn away now. There are some cute cats singing "Memory" on U-Tube. Blogmaid, you are forgiven for watching the Royal Birthling.

Now, for the rest of us. This is part of an interview with Torii Hunter, now with the Detroit Tigers. The subject of the interview is great outfielders and how the great ones never have to dive for a ball because they positioned themselves correctly in the first place. The quickest path between Point A and Point B is a straight line. You are Point A. The tricky part is figuring out were Point B is going to be.

Here is the part Plottie loved:

"Before each game, as the Tigers get in their daily rounds of batting practice, Hunter sets himself up in the outfield. His teammates jog to and fro, sometimes sprinting, shagging fly balls. But Hunter barely moves. He's 37 now, and he's learned the benefit of saving his legs. So he watches, listens to the crack of the bat and feels how the wind is blowing. Once the ball is hit, Hunter will avert his eyes from its path and focus instead on the five-foot circle of grass where he thinks the ball will land. More often than not, the ball drops in the circle. Six-time Gold Glove Award winner Kirby Puckett taught Hunter this mental exercise when he first came up with the Twins, to teach him to take the most direct route to the baseball."

Man, baseball is wonderful. (When your team is winning...)