I'm absolutely amazed...

about the beards.

I can remember when the #1 sponsor for the World Series was Gillette.

I mean, they sold a lot of blades and shaving cream

That's a Fly Ball to Right Field and deep, but Kemp is there

So quickly, 2 Out in the Seventh Inning

And the batter will be Jimmy Rollins. Yeah look at them, I mean it's amazing!

So here's Jimmy, he settles for kind of a Fu Man Chu mustache...

Rule to remember: Even when it looks like there's "nothing going on" and the players are just holding the ball & scratching themselves, the ball is in fact usually "live" & "in play".

Example:

If a fielder touches ("tags") a runner with a ball when he is not touching the base, the runner is out.

Here, the runner has moved closer to Second Base to give him a "lead". This is normal.

But it is not normal for the pitcher to lunge at the pitcher with the ball. He could have easily run back to First Base but was caught like a deer in the headlights.

Unwritten Rule of Baseball: If the ball lands in your beer, do as the woman in the sunglasses!

Mike Trout is considered by many to be the best player right now, with early-career statistics on par with Mickey Mantle.

A pitcher throwing behind behind a batter is a sign that he's trying to hit him. Look at the umpire's expression.

So a couple pitches later, the batter hits a Home Run as a "response". Easier said than done!

It is an unwritten rule that the batter is supposed to show no expression and refrain from "rubbing it in", so this is a "hot" situation.

Lost the ball to the sun

Ball was equidistant between the fielders... one of them is supposed to "call" the others off.

The question of whether all balls should be given to kids is a subject of debate.

We've gotta get you a poncho

So I can spend an inning to put it on?

Anything to entertain us. We're watching the gentleman right now, he's having a little bit of trouble with it.

He's trying to casually do it. I don't know if he knows this; he's putting his head through the arm.

That would be me.

I think he finally realized it... no he didn't.

Swing and a miss... Galvis has struck out

Three strikeouts for Pineda... Phillies go down in order

He gave up and said, "You know what, the arm? It's well enough". We'll go to the Fourth.

Baseball has four "umpires" (referees): one at each base & Home Plate.

Though ambidextrous batters are fairly common, ambidextrous pitching is so rare that a new rule had to be created for this guy.

Bat broke mid-swing, causing a "double hit"... again, very rare.

MLB largely moved to indoor stadia from the 60s on to avoid this type of thing, but began reverting to traditional outdoor ballparks in the 90s as the experience is better... usually.

In a "bunt", the hitter goes for the "element of surprise" by holding the bat instead of swinging, causing it to dribble and giving him time to run to First Base before the fielders can run forward to get it.

Only here, the plan went awry and somehow his "bunt" went very far. Rare.

I've watched the Spike Jonze "Praise You" music video way too many times...

The Phillies Phanatic has ties with Jim Henson's muppets. Even fans who generally dislike mascots tend to have a soft spot for this one.

See the player running from First to Second Base. He knows he can get there "safely" before being "tagged" by the ball. The ball is always in play!

Boston's Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, was built in 1912 and still has manual signs. It's considered a "shrine" to baseball, much like The Oval is for cricket.

My favourite celebrities, haha

uh...

Both runners were "tagged" without being on base. They are both "out". This is called a "double play". Of countless variations, this is one of the strangest.

Baseball typically has "ballgirls" who will retrieve foul balls and give them to fans. The San Francisco Giants have a "balldude". San Francisco's a strange place.

Even if you're new to baseball, you probably know a "Home Run", where the ball is hit over the fence and the fielders can't retrieve it, allowing the batter to run around the bases without fear of being "tagged".

It is also possible for the fielders to screw up so badly that the batter runs around the entirety of the bases for an "Infield Home Run". Very rare.

...Well, quite rare.

Even if the ball is hit outside the white lines (a "foul"), if it's caught the batter is out and has to sit down.

What's that, Keith?

I believe that's the International Space Station that's flying overhead.

Really... how close do we think that is?

I have no idea... just a friend told me that around 8:15 it would be flying overhead,

coming from the northwest, and exiting the New York area to the southeast

The most amazing thing here is that the First Baseman thought quickly enough to drop his own glove.

Note the Second Baseman dropping the ball, and the Shortstop recovering for the "Double Play".

Here ball pops out of the Second Baseman's glove, but the deflection is caught by the Shortstop so it's still an "Out".

(Shortstop -- the position between Second and Third Base -- is considered the most difficult position, but their plays occur so quickly that it's easy to overlook)

Another shortstop play... but here he forgets how to throw and spikes the ball to the ground! Lucky bounce.

(He was likely distracted by the flying broken bat)

An easier one...

Each team has a "baserunning coach" at First Base. Here, the coach waved at the runner to keep running to Second Base because the ball's trajectory looked like a "deep" enough "hit" that the fielders wouldn't be able to get the ball to Second before the runner.

However, due to unforeseen circumstances, this was not the case.

Note how the ball first bounces "inside" the white lines. It is "fair", not "foul". The fan grabbed the ball while it was in play.

Because every ballpark is different, baseball has "ground rules" for this type of occurrence. Here, the batter was most likely told to automatically go to Second Base by the Umpire.

Thanks for watching... I'll try to include these explanations for all my newest uploads.

If you're new to baseball, the best advice I can give is to focus on the pitcher, not the batter, and study how he is trying to trick the batter into getting an "out". This psychological battle is the core of the game.

...are holding up their cell phones now, with lights, to help with the situation.

That is really funny.

Help illuminate the stadium. Especially out in the bleachers; I think it started there.

Very, very clever.

Like the old days at concerts, with lighters. But now everybody has a phone, with a camera in it. They're helping out.

Yeah, that's what they use at concerts too, nowadays.

Oh my goodness... that's a classic.

Just when you think you've seen everything.