15 Responses to “Well, They Were Sorta Batted In…”

1. JohnnyTwisto Says:
   December 31st, 2009 at 5:57 pm

   I feel like I missed something exciting in the comments of PI Tag 2. Did Imashark go insane? You guys gotta give the loyal readers a clue...

2. Raphy Says:
   December 31st, 2009 at 6:28 pm

   Nothing that exciting. He just posted a question asking for the 267th player in a list that includes 4 players. As you would expect the question involved a bizarre series of requirements. The requirements didn't bother me. However, the fact that he clearly did not even bother checking his question, combined with his history of posting just to be annoying led me to believe that he was trying to disrupt the blog. (He also used a silly word, which might have been insulting to another commenter, but I assume that he was just being silly.) I marked the post as spam and ImAShark3 will no longer work. Don't fret, I'm sure there will be an ImAShark4 any minute now.

3. JohnnyTwisto Says:
   December 31st, 2009 at 10:24 pm

   Personally, I hope he takes it to another level, like ImJustaDolphinMaam27

4. TheGoofyOne Says:
   January 1st, 2010 at 1:08 pm

   I'll never forget Mariano Rivera's RBI, a walk against Francisco Rodriguez. Two best closers in the game, and the one at the plate wins? Insane.

5. jksesq1 Says:
   January 1st, 2010 at 1:09 pm

   Censorship sucks.

   If I may be so bold as to offer a point of view, I *think* what ImAShark(n) is getting as is the tendency of some of the posters here to use the neat toys to create completely irrelevant lists that do nothing to enhance one's knowledge or understanding of the game.

6. Raphy Says:
   January 1st, 2010 at 1:59 pm

   jksesq1 - ImAShark is not getting at anything. His posts are frequently utter nonsense. He has a history of posting obscenities for the purpose of just posting obscenities. He spent at least 5 posts arguing that Derek Jeter's name rhymes with better. This is just one example in a series of nonsense that has been going on for years.

   While you may not like censorship, I assume that the goal of this blog is simply to provide people with some form of entertainment. If the purpose of a thread is to allow people to take turns posting trivia questions, then someone who posts a trivia question with no answer is undermining the thread and preventing people from enjoying it. Therefore, I assumed that his post was detrimental to thread and deleted it.

   To be honest, I created the PI tag threads because I came across a few facts, that I thought were interesting, but not lengthy enough to include in posts of their own. None of these facts will enhance your knowledge or understading the game, but I don't think that is the main purpose of the blog. The blog is simply there to provide entertainment. Some people may only be entertained by thorough analysis and in-depth long term studies, but I think such people prefer to read blogs that are more sabermetrically inclined. I believe that there are also many people who enjoy baseball for the curiosities that it produces. I think that this what we usually aim to do with our posts. If you disagree, you are certainly welcome and we would even enjoy your input. However, do it in a legitimate way. Sabotaging a thread is juvenile and inconsiderate.

7. Andy Says:
   January 1st, 2010 at 3:09 pm

   I totally agree with Raphy on this. This one user has been very problematic and is clearly acting as a troll.

8. damthesehigheels Says:
   January 1st, 2010 at 6:58 pm

   I could not agree with Raphy & Andy more. If you look back, 99% of what ImAShark wrote was completely irrelevant and just trolling in the complete essence of the term trolling.

9. rico petrocelli Says:
   January 2nd, 2010 at 11:38 pm

   Just to weigh in as a sideline participant and outlier, I love the endless analyses you guys put forth. I'm honored to be in the conversation, and he should be too. i always seem to just miss how disruptive the Shark is being. It's hard to imagine being a twisted nemesis to a brillant-yet-nerdy baseball blog, but you guys have found him, grown him, earned him. He's a stat stalker. Or maybe stat sharker. The dialogue demands interaction, so it would be culturally aberrant to just ignore him. Here's a toast for 2010 that he behaves.

   Meanwhile, I was checking out Vada Pinson.
   Who else has career 250SB and career 250HR?
   Is he a HOF almost? And what kind of name is that anyway?

   Rico

10. JGS Says:
    January 3rd, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    Re: Bill McCarthy

    how do you get two RBIs in one plate appearance without a hit?

11. DoubleDiamond Says:
    January 3rd, 2010 at 3:26 pm

    Regarding two RBIs in one plate appearance without a hit - I have heard of guys scoring from second on sacrifice flies, so maybe there were guys on both 2nd and 3rd who scored on the same one.

    As for the use of the "neat toys to create completely irrelevant lists," this is one of the reasons I come here almost every day! As long as there's a variety of topics no continued focus on one team (such as the one whose nickname comes last alphabetically) or one player (such as any whose last names rhyme with Pete Rose's given first name), I tend to find great enjoyment in reading the stuff here.

    I didn't have much time to experiment with the Play Index during the time it was offered for free, so I now have to consider whether I will be able to pay something to be able to use it again. One thing I'd like to know - Is the fee charged for Play Index only to recoup its costs, or is there also a little bit (or even a lot) built in to make some money for the web site in general? It's somewhat ironic that Baseball Reference was the first web site (and is still one of the very few web sites) to which I have paid some money to help support, in this case, by sponsoring a couple of pages. If the fee charged for Play Index is done only to recoup its costs, I can understand paying additional money for it. But if all or part of the fee is to support the web site in general, I think that some of us sponsors should get a price break on it.

12. DoubleDiamond Says:
    January 4th, 2010 at 8:05 pm

    Since posting yesterday, I have discovered that there is a discount for people who have at least $35 in sponsorships. I have $20 right now, and there have been a few other players I've been thinking of sponsoring. If Joe Sambito ever becomes available (according to his page, the sponsorship expired 02-16-2009, but it still shows up), I want to do both him and Steve Bowling, who is currently available. No major leaguer was born on the same day I was, but these two guys come the closest.

13. Raphy Says:
    January 4th, 2010 at 9:28 pm

    DoubleDiamond - If you click on "Alert me" on Sambito's page it says that it expires on 02-28-2010.
    Also from your comment it sounds like you were born on June 27th. Have you considered the following former Phillie players who share your birthday.
    Johnny Estrada
    Ricardo Jordan
    Jackie Gutierrez
    Al Porto

14. DoubleDiamond Says:
    January 4th, 2010 at 10:15 pm

    I have considered sending birthday greetings to some guys who share my birthday, whether alive or dead, by sponsoring their pages. The two I remember from my childhood are former Washington Senators Ed Hobaugh (available) and Wayne Terwilliger (already sponsored). It's interesting that there have been two Terwilligers who have played major league baseball, both from Michigan, and both born on June 27, 19 years apart. They're not noted as being relatives. I could imagine that they could be father and son - the Griffeys and Bondses were about that far apart in age. They could even be brothers in a large family (or half brothers), like the Pacioreks or the Fowlers. But more likely, if there is any relationship, it's more distant.

15. Steve Lombardi Says:
    January 5th, 2010 at 12:36 pm

    Re: Bill McCarthy

    It was part of that wild 18-8 game on 4/21/1906.
    It's the only game he played in.

    http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmccaw101.htm