Looked at it, again. Ventura started with an open stance and as the pitch came in his right foot stride was over halfway so his front foot was in a closed stance position. At the arrival of the ball his body was still going toward the plate and when he was struck his feet came down on his toes closer to the plate than his right foot started when he was set.
He was going toward the plate and locked himself in to where he couldn’t get out of the way of the ball if he wanted to.
As I said, he was diving at the outside corner which is where he singled in a run earlier. Batters do this and pitchers move them back to protect their part of the plate.
There have been a number of pitchers for years that were notorious for this: Don Drysdale, Dodgers, Lew Burdette, Braves, Bob Gibson, Cardinals. Most of the successful later Braves staff pitched inside, Smoltz, Glavine, and Maddux protected the inside corner. In the earlier days the Dodgers and Giants had a pitcher named Sal Maglie that was nicknamed “The Barber” because he came inside. It is part of the game. The batters want to control the plate and pitchers do too.
And the batters know better, also. In an article from the NY Times Mo Vaughn, former Boston slugger, said he does not resent being pitched inside. ‘’It’s their plate, too,’’ he said. ‘’There’s a difference pitching inside at the chest or belt and at the head. I don’t mind their trying to drive me off the plate. I know what they’re trying to do.’’
Don Baylor, who crowded the plate, in the same article said “They do not try to intimidate hitters. On the contrary, the Colorado manager said: ‘’It’s the reverse. The hitter is intimidating the pitcher with the hard swing. A guy falls down, buttons come flying off. It’s no big deal. But it used to be. If a hitter took that sort of swing against Don Drysdale or Bob Gibson or Stan Williams, to cite a few nasty fireballers, the next pitch would send him flying again — but this time involuntarily.”
And as I was watching the video I took note that the ball struck Ventura close to the elbow of his right arm while it was against his body at the height of the middle of the three on his back, in my sight better than a foot and a half below head level.
These two teams had a history. But that wasn’t one of them.
rwood
I watch baseball. I’m very familiar with a brushback pitch, so no, you don’t have to waste 500 words explaining to me what anyone who’s ever watched a baseball game knows.
You’re also, however, full of nonsense. Ventura started off in the very back of the batter’s box. He briefly opened his stance so much, he might have been out of the box, and then closed it back to normal.
It’s funny you mention Don Baylor. He was the all-time modern leader in getting hit by pitches. He’s defending himself against frequent charges that he’d get himself hit deliberately. There is absolutely nothing Baylor-ish about Ventura’s stance.