THE BOOK--Playing The Percentages In Baseball

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Question of the Day

For a while, I will be asking one strategic question per day for you to ponder and answer if you like.  You will only receive credit for a correct answer if you give a (correct) reason why.  Only Tango, Andy, or I may post questions.  Anyone else is welcome to answer or comment.  Most of these questions are discussed or at least mentioned quite often by commentators, many of them ex-players or managers, when you watch or listen to MLB games.

Question #1: The pitcher has thrown 7 balls in a row and walked two straight batters.  You are the next batter.  Are you taking the first pitch (a) more often, (b) less often, or (c) the same, as compared to what you would normally do given the score, runners, inning, outs, etc.?