Baseball Follies - Just Asking...

I love baseball, I really do. But like any other sport, it has rules, conventions, and idiosyncrasies that attempt to level the playing field for competing teams. That doesn’t stop me from thinking about a line from a song by Fine Young Cannibals, “She drives me crazy, and I just can’t help myself”. So please, educate me on the following:

·?????? Why do catchers and home plate umpires change baseballs when the pitcher scuffs the ball into the dirt area surrounding home plate?? If the answer is to prevent the pitcher from gaining an advantage over the batter because a scuffed ball rotates differently in the air, consider these two facts. Before each game, baseballs are purposely scuffed to remove the smooth surface, making them easier for pitchers to grip. Additionally, when a batter puts the ball into play, the baseball can get scuffed by hitting the dirt area around the pitcher’s mound or on the warning track. Those balls are retained and returned to the pitcher.

·?????? First base is exceptional when it comes to running the bases. When a batter beats out a throw to 1st base and his momentum forces him to overrun the base, he is safe and cannot be tagged out. Managers and teammates will applaud the “hustle” for a job well done. The same is not true for running between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd bases. Should the runner overrun 2nd or 3rd base, he can be tagged out by the fielder.? Home plate, of course, is a different story. When a runner overshoots home plate without being tagged, the run scores.

·?????? When a batter hits a home run, he is technically not yet out because the home run ball cannot come back into the field of play.? Baseball rules allow the next hitter to come to the plate when the previous hitter has been called out. So here is my question. Shouldn’t the batter be allowed consecutive at bats when he hits a home run?

·?????? Why can’t the batter run to 1st base on passed balls or wild pitches on strikes 1 and 2?? The rule allows the batter, if he decides, to run to 1st base on strike 3 on these pitches to avoid being called out.? Why the exception?

·?????? Pitching coaches are allowed to visit the pitcher on the mound when he struggles and/or to offer advice and strategy for the upcoming at bats.? I never see hitting coaches go to home plate to confer with the batter on how best to attack the pitcher.? Should the rule book allow for this? Just asking…

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BTW: A shoutout: A shoutout to our Canadian Summer McIntosh who recently won gold in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley at the Paris Summer (no pun intended) Olympics. She was an honorable mention in my May 23rd post on Seize The Grey.