Inside baseball

Batting practice, Barry Bonds, and Bibles in the Braves' bathroom | Marvin Olasky

WATCHING THE MAJOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYoffs on television is different from roaming fields and locker rooms with a press pass, as I did at seven games this year. Here are three scenes that TV doesn't show.

First, batting practice: I used to see BP just as hitters taking cuts, but I've come to enjoy its careful choreography. Batters typically form four groups, with each group given 15 minutes and each player during that period receiving the same number of pitches in countdown order. At a California Angels batting practice I watched, for example, each of four batters per group receive eight pitches (bunting the first two), then six, then five, then four, then three. With fewer pitches came greater intensity, as players took easy swings at first, then more aggressive ones.

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October 04, 2003, Vol. 18, No. 38

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