I was thinking the other day about the phrase, "got thrown a curve ball." Usually we say that when something unexpected comes up, and not such a good thing at that.
Now, I played softball years and years ago, but not at any kind of level where we tried to anticipate and plan for certain kind of pitches. So I'm wondering (and I appeal to my readers who are hard-core baseball fans)... does a batter ever WANT a curve ball? Is there ever a time where we could say that we got thrown a curve ball and it was a good thing?
A batter wants a curve ball if he believes that's what the pitcher will throw, given the circumstances of the game and that particular at-bat.
The common phrase refers to the batter expecting a different pitch (like a fastball) but getting a curveball instead. If the hitter is not expecting a curve and the pitcher throws a good one, the hitter is usually helpless. He either swings futilely and misses or he watches it go by for a strike.
I hope I explained it ok. I'm not a pitcher (but I play one on TV).
Posted by: Mike | May 31, 2009 at 05:32 PM