Weird things you noticed in sports

[HedleyLamarr]

Of course, I've been team self checkout for 4yrs now... so I'm gone before the line beside me moves an inch... or is it a 3rd down?

Hope you feel proud of yourself, putting people out of work!

[johnnysama]

Going back to my first post, this is how each penalty announced in the CFL would sound like if they didn't refer to the offending team by their cities (and instead used the NFL protocol using generic terms):

"Time count violation, offense number 17, 5 yard penalty, still first down."

"No yards, kicking team number 38, 15 yard penalty, first down."

[infrared41]

Baseball: the nonexistence of the left handed catcher. It's been said that a lefty catcher would have a harder time making the throw to second, though unless it's Jon Lester, the pitcher's handedness seems to matter far more in that regard. On another tangent, the Cubs using the third base dugout at home, as most other teams use the first base dugout.

Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure the Pirates, Angels, Indians, Dodgers, and Giants also use the 3rd base dugout. Tigers too, I think. There may be even more. I'm going from memory and at my age, that's not the most dependable source.

On topic: Speaking of the Indians, at every game I've been to at Progressive Field, they line up all four umpires behind home plate and take a picture of them before the game. Has anyone ever seen that at other parks?

[johnnysama]

^ The Blue Jays also use the third base dugout as their home dugout.

[ninersdd]

Giants moved to the 3rd base dugout in 2000 when they moved into PacBell/SBC/AT&T.

[HedleyLamarr]

Baseball: the nonexistence of the left handed catcher. It's been said that a lefty catcher would have a harder time making the throw to second, though unless it's Jon Lester, the pitcher's handedness seems to matter far more in that regard. On another tangent, the Cubs using the third base dugout at home, as most other teams use the first base dugout.

Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure the Pirates, Angels, Indians, Dodgers, and Giants also use the 3rd base dugout. Tigers too, I think. There may be even more. I'm going from memory and at my age, that's not the most dependable source.

On topic: Speaking of the Indians, at every game I've been to at Progressive Field, they line up all four umpires behind home plate and take a picture of them before the game. Has anyone ever seen that at other parks?

The Braves did something similar at the couple games I went to. They had the four umpires, the rep for each team that's exchanging the lineup cards, and some fan in a group picture. I assume it's either one of the perks for a season ticket holder or a fan that led the charge for reaching X-number of tickets in a group package.

I don't know if it's league-wide, but at Hawks games they get the three officials lined up together for a quick video-shot when they announce who's officiating the game that night. This is done during the pre-game warmups.

[infrared41]

Baseball: the nonexistence of the left handed catcher. It's been said that a lefty catcher would have a harder time making the throw to second, though unless it's Jon Lester, the pitcher's handedness seems to matter far more in that regard. On another tangent, the Cubs using the third base dugout at home, as most other teams use the first base dugout.

Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure the Pirates, Angels, Indians, Dodgers, and Giants also use the 3rd base dugout. Tigers too, I think. There may be even more. I'm going from memory and at my age, that's not the most dependable source.

On topic: Speaking of the Indians, at every game I've been to at Progressive Field, they line up all four umpires behind home plate and take a picture of them before the game. Has anyone ever seen that at other parks?

The Braves did something similar at the couple games I went to. They had the four umpires, the rep for each team that's exchanging the lineup cards, and some fan in a group picture. I assume it's either one of the perks for a season ticket holder or a fan that led the charge for reaching X-number of tickets in a group package.

I don't know if it's league-wide, but at Hawks games they get the three officials lined up together for a quick video-shot when they announce who's officiating the game that night. This is done during the pre-game warmups.

At the Indians games, it was always just the four umpires. Every single game. No idea why. I even sent the team an email asking why they did that. Never got an answer.

[2001mark]

duplicate

[cmm]

Baseball: the nonexistence of the left handed catcher. It's been said that a lefty catcher would have a harder time making the throw to second, though unless it's Jon Lester, the pitcher's handedness seems to matter far more in that regard. On another tangent, the Cubs using the third base dugout at home, as most other teams use the first base dugout.

Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure the Pirates, Angels, Indians, Dodgers, and Giants also use the 3rd base dugout. Tigers too, I think. There may be even more. I'm going from memory and at my age, that's not the most dependable source.

On topic: Speaking of the Indians, at every game I've been to at Progressive Field, they line up all four umpires behind home plate and take a picture of them before the game. Has anyone ever seen that at other parks?

The Braves did something similar at the couple games I went to. They had the four umpires, the rep for each team that's exchanging the lineup cards, and some fan in a group picture. I assume it's either one of the perks for a season ticket holder or a fan that led the charge for reaching X-number of tickets in a group package.

I don't know if it's league-wide, but at Hawks games they get the three officials lined up together for a quick video-shot when they announce who's officiating the game that night. This is done during the pre-game warmups.

At the Indians games, it was always just the four umpires. Every single game. No idea why. I even sent the team an email asking why they did that. Never got an answer.

I know I've seen it before, but I don't remember if it was at a Mets game or NY (AL) game or both. I'm not sure how often it's done, though, since I'm usually goofing off before first pitch.

[johnnysama]

A design-related quirk in Japanese baseball: The Yokohama DENA BayStars of Japan's Nippon Pro Baseball has this 'faux-button up jersey', in that there is a full button placket, but they're actually pullover jerseys with the lower buttons just for show. Have a look:

[Soundwave721]

Majority of the NHL teams are in America, but most of their best players are Canadian

All of the CFL teams are in Canada, but most of their best players are American

[Discrim]

Far as faux-button up jerseys, if you know where to look, you can buy one (or a team's worth) wholesale. IIRC, the Buffalo Bisons use faux plackets, and I wouldn't be surprised if somebody gave us a college example. It'll mainly seem weird because no MLB team goes this route.

[KDubK414]

Baseball: the nonexistence of the left handed catcher. It's been said that a lefty catcher would have a harder time making the throw to second, though unless it's Jon Lester, the pitcher's handedness seems to matter far more in that regard. On another tangent, the Cubs using the third base dugout at home, as most other teams use the first base dugout.

Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure the Pirates, Angels, Indians, Dodgers, and Giants also use the 3rd base dugout. Tigers too, I think. There may be even more. I'm going from memory and at my age, that's not the most dependable source.

On topic: Speaking of the Indians, at every game I've been to at Progressive Field, they line up all four umpires behind home plate and take a picture of them before the game. Has anyone ever seen that at other parks?

I think that all has to do with the placement of the ballpark in relation to which side gets the most sun for, now increasingly rare, day games.

And the umpire thing, I have never seen that at Miller Park except Opening Day and postseason games.

[HedleyLamarr]

Baseball: the nonexistence of the left handed catcher. It's been said that a lefty catcher would have a harder time making the throw to second, though unless it's Jon Lester, the pitcher's handedness seems to matter far more in that regard. On another tangent, the Cubs using the third base dugout at home, as most other teams use the first base dugout.

Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure the Pirates, Angels, Indians, Dodgers, and Giants also use the 3rd base dugout. Tigers too, I think. There may be even more. I'm going from memory and at my age, that's not the most dependable source.

On topic: Speaking of the Indians, at every game I've been to at Progressive Field, they line up all four umpires behind home plate and take a picture of them before the game. Has anyone ever seen that at other parks?

I think that all has to do with the placement of the ballpark in relation to which side gets the most sun for, now increasingly rare, day games.

And the umpire thing, I have never seen that at Miller Park except Opening Day and postseason games.

Well, I'd think the stadium design, in relation to the home team's clubhouse and home facilities, plays a part in that, too.

[Bmac]

Far as faux-button up jerseys, if you know where to look, you can buy one (or a team's worth) wholesale. IIRC, the Buffalo Bisons use faux plackets, and I wouldn't be surprised if somebody gave us a college example. It'll mainly seem weird because no MLB team goes this route.

Yeah, Adidas put out a series of jerseys like that this past summer for college teams. I got a good look at them at the College World Series, not sure how many of the teams they were designed for ended up wearing them.

[johnnysama]

Another thing to add about the CFL: Quite a few stadiums in the past had their end-zones truncated slightly; as of 2015, now only Montreal's stadium has this.

[raysox]

Another thing to add about the CFL: Quite a few stadiums in the past had their end-zones truncated slightly; as of 2015, now only Montreal's stadium has this.

Arena football used to be like this, depending on the layout of the actual arena

[2001mark]

Another thing to add about the CFL: Quite a few stadiums in the past had their end-zones truncated slightly; as of 2015, now only Montreal's stadium has this.

BMO Field looks to have shorter endzones.

[johnnysama]

What also bugged me: Up until 2010, every basketball court outside the USA had a trapezoidal-shaped key. Why they differed on that, I donno, but today all the courts have the same rectangular-shaped key (albeit in somewhat different sizes).

[dfwabel]

What also bugged me: Up until 2010, every basketball court outside the USA had a trapezoidal-shaped key. Why they differed on that, I donno, but today all the courts have the same rectangular-shaped key (albeit in somewhat different sizes).

FIBA used a trapezoid since the 50's to minimize the advantage which a taller post player would have.