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Results Can Be Misleading

© Harold Friend

It was May but it seemed as if it were October. The temperature was in the 60s and it was only a few weeks into spring, just as October is only a few weeks into autumn. Imagine it as a mirror image in which the next spring day will be a little longer than the preceding one, just the tomorrow in October will be a little shorter than the last one. The Yankees hope that the days in October don't seem as long as this day in May.

The Yankees lost a tough extra inning affair to Oakland's A's. Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Nick Johnson doubled and on a 3-1 pitch, and Jason Giambi blasted an instantaneous home run to right field to tie the game. Juan Acevedo, he of the earned run average that hovers around 8, immediately yielded a hit to Scott Hatteberg, which was followed by a mammoth Eric Chavez home run. Acevedo once again pitched briefly and ineffectively and was charged with the loss, but the game was really lost much earlier.

The Yankees managed to score a run off Oakland starter Tim Hudson when Bernie Williams, with runners on first and third and none out, hit into a force play, scoring Nick Johnson, who had led off the inning with a base on balls. Oakland tied the game in the sixth and with two outs and no one on base in the seventh, got a double from Chris Singleton and a run scoring single off the bat of Mark Ellis, who took second on the throw home.

The Yankees now trailed by a run. What is the "predestined hit?" There is a runner on first with two outs. The runner is thrown out stealing. The batter at the plate leads off the next inning with a single. Would he have singled if the runner had not attempted to steal and the batter had a chance to complete his plate appearance? Would the batter have hit safely regardless of the inning of his plate appearance?

Chris Hammond relieved Yankees starter Jeff Weaver. Hammond promptly gave up a single to Hatteberg, scoring Ellis and putting Oakland ahead, 3-1. The score remained that way until Giambi's home run. Hammond is the Yankees "left handed specialist." His job is to get out left handed batters. Hatteberg is a left handed batter whose single created the two run lead.

If Hammond had done his job, Giambi's home run would have won the game. But would Giambi have still hit the home run? Oakland relief pitcher Keith Foulke was working with a two run lead. Would having a one run lead made a difference? Would he have thrown Giambi a different sequence of pitches? Was Giambi's hit a "predestined hit?"