I enjoy it when retired pitchers turned broadcasters in expensive ties grab a baseball that some intern had to scare up for them and demonstrate how to throw a cutter or a circle change. The starched cuff of a fine dress shirt, a little bling on the fingers and slow demonstrative arm gestures remind me of Little League, when the dad who was also a lawyer would pull up in his beamer and teach the kids a thing or two before heading off to the steakhouse to make deals.
My dad never worked nine-to-five, so I suppose there was something mysterious about these well-dressed, clean-shaven dads. I didn’t envy them. In fact from the beginning I thought it was tacky to put a glove on and toss it around in business clothes. It didn’t feel right. I didn’t appreciate, at the time, the tightening noose of time that each day presents.
But I digress. The reason I brought it up is because FackYouk has an awesome dramatization of an Al Leiter broadcast booth demonstration. What he is demonstrating, I have no idea. I do know that is is Magic®.
via a Reader share from WalkOffWalk
I actually like when Leiter does that. He is actually pretty interesting—coming across as a pitcher who was fairly cerebral (maybe not Greg Maddux, but a thoughtful guy), he analyzes when a pitcher isn’t pitching well, or when he is and tells you why. Unlike the John Maddens (He sees the hole, then runs through it!”), I apreciate Leiter.
I haven’t seen Leiter himself do it, but I definitely enjoy them in general. Smoltz seems like an early candidate to do it a lot, at least when he’s not talking about golf.