There’s two things you need to know about Vancouver, British Columbia’s Isotopes. First of all, they deliver a range of turbo-charged punk rock numbers that are rapid and infectious. Secondly, they love Baseball. A lot.
Their latest album, ‘1994 World Series Champions’ is full of references to America’s favourite pastime sport. However, for most of us in good ol’ Blighty, our knowledge of Baseball is very little. Nevertheless, Isotopes frontman Evan October has stepped up to the plate and pitched us five basic facts you need to know about Baseball.
Pete Rose is arguably one of the best players in baseball history…
…however he appears nowhere in baseball history because he broke baseball’s Rule 21, which stipulates nobody involved in Major League Baseball may gamble on it. He never bet on his own team to lose. He only bet they’d win.
Scientifically speaking, hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in all of the sports.
90MPH is your benchmark pitch for a pro. Good fastballs are mid to high 90s. Over 100MPH is special. 105 or 6 is the fastest recorded. At 60 feet 6 inches, a 95 mph pitch should be impossible to hit. Round bat, round ball. Reaction time isn’t enough to actually see the ball. Your brain makes inferences to know where it will be.
Defence! Defence! Defence!
It’s the only one of the big 5 sports where the defence controls the ball.
Demanding
Baseball is the hardest sport to make it in. It’s difficult because it’s the hardest sport to be good at, and there are the most people trying to do it. No other sport is nearly as demanding skill-wise or populated, talent pool-wise.
No Time Wasting
“You can’t sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You’ve got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That’s why baseball is the greatest game of them all.” – Earl Weaver (Hall of Fame Major League Baseball manager, author, and television broadcaster)
‘1994 World Series Champions’ by Isotopes is out now on Destiny (UK/EU) / Stomp Records (CA/US).
