baseball

Balentien hits 54th homer

18 Comments

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18 Comments
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Kind of hard to pitch around someone for 22 games. This might be the year!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

It was a high pitch from Maeda that he smacked for six. Then Maeda walked him after that. Looks like some pitchers are not making it easy, but so be it, record held by a national hero about to be broken by a newbie to the scene.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

it's funny that there isn't too much reported about this on the j-news channels or papers besides a quick blurb. or am i just being cynical?

1 ( +5 / -4 )

he'll smash the record only to see an *asterix put against his name stating record broken with "easier" balls. We'll see the balls returned to the old spec next season.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I think they're covering it plenty. Went quiet for a while as his home runs did. Once he hits 55 every at bat will be in the light and you'll just be wishing he hits the damn tennis ball.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

it's funny that there isn't too much reported about this on the j-news channels or papers besides a quick blurb. or am i just being cynical?

Give it another day or two. Just about everything that happened in Japan has been blocked out by coverage about the 2020 Olympics.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

We'll see the balls returned to the old spec next season.

Nope. Fans want to see home runs. Fans spend money. This is more important than trying to make the players more familiar with an international standard ball for that silly classic series. Pfft baseball, meaningless worldwide as evidenced by the decision to drop it from the Olympics. Although the new cheese may increase the number of events...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

He is hitting home runs like other players hit a single. There are more than enough games for him to break the record. Hopefully he will hit at least 60. It's long overdue.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Very rarely are they giving him anything hittable, yet he continues to hit them. That shows something right there. Some people are pointing to the fact that he's continuing to go yard as proof that the anti-foreigner sentiment has changed, but that's not really the case. He's taking junk balls that he shouldn't be swinging at (and in other situations wouldn't be swinging at) and just crushing them.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Balentien is a good hitter, and if it was so "easy" to hit these "easy" balls then where are the rest of sluggers? Balentien missed the first month of the season, too. Bye bye record! Maeda is no easy guy to hit off either. I'm actually happy a lot of pitchers aren't walking him and trying to make him hit their junk. He's that damn good - here.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Deadspin is the US is following it. You can see how high the pitch was (head high) that he hit for #54. Balentien still smacked it dead center. http://deadspin.com/wladimir-balentien-is-getting-nothing-to-hit-and-still-1283431789

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I will not be surprised to find him on DL list for rest of the season.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

It was a high pitch from Maeda that he smacked for six. Then Maeda walked him after that. Looks like some pitchers are not making it easy, but so be it,

It was a 1-ball 2-strikes count - the pitcher was intentionally putting the ball way off the strike zone to be (almost) un-hittable to (A) get Balentien to swing and miss, or (B) even if Balentien doesn't swing, it changes his eyesight high, to set him up for a low-ball next pitch.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Way to go, Wladimir ! Keep it up !

0 ( +0 / -0 )

One more to tie the record and two to break it. With so many games remaining on his schedule, I think he's bound to pass the record and add some more. Of course, to do so, he'll probably be hitting pitches that are out of the strike zone.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It was a 1-ball 2-strikes count - the pitcher was intentionally putting the ball way off the strike zone to be (almost) un-hittable to (A) get Balentien to swing and miss, or (B) even if Balentien doesn't swing, it changes his eyesight high, to set him up for a low-ball next pitch.

OK. So what was the deal with the next intentional walk and close up footage of Balentien on base unmistakeably saying "this is f(insert letters to form expletive)ing bull(more expletive)"?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Just hit number 55 today, the record is tied. NHK led off its evening news with it, so it is getting attention.

Its not surprising that they are pitching around him, he has hit 55 home runs after all and has nobody in that Yakult lineup to protect him. This is nothing like with Bass, where it was just blatant protecting-the-record intentional walks.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Just hit number 55 today, the record is tied. NHK led off its evening news with it, so it is getting attention.

Of course it is. Special lift outs of newspapers and so on. The suggestion in this thread to the otherwise from the persecuted party was indeed cynical.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

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