A series where I post some thoughts about favorite cards. Previous cards in the series are available here.
Here's Steve Carlton, frozen at an important moment in his delivery:
Here's Steve Carlton, frozen at an important moment in his delivery:
There's some interesting science going on here, and it's all about energy.
When
a pitcher stands on the mound, holding the baseball, waiting for the catcher's signs, that's all potential
energy. There's no action happening, but everyone knows what's to come. The batter waits. The fielders wait. Everyone in the entire
stadium waits. It's all up to the pitcher to start his wind-up.
Once that wind-up starts, the potential energy builds and reaches a maximum. In another instant, potential changes to kinetic as the baseball in his hand is flung at high velocity toward the catcher's open mitt. And if the batter makes contact, you've got motion all over the baseball diamond: Fielders running to catch the ball, get to a base, or back up a throw; runners hustling around the bases; umpires moving to get the best vantage point of the play. Even in the crowd, fans might stand up and cheer. These changes of energy from potential to kinetic happen a couple hundred times per game, and it's part of what makes baseball so exciting. Again and again, you have these little capsules of anticipation and then action.
So look at Mr. Carlton up there again. Up to this very moment he's been busy building up energy and tension in his body. Now he's about to lean toward home plate, uncoil those hips and shoulders, and whip his left arm through, sending the baseball hurtling toward home plate.
And even though the image shows one frozen moment, you can see by his positioning that Carlton's delivery was pretty smooth. As many of you know, it was smooth enough to earn the man legendary status. I mean come on, the guy was such a dominant left-handed pitcher in his era that everyone just called him "Lefty".
I probably don't need to list many stats and accolades, but here are a few anyway:
300+ wins, 4,000+ strikeouts, 10x all star, 4x Cy Young winner, Triple Crown winner, Gold Glove award, 2x World Series winner, Hall of Famer.
His first Cy Young season (1972) was almost too good to believe:
27 wins, 1.97 ERA, 30 complete games, 8 shutouts, 310 strikeouts
But today, it all goes back to that scene on the pitcher's mound. And for capturing the special moment when all that potential energy is realized, 1975 Topps #185 has a spot in my box of favorites.
When I was a kid, science was one of my favorite subjects. These days, it's my least (to learn or teach). But I really liked this post and loved how you tied it into baseball. Plus that card is awesome! One of my favorites of Lefty.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, Fuji! Science can definitely be more fun when it's related to something you enjoy.
DeleteThis card was huge in my eyes when I was a kid. I don't remember when I first saw it, I just know that neither me, my brother or any of my friends pulled it in 1975. Maybe I saw it during a family tour of the Hall of Fame? Wherever I saw it, I was fascinated. It become one of the must-have cards of my early collecting, right up there with the '75 Ralph Garr.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear this card brought back such good memories for you, Night Owl! It's a great piece of cardboard, for sure.
Delete70's "in action" cards are almost always neat, this one being no exception.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Jon! It's a classic.
DeleteThat way of analyzing the game - the number of moments in which potential energy is converted into kinetic energy - is a really interesting way of thinking about it and why it captures our attention (it seems quite different from other sports like basketball, hockey etc where the flow of energy is more constant throughout the game).
ReplyDeleteVery cool Steve Carlton card too of course!
Thanks very much, Sean! Good to see you on the blogs again. I agree that baseball is quite different than some of the other major sports in that way.
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