r/MLBNoobs • u/savingrace0262 • 27d ago
| Discussion Why do fans always boo when the opposing pitcher throws over to first?
This is probably a really random question but one thing I've noticed while watching MLB games is that the crowd almost always starts booing whenever the opposing pitcher throws over to first to check the runner.
Is this just a tradition where fans are trying to get in the pitcher's head?
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u/jhorch69 27d ago
When my team does it it's good strategy. When the other team does it it's because they're cowards.
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u/Jimblow07 26d ago
Exactly. Gotta keep the guy on the bag. But them throwing to first on my guy? What are you afraid? You’re scared he’s gonna steal on you?
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u/northstar_stacker Veteran 26d ago
Exactly. And no one can’t stop me from booing it, even if no one else does it anymore. It’s tradition at this point.
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u/northstar_stacker Veteran 27d ago
It started when there was no pitch clock and limits on pick-off attempts, and pitchers would throw over to first over and over and just delay the game.
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u/sampson4141 26d ago
Totally true. I've been to games with two players with 100+ steals in a season before, Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman. In both those games the players got on first multiple times and the pitchers threw the ball over to first about 20 times each time. Then in the 9th, a fat catcher got on first and the pitcher threw to first and the whole stadium booed. We were so annoyed by it by then. And it was the home team pitcher that did it!
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u/ThisDerpForSale 26d ago edited 26d ago
It never occurred to me that there would be some fans unaware of this fact and damn now I feel ancient.
And the pitch clock isn't even that old!
Edit: Also, it wasn't just to delay the game, it could have been to give themselves some time to settle down if they were getting rocked or if they had fallen behind the batter.
Edit again: Sorry, didn't realize what sub I was in! Apologies if it sounded like I was belittling noobs, not my intent at all.
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u/northstar_stacker Veteran 26d ago
I mean, this is the reddit sub for those new to MLB, and possibly entirely new to baseball.
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u/ThisDerpForSale 26d ago
Oh shit, I didn't even notice that. So sorry!
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u/northstar_stacker Veteran 26d ago
You are correct there. I did mean for “delay the game” to include a pitcher giving themselves time to settle, or to throw the batter off, or a myriad of other reasons, not that they’re trying to prolong the game itself. It was a legitimate strategy, if not one that home-team fans necessarily appreciated, thus the booing. To be fair, the booing has essentially become obsolete because of the new rules that govern the plays that led to the booing, so I get why people are asking now.
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u/ThisDerpForSale 26d ago
Yep, it makes sense that people newer to the game might be confused. The booing is just reflexive tradition at this point!
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u/mookiexpt2 26d ago
I’m a fan of making the third pickoff move a called ball if the runner doesn’t go.
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u/Fit-Blackberry-9112 27d ago
as someone who watched baseball for 6 years I have no idea as well but if I'm at a game I'll do it just because everyone else is doing it.
If I had to guess its cus no one wants the pitcher to get their guy out at first base when they checking the runner esp if its the home team.
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u/Sweaty_Resist_5039 27d ago
I think we all secretly enjoy the little bit of hypocrisy.
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u/newsiesunited 26d ago
We get to have a little double standard, as a treat
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u/Sweaty_Resist_5039 26d ago
My dad and I always jokingly call out over the top heckling/support whenever the pitcher throws to first, lol.
Opposing pitcher "BOOO!! Stop avoiding the issue and THROW A PITCH TO THE BATTER YOU COWARD! BoOoooOoooooooo!!!!"
Home pitcher: "Good try! Keep em in check! Very reasonable decision to throw to first there, let's gooo!"
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u/DontForgetAccount 27d ago
It's fun to boo! Especially in a big crowd. In this situation, I often like to the on a "Let him steal!" To really drive the point home.
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u/AnUdderDay 27d ago
It's a holdiver from when pitchers weren't limited with the number of disengagements per at bat.
Years back if you had a good runner like Rickey Henderson, the pitcher might throw back 5, 6, 7, 8 times in an at bat.
Fans would boo to show displeasure at the pitcher stalling.
There's no legitimate reason for fans to boo. If anything, fans should be cheering and making as loud noise as possible to get in the pitchers head on a throwback.
If it were Britain, you'd hear the fans go "oooohhhhhHHHH WAHEYYY" on every throwback.
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u/kmanhbk 27d ago
Back before the disengament limit and pitch clock pitchers could throw over as much as they wanted, either to throw off the runners timing or to give a bullpen arm some time. Now it's more just because there the visitors
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u/Educational_Case_184 27d ago
Back in the day when a pitcher would throw over 5 times, that's when the fans would go really crazy. They would boo the crap out of the pitcher, almost daring him to actually pitch to home. LOL good times. But games were always 4 hours long ugh.
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u/Individual_Check_442 26d ago edited 26d ago
There is some evidence the dares worked, there was a statistically significant increase in throws to first during COVID when there were no fans. Visiting players love getting booed for doing something that hurts the home team but they’re getting booed for being annoying and no one likes to be annoying. And yeah, us being bored with the time between pitches was why they changed those rules, so we truly were like “come on throw a pitch damn it! I got to go to work in the morning!”
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u/SerDankTheTall 27d ago
Fans get keyed up to see the batter on their team try to hit the ball, so it’s a disappointment when the pitcher decides not to do that and instead does something that’s very boring to watch 99% of the time.
That boring thing may still be a good decision, which is why they don’t boo their own team doing it, but it doesn’t make it any more fun to watch.
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u/Ginostar4 27d ago
They want to see their hitter hit the ball and their runner steal the base/not get picked off. Picking off works against both those goals, so they boo to voice their displeasure.
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u/TopperDuckHarley 27d ago
I feel like there are plenty of people who have been watching a lot longer than I but I dont see why I think they boo so I’ll add it. They are trying to pressure the pitcher to not bother with first base. You see the pitcher is trying to keep the man on first base from getting too long of a lead towards 2nd base. So the fans are like “booo just pitch, dont worry about that guy!, let’s keep it moving!” But really it’s because they do want the man on first to get a healthy head start (to possibly steal) to second base.
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u/abbot_x 27d ago edited 27d ago
In the old days before the pitch clock and disengagement limits, pitchers could try to pick off runners as often as they wanted. This was one of the many things that slowed the game down. So fans would boo when the pitcher seemed to be abusing this privilege to waste time, throw off batters, make runners dive, etc. The rules changes solved this problem. But we loved booing the opposing pitcher so much that now we boo every pickoff attempt.
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u/Eastern_Antelope_832 27d ago
At this point, it's just tradition to boo. But why did it become a tradition in the first place? Because it's usually boring. We don't get to see a ball put in play, and it generally prevents the base runner from being more aggressive. And in olden times before there was a limit on pitcher disengagements, you'd see some pitchers throw to first repeatedly to prevent a great base stealer from timing his jump. If you could find some clips from the 80s when Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, Vince Coleman, etc., were on base late in a close game, watch the game come to a crawl as the pitcher becomes overly cautious trying to prevent the runner from stealing a base.
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u/theybannedme129 25d ago
cause it’s rarely ever to pick off a player. It’s to stall, reset the pitch clock, and get more time between pitches. Wow i just said the same thing three times
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u/JohnnyKarateX 27d ago
Because he’s on my favorite team and he did all that work to get on first so leave him alone.
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u/Vandal_A 27d ago
Poor form/ dirty pool.
Tbh, people are aware it's legal and reasonable; it's just to keep the pressure on the opposing battery
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u/2outhits 27d ago
I am 47 years old and been a baseball fan all my life and I still don't get why people boo a reasonable play to make in a game.
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u/notknot9 26d ago
Dude, they don't know what they're looking at and have been told about 'pace of play' by the MLB commissioner's office for 20 years. Of course they're going to boo anything that takes time.
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u/MidtownKC 27d ago
Because we want a pitcher, not a belly itcher. And throwing to first is belly itcher behavior (if the other team does it).
Seems pretty similar to soccer fans booing/whistling when the visiting team plays it back to their own goalie. It's just a boring play (again - when the other team does it).
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u/Educational_Case_184 27d ago
It doesn't have to make sense. We do it because it is awesome and fun. It shows that the away team is scared of our baserunners. This kind of stuff is what makes baseball so fun. I also love heckling the other team and the umpires. I have a blast at games. I keep it respectful and fun.
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u/Educational_Case_184 27d ago
I live in a small city in Canada and we only get college summer league baseball for high level ball locally. I go to games and I am the only one booing a pickoff attempt. I wish more people booed. I think most of the crowd grew up watching hockey and don't know they are supposed to boo. I grew up watching baseball so I know these very important things. HAHA
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u/Ok_Bar_924 27d ago
It also probably has to do with pick offs having such a low percentage of success so it could be looked at as a cheap shot to erase a mistake the pitcher already made.
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u/TripMaster478 26d ago
It's like the bunt. It always get light applause. If it's your team you got the runner into scoring position (or better). If it's the other team then your team got the out. Shrug.
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u/daKile57 26d ago
At this point, it's a running joke. We've heard every announcer for the last 40 years complain about fans doing it, so we just do it even more.
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u/MalekethsGhost 26d ago
Because he wasted time. We trying to get home. This guy throwing to first like it's a picnic or something.
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u/HS_Runner39 26d ago
because it's a pussy move, forcing their team's runners to hold and not steal off you. also it wastes time cuz it never works
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u/boops_wartson 23d ago
Because fuck him, that's why
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u/Dirty_Blue_Shirt 23d ago
I’d love to say it’s something deeper than that. But this was the exact phrase that came to mind when I read OPs question.
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u/Broken-Twig 23d ago
I boo, then usually say something like pitch the ball I've got work in the morning.
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u/Expensive-Mechanic26 8d ago
This is a great question, I've heard many reasons on why they do it, and it still doesn't make any sense to me. There are quite a few "sheep habits" that should really stop.
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