Baseball's Tim McCarver: Global Warming Increasing the Number of Home Runs
There have been all kinds of reasons given for the increasing number of home runs in baseball over the decades including more tightly-sewn balls, steroids, improved fitness training programs, and bat technology.
On Saturday, renowned Fox sportscaster Tim McCarver blamed it all on Al Gore's favorite money-making scam (video follows with transcript and commentary):
"It has not been proven, but I think ultimately it will be proven that the air is thinner now, there have been climactic changes over the last 50 years in the world, and I think that’s one of the reasons balls are carrying much better now than I remember," McCarver said during Saturday's game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals.
He then commented about some recent shots that went further than he would have expected leading his co-announcer Joe Buck to marvelously ask, “So that’s your ‘inconvenient truth’ about Major League Baseball?”
"Well," the former catcher responded, "I think they’re going to find that out one of these days, yes I do."
"That’s a theory," he continued, "but we’ll see."
So now you can't even turn on a baseball game without being propagandized on this issue.
Heaven help us.
(H/Ts to Deadspin, The American Mind and Mental Recession)
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Comments
Hang on . . oh, boy. I can hardly catch my breath.
Submitted by Gary Hall on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 4:51pm.
. . that damn thin air.
(;~> gary
PS - You'd think that a "renowned sportscaster," would know something about history. Let's see - I'd bet that the equipment is better (well, except for that bat Robert Redford used). Better materials - you bet. Heck, much improved - bats and balls. I'd also bet that pitchers are throwing the ball faster. Faster = more impact.
Pretty thin (the air that is!)
Submitted by ronljl on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 4:52pm.
I like, it makes as much sense as the global warming argument itself!!
Whew, thanks Tim*
Submitted by cajun2 on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 4:54pm.
I was told it was the steriods.
That's what I was thinking
Submitted by Galvanic on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 5:45pm.
McCarver is about 15 years past his prime as a baseball sportscaster.
Sports Announcers
Submitted by mmilesll on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 5:02pm.
My late father was a huge sports fan and he would watch a lot of games on TV. He watched ALL of them with the sound OFF. His answer for that was "they don't know what they are talking about anyway". This moron "global warming/cooling" bs proves his point.
Half the fun of pro sports on
Submitted by MrSnuggles on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 11:30pm.
Half the fun of pro sports on TV is yelling at the idiot announcers, usually the ones that never played a sport in their life (looking at you Joe Buck).
Maybe McCarver can get a guest spot on Maher's show
Submitted by dbo on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 5:03pm.
If possible, McCarver's comment is even more stupid than it first appears. The whole premise of the AGW alarm is that there is a positive water vapor feedback from more CO2 in the atmosphere and it is actually water vapor that increases the temperature. Of course more water vapor would actually mean thicker rather than thinner air making it harder for the ball to fly through the air.
That's a common mistake
Submitted by deadeyedan on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 6:34pm.
Sorry, dbo, but because water vapor molecules have less molecular weight than either diatomic nitrogen or diatomic oxygen (as they exist in earth's atmosphere), then humid air is in fact a bit "thinner". Admittedly it may seem thicker on a day with a 75 degree plus dew point.
Back to the point, if I recall right it was Mickey Mantle back in the '50's who hit what has been long purported to be the longest home run ever - and there are authorities who will say that he hit the THREE longest home runs ever and that Babe Ruth himself may have hit one pretty close to the Mick's record-setters.
CLIMATEGATE (now I & II plus FAKEGATE) - the revelation that the pseudo-scientists at East Anglia University know just as much about the atmosphere as Harvard law professors know about the Constitution
GENUINE SCIENCE - neutral, not neutralized
Thanks
Submitted by dbo on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 6:49pm.
Thanks for this. I just always assumed humid air was thicker because of the way it feels but what you say makes perfect sense. I should have known better because I've been trained on this but that seems like a lifetime ago now. Now, what is the molecular weight of egg on face? :-)
The air is thicker
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 11:55am.
That increased moisture doesn't replace the nitrogen and oxygen in the air, it's added to it, thus increasing the density of the air, making it "thicker."
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Then again, there's Gore's hot air
Submitted by deadeyedan on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 4:13pm.
You make a good point, CM, but there's another way of looking at it.
Because warm air expands, earth's atmosphere has considerably greater height in the torrid zone than at the frigid zones. This is why the average barometric pressure is the same across the globe because, though colder air is denser and should exert more pressure, the extra height of air in the tropics compensates.
Humid air has latent heat and forces a bit more expansion, therefore allowing more "room" for the water molecules and effectively replaces the O and N to a slight degree.
I THINK! (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
LIBERALISM - government of the people by the theories and for the ideologists
Say it ain't so, Tim...
Submitted by Chulio on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 5:08pm.
Just when you thought that the world was stupid enough as it is, Tim McCarver offers his theory of long home runs and climate change. Is the air really thinner now? How does that work? Simply put, long home runs have more to to do with stronger, more athletic hitters, band box baseball stadiums, the pool of quality pitchers being diluted, and/or "juiced" hitters and "juiced" balls.
"Well," the former catcher
Submitted by GregE on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 5:26pm.
"Well," the former catcher responded, "I think they’re going to find that out one of these days, yes I do."
Tim, you don't understand. "Finding out" isn't necessary. Just have a public figure say it and eventually it will stick. Way to get the ball rolling, Tim!
This is not surprising to
Submitted by tcm14 on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 5:31pm.
This is not surprising to anyone who watches baseball regularly, McCarver is well known as an absolute dunce of the first order, offering such deep insights as, "Teams that hit home runs in an inning score more runs than teams that don't."
Trust me, this guy is not highly thought of by any baseball fan that I have seen. It would probably be more damaging if he was against global warming. Still, it's astonishing he thought it was a good idea to offer this theory on the air.
A scientist he's not
Submitted by Herbster on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 5:47pm.
"The air is thinner now." Hey.......nobody wants "Fat air."
Question for the genius....................was the air "Thinner" when the Bambino hit 60 home runs.............when Ted Williams hit .400? Just asking.......
It was global warming and
Submitted by forest on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 6:52pm.
It was global warming and steroids - but mostly the steroids.
Especially since home runs are way down since they started enforcing steroid rules, and the temperature is of course still totally getting hotter - super serially.
I actually caught this comment live.
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 7:02pm.
I heard McCarver come up with this theory this afternoon. Wouldn't all that extra poison, (CO2), going into the atmosphere make the air thicker?
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Since he was a catcher,
Submitted by lpaulson42 on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 7:21pm.
Since he was a catcher, McCarver must still be wearing the tools of ignorance.
But on a more serious note, why has politics become infused with sports now? Over these past few years, we've seen ESPN bemoaning New Orleans and Katrina, cBS conducting pillow-soft interviews with Pres. Obama during the NCAA tournament, and the moronic Bob Costas haranguing to former Pres. Bush-43 about the Iraq War. I simply want to watch the game. I only wish to view the singing of the National Anthem and anything that honors the military during the game(s). I don't wish to see/hear from ANY politician or activist or liberal cause during the game(s).
I'm really getting tired of these global warming/cooling/change
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 9:05pm.
MORONS. Perhaps in the past 100 years the earth has warmed POINT EIGHT degrees. What we do know is that the earth has gone through at least a half dozen ice ages. That's hot to cold and back again. All before many walked this planet and burned his first piece of coal. So now it's man??? My butt!
You sure he was a catcher?
Submitted by NJRightWinger12 on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 9:39pm.
Sounds like his ass is more of a wide receiver, if you catch my drift! Apparently, hes been hit with too many beanballs, used too many head slides, and came out on the losing end of many plays at the plate! Didnt Pete Rose smack head first into HIM during the 1970 All-Star game, instead of Ray Fosse, lol! What do you want from a friggn Cardinal!
What do I want from a friggin Cardinal?
Submitted by Jer on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 12:07am.
How about more World Series wins. Being second all time in that category is not enough.
Jer
The Mets should have won in '06!
Submitted by NJRightWinger12 on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 12:54pm.
Thats why, lol! And we had Timmy Mac as our announcer, while we were lousy, and he was always half in the bag doing the games-his words, not mine!
Sounds like the Vikings
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 1:09pm.
"Being second all time in that category is not enough."
Jer, you perfectly described the Minnesota Vikings! They never played a Superbowl they couldn't lose! And these guys want a new, billion dollar WHAT?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Bahaha! If you think TIM
Submitted by balboa on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 9:46pm.
Bahaha! If you think TIM MCCARVER has any political agenda behind what he's saying, you're giving him way too much credit. One of the worst announcers in baseball.
I don't at all think.....
Submitted by GregE on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 10:35pm.
....it was stated out of a political agenda. I just think it was completely stupid.
Ever since Timmy took to dissing the Braves in their multiple...
Submitted by Dave. on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 10:11pm.
...World Series appearances, I have had absolutely no use for the bum.
Pitching basically just sucks these days.
Get over it.
As for you, Tim, up yours.
Sideways, even.
Bum.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
The Best thing about Tim McCarver
Submitted by swhite1951 on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 1:52pm.
is that he's not Joe Morgan!
McCarver was my favorite player on my favorite team in the 60's.
Submitted by Jer on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 11:21pm.
As an announcer...well, he was far better at playing baseball than analyzing the play of others.
But, I heard his statements on this subject during today's telecast. A couple of points: He did NOT "blame it all on Al Gore's favorite money-making scam." McCarver also explicitly referred to the "steroid era". Nor did he even mention Gore or AGW. Rather, he put forth the "theory" of thinner air--due to climate changes over the past fifty years--being "one" of the reasons for balls carrying much better. [Frankly, baseballs carrying better in warmer, thinner air is not theory but fact.]
It is also a fact that the average temperature of the US has risen in the past fifty years. Whether or not that SLIGHT increase has had an appreciable impact on the number of home runs during that period of time is a matter of conjecture.
Jer
Interesting. So he didn't say
Submitted by balboa on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 11:26pm.
Argh! The double post!
Interesting. So he didn't say
Submitted by balboa on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 11:26pm.
Interesting. So he didn't say man-made global warming caused by non-green initiatives was the cause for the warmer / thinner air?
More on McCarver, fwiw...
Submitted by Jer on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 12:25am.
Re political contributions [as of 2007]:
Tim McCarver, FOX: 100% to the GOP
However, someone notes that this is based on a single contribution to Jim Bunning.
Jer
Home runs
Submitted by TankGarbonzo on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 9:03am.
Does it matter to anyone that the number of home runs hit over the last six years is on the decline? McCarver is an idiot who says something stupid every game.
It's the stadiums
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 12:23pm.
The biggest contributor to longer baseball flights is the stadiums themselves, in my humble opinion. Nowadays, we partially inclose the ball fields with rows upon rows of seats, all sitting on 100 feet or more of concrete and steel, and this vastly affect the wind currents within those walled-in stadiums. No more 10 to 20 mile per hour winds effecting ball trajectories, like you find in smaller, non-walled ball fields.
And the wind currents that do exist in the stadium fields tend to travel outwards and upwards towards the outfield, thank to the geometry of the stadiums themselves. Those sloped rows of seats, towering above home plate, tend to cause the air currents to roll towards the outfield, lifting the balls up as they travel. Just watch what happens to a piece of paper when it floats upwards over the field after being released from the stands, and you'll see what I mean. So, it's not "thinner air," it's basic geometry.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Once was a sports fanatic
Submitted by ncstevem on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 12:33pm.
Hardly pay attention to it anymore.
Part of the reason for my losing interest was the inane commentary of most TV announcers. McCarver and John Madden are/were two of the worst offenders. They never shut up the whole game and were guaranteed to make 4 or 5 stupid comments every game they announced.
Tim McCarver and "Science"
Submitted by swhite1951 on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 1:50pm.
We must remember that this is the same Tim McCarver who, many years ago, commented that a pitcher's fastball actually sped up as it approached the plate. The commentator with him, I believe it was Buck, said: "Uh, Tim, you do know that that is against the laws of physics, right?" McCarver mumbled something about how he was right and that the ball sped up, at which point the others in the broadcast booth laughed him off. In McCarver's case, there's a real reason that catching equipment was called "the tools of ignorance."
Solution: Nationalize Baseball Salaries
Submitted by gopcongress on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 2:13pm.
Since the goal of global warming is to prevent capitalism from occurring due to its need of GOP-sponsored planet-destroying energy, then McCarver should be a proponent of taking away the obscene profits of MLB, and nationalize all salaries. Including his own.
"The news and truth are not the same thing." -Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
Thanks
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