So last night I’m scrolling through game tapes of Kirk Carbajal, right? Kid’s got talent, no doubt, but man, you watch enough replays and some patterns just scream at you. Stuff that trips up so many players. Figured I’d jot down what stood out from my couch-scouting session.
What Got Me Started
Honestly? My nephew tried copying Carbajal’s batting stance during our weekend pickup game and face-planted right into home plate. Laughed my butt off, but it got me thinking – what exactly was he copying wrong? So I pulled up a whole bunch of Kirk’s highlights… and lowlights. Brewed some terrible gas station coffee, camped out in my messy office.
The Process Was Simple (But Messy)
Dove headfirst into footage. Like, way too many hours of it. Paused, rewound, cursed when my laptop froze – the usual junk. Started scribbling notes on this crumpled legal pad I stole from my wife’s desk:
- First Mistake Spotted: That wild windup he does before throwing? Way too exaggerated. Saw him overthrow to first base three times in one game ’cause he’s busy looking flashy.
- Second Screwup: Pitch recognition? Not great. Watched him swing at junk balls near his ankles like he was swatting flies. Made my eyes hurt.
- Third Blunder: Baserunning decisions… oh boy. Dude gets greedy. Saw him tagged out stretching a single into a double when the outfielder had the ball before he even touched first. My neighbor probably heard me yelling at the screen.
Connecting The Dots (& My Sanity)
After the fifth cup of sludge-coffee, the main errors kinda slapped me in the face. It wasn’t about skill – Kirk’s got plenty. It was the dumb, repeated stuff. Like fielding grounders flat-footed instead of moving towards the ball. Or getting distracted by chatter from the dugout. Realized these weren’t just Kirk-problems. Felt like I was watching every cocky rookie ever.
Why Bother Writing This Up?
Because my nephew’s gonna practice again this weekend, and I’ll be darned if he copies this junk. Plus, heck, maybe someone else avoids these faceplants. Wrapped up my notes, spilled coffee on half of ’em naturally. Shoved everything into a draft, typos and all. Didn’t overthink it – just dumped what I saw.
So yeah. That’s it. Watching baseball mistakes no one else seems to shout about. Maybe helps someone. Or maybe just reminds me to buy better coffee.
