Focus on less obvious plays
Joe Gisondi / OnSports.com
To cover any sport, you need to understand its subtleties. Any schmuck knows that a pinch-hit grand slam is a big play, as is a last-second 3-pointer, or an 80-yard touchdown pass. But what led to these decisive plays? Did the batter fight off several good pitches before drilling the homer? Did someone set a great pick to allow the 3-pointer? And did the fullback fill in a hole to block a linebacker and allow the pass to be thrown?
Tyler Kepner focuses on some of these subtleties in the New York Times’ Bats blog and in his Yankees’ game story. In Bats, Kepner lists seven rules posted on the Yankees’ Class AAA clubhouse wall – sort of a guiding principles for anyone wanting to make it to New York. Sports reporters should also take note of these while covering games – run hard every step to a base (even on easy grounders), back up one another in the field, and turn bases hard (to put pressure on opposing defenses.) These little things often prove the difference in a game but are seldom reported, especially when they take place in an early inning.
