Frustrations III:Throwing Out Speedsters on Sac Flies

[KG Erwin]

This is for the GBG players: if a fast player (+70 speed) is on third, the sac fly is nearly impossible to defeat. It doesn't matter if your OF has a 100 arm, you can rarely throw him out at the plate.

The corollary is this: if your infield defense is strong, the timely double play can prevent that sacrifice from happening.

[Frozen Stiffer]

KG,
 
I've found that there's another detail to consider, a sort of X-Factor, if you will. I've seen cases where a fly ball that is caught less than 300' out by a 85+ ARM fielder can't be sent back to home in time to beat a runner with a sub-30 SPEED. I have to think, otherwise I will go insane, that there is still the unforeseen, unpredictable possibility that the throw goes wide, there's a hop, there's a deflection, something... where the ball doesn't reach its intended point. It's for this reason why I spend a fair amount of time, assessing the arm of the fielder, the distance of the throw, the DESCRIPTION of the distance (deep, shallow, off the wall, etc.) as well as the runner's SPEED, before deciding if they should go or not.