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Old 08-07-2006, 12:54 AM   #107
M's rule
All Star Reserve
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Seattle
Posts: 925
Okay, here’s a straight answer.

I looked up the database IDs for most of the lines in the sequence. “[NIB]” stands for Not in Database, which means either that I have deleted the line since the most recent release of the XML file, or that it’s pulled from hard-coded text. Currently in the database, the phrase “calls for it” on a play to the outfield appears only in the ROUTINE_7, ROUTINE_8, and ROUTINE_9 categories. As you might assume, none of the entries in the ROUTINE categories are subsequently linked to a home run—they’re all plays on which the batter makes an out.

Why does Bowling leap for a 453-foot home run? Because the distance of the home run isn’t determined until after the result of the play, and, as I understand it, that number is generated more or less randomly from within a range that extends from the number painted on the wall to some larger number that could (obviously) be much higher than that minimum distance.

[235-12163] towards the gap in right field . . . [the entry actually says “toward”]
[NIB] Bowling calls for it. . .
[277-7394]Bowling leaps . . .
and he . . .
can't get it!
HOME RUN Dunn! [the entry actually includes the word “for” in front of the name]
[280-10318] that shot was measured at 453 feet

I could get rid of the “leaps” problem by deleting 7394 (and 7393, which uses similar wording), but that’s a bit of a slippery slope. Should I then also delete an entry that says “this one has a chance to go all the way” and another one that says “it could be outta here”? Those messages also don’t fit with a home run that clears the fence by 50 feet or more, unless you want to imagine that the calls are being made by an announcer who has a problem with depth perception (no pun intended).
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