He's hitting the ball hard, in the batting cage, and his whole attitude is improved over this time last year.

The two top talents of the time, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, have hit the ball harder and more successfully so far this early season than at any period in careers which, to be frank about it, never have quite reached expectations.

I'll never forget one time I struck out three times, dropped a fly ball, and we lost the game.

By the time the fielder got his hands on the ball Deegan was rounding third base and heading for home.

" Number of times batted, except that no time at bat shall be charged when a player: ( 1 ) hits a sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly ; ( 2 ) is awarded first base on four called balls ; ( 3 ) is hit by a pitched ball ; or ( 4 ) is awarded first base because of interference or obstruction ..."

In order to count as an intentional ball, the ball must be legally pitched, i. e., the pitcher's foot must be on the pitcher's rubber, the catcher must be in the catcher's box, and the batter must be in the batter's box appearing ready to take a pitch at the time the ball is thrown.

The sacrifice fly is one of two instances in baseball where a batter is not charged with a time at bat after putting a ball in play ; the other is the sacrifice hit ( also known as a sacrifice bunt ).

The rule works this way because a smart fielder can theoretically purposely bobble the ball and run with it at the same time towards the infield and only completely catch it when he is within a good throwing distance to home plate.

Thus, Walsh modified the vertical passing scheme he had learned during his time with the Raiders, designing a horizontal passing system that relied on quick, short throws-often spreading the ball across the entire width of the field.

As he convalesced with family in Ashington, he spent some time kicking a ball around with local youths, and a famous photograph of him was taken.

Each half runs continuously, meaning that the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play ; the referee can, however, make allowance for time lost through significant stoppages as described below.

And this time the Browns dominated on both sides of the ball, intercepting Bobby Layne six times and forcing three fumbles while Graham threw three touchdowns and ran for three more.

However, Sam Wyche, the head coach of the Bengals in 1988, along with offensive coordinator Bruce Coslet, made the high-paced offense the standard modality for the ball club regardless of time remaining.

Unlike six-wicket croquet, where each time a ball is roqueted a croquet shot must be taken, players have four options after roqueting another ball.

As well, at the time, " part of every pitcher's job was to dirty up a new ball the moment it was thrown onto the field.

* In the 2006 season, the game clock was started when the ball was declared ready for play after the defensive team ( during a scrimmage down ) or the kick-receiving team ( during a free kick down ) was awarded a first down ( change of possession ), reducing the time of games.

It was around this time that Young added what he called a " slow ball " to his pitching repertoire to reduce stress on his arm.

On punts and field goal attempts ( but not kickoffs ), members of the kicking team, other than the kicker and any teammates who are onside ( behind the kicker at the time of the kick ), may not approach within five yards of the ball until it has been touched by the receiving team.

The clock starts again when the referee determines the ball is ready for scrimmage, except for team time-outs ( where the clock starts at the snap ), after a time count foul ( at the snap ) and kickoffs ( where the clock starts not at the kick but when the ball is first touched after the kick ).

If a quarter's time expires while the ball is dead, the quarter is extended for one more scrimmage.

Also, if a gust of wind blows the ball over on a place kick attempt after the kicker has begun their run-up, thus allowing the opposing team to begin a charge down, then there is no time to reset the ball, and the kicker may attempt a quick drop kick.

He was silent a moment, thinking he could use a man this time of year, and if the girl could cook, it would give him more time in the meadows, but he knew nothing about the couple.

And he was fleeing, running -- fleeing his death and his life at the same time.

She brought up her free hand to hit him, but this time he was quicker.

The coyote was calling again, and he hoped that this time there would be no other sounds to interrupt it.

I was nearly thirty at the time.

No one was behind it, but in the rear wall of the office I noticed, for the first time, a door which had been left partially open.

It was a bold, dark castle of pine boughs that stood like a medieval fortress, eclipsing the sun and human time.

At one and the same time, she was within it but still searching for the drawbridge that would give her entry.

Haying time was close at hand, and they needed some strong branches to repair a hay rack.

I found a trooper once the Apache had spread-eagled on an ant hill, and another time we ran across some teamsters they'd caught, tied upside down on their own wagon wheels over little fires until their brains was exploded right out o' their skulls.

One thing was certain -- his method was effective, so effective that after a time even the warning notices were often unnecessary.

Out in the center of the circle the farmer, who was Dan, wasted no time when they came to the line, `` The farmer choose his wife ''.

From the time the chocks were pulled until the plane was out of sight, he knew Donovan would keep his back to the strip.

It was all Greg had time to see.

I seized the rack and made a western-style flying-mount just in time, one of my knees mercifully landing on my duffel bag -- and merely wrecking my camera, I was to discover later -- my other knee landing on the slivery truck floor boards and -- but this is no medical report.

Just as I got to my knees, there was again the sound of the fence stretching, and I had time only to start taking my kneeling posture seriously.

The Indian was again raising his bottle, but to my astonished relief -- probably only a fraction of Johnson's -- the bottle this time went to the Indian's lips.

There was no time to pick out a penny ; ;

This time there was no sound of brakes but the shrieking of women.

`` No, I remembered reading about you in the papers and that you lived here, and when it happened all I could think of was '' -- This time she stopped the rush of words herself.

My new Aunt was perhaps three or four years older than I and it had been a long time since I had seen as gorgeous a woman who oozed sex.

I was aware of a humid look in her eyes that told me the time was opportune.