Quick pitches are more or less considered a bush league tactic, the last resort of a scared pitcher who's out of ideas when it comes to beating a better hitter.
In other words, just the type of thing that Kansas City Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar might have attempted while facing Detroit Tigers MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera on Monday night:
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As the Tigers announcers mentioned, Hochevar's career record against Cabrera coming into Monday's game — 16-for-32 with two homers and 10 RBI — was dismal. So you probably can't blame him for trying to get one past the Tigers slugger.
But you also can't blame Cabrera for simply laughing when Hochevar's attempt was called for a ball, bringing the count to full. It was a chuckle that said 'can you believe this guy?"
We've seen in the past how quick pitches can annoy hitters into doing big things, but Hochevar actually won the battle of the at-bat, inducing Cabrera to fly out and end the inning. Cabrera went 1-for-4 against the Royals pitcher on the night, seeing the Triple Crown fall out of his grasp when Josh Hamilton hit his 43rd homer of the year down in Texas to take sole possession of the AL lead.
Still, the Tigers were able to take home a 6-2 win, staying one game behind the Chicago White Sox in the race for the AL Central.
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