Beautiful thing about baseball: the fundamentals are the fundamentals

Thus, you can see two major leaguers, who have never before made a play together, suddenly need to make a play together and make if perfectly. No matter who you have played for in the past: the fundamentals are the fundamentals. You can trust the other guy - with whom you have never before played - is thinking exactly as you are thinking.

Sunday's example: Darren Oliver makes a pick off move towards 1B; baserunner Brett Gardner breaks for 2B on Oliver's kick; Rangers First Baseman Ryan Garko moves towards the mound in order to receive a shorter throw and to create a better angle for his throw to 2B; Oliver delivers a perfect chin high throw to Garko; the speedy Gardner is thrown out at 2B. Oliver and Garko have never made that play together; have never spoken about making that play together; yet each knew exactly what the other was thinking. Garko knew the throw would come to him approx. chest high and easily playable; knew the throw would not come low and hard, as on a typical pick off throw.

Before coming to Texas, Darren Oliver had played for these franchises in his career:

Texas, St. Louis, Texas, Boston, Colorado, New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Before coming to Texas at the tail end of 2010 Spring Training, Ryan Garko had been with these franchises in his career: Cleveland, San Francisco, Seattle.