Nobody likes the pickoff throw. The fans detest it; I don’t know what the level of tolerance used to be, but at the game I attended last weekend, the crowd booed with every single toss to first. The statisticians hardly bother to track it. The analysts don’t care for it either, because of the way it hampers the rhythm of the ballgame and inserts dead air into the proceedings. Opposing coaches gnash their teeth as weary hurlers cast the ball back and forth to the first baseman, buying time for a reliever to limber up. The runners themselves can’t be too thrilled about having to dive back all the time, either.