At 11/5/09 03:07 AM, boloneyman wrote:
It is a lot harder to be a fielder and batter then you give credit. Lobbing the ball isn't as easy as it looks.
You can say that about almost anything in any sport. It's hard to catch a and throw a football well at high speeds while running and being under coverage/avoiding being sacked, it's hard for basketball players to make a shot count and pass the ball accurately and efficiently, it's hard to maintain control of a soccer ball while running and being chased down and it's also hard to pass and shoot, and in hockey, skating takes a long time to master, passing is hard to do while other people are skating all over the place trying to block it, and shooting the puck accurately and at high speed takes YEARS to master. Then there's the goalies, who need to have crazy reflexes and agility while wearing all sorts of bulky padding and be expected to stop shots coming at 100 miles per hour 95% of the time. All sports have difficulties.
The difference between the sports I mentioned and baseball is that baseball requires MUCH less physical endurance (aside from the pitcher and catcher, but that's arm and leg endurance, not running/moving extended periods of high cardiovascular activity. Compared to the other sports, baseball requires far less actual athleticism. Skill-wise, it's a closer call, but with the exception of the pitcher and catcher, baseball players don't need as much skill and effort as many other sport positions require. It's mostly hand-eye coordination, and that's important in pretty much every sport.
Also deciding what kind of pitch is being thrown and reacting within a fraction of a second is very difficult and takes a lot of skill.
Yes, but you only have to hit the ball maybe 30% of the time, and that's a satisfactory batting average. Also, each player only is in the batting situation a few times a game. It's not like you have to be very consistent to be good. Yeah, it takes coordination and timing, but most sports do.
Also the catcher is under pressure to stay crouched and catch every pitch, which come at him at upwards to a hundred miles per hour. He also has to be ready to stand up and throw the ball across the diamond to pick off a base runner. Accuracy is hard to maintain when you only have a few seconds to get the throw off.
I do consider the catcher to be the second most valuable position in baseball, actually.
I actually like Hockey, but I'm just not that into it. When you look at it, most popular sports are people chasing something back and forth. Football, Basketball, Hockey, Futbol, Lacrosse. Baseball is a good change of pace.
I find baseball to be dreadfully boring to watch. Playing is okay, but I can't watch it unless I'm physically at the game and it feels real. It just takes too long for anything to happen, and there's so little movement on the field in general. It's just too slow moving- not to mention that the games can drag on FOREVER.
