First Baseball Day Today!

[Frenchee]

Okay, I saw the video of Obama throwing the first pitch cool.

I hope someone can help me here. Maybe its because I'm french. I cant stand watching baseball. It has got to be the most BORING sport ever! I rather watch golf.

Why do you like baseball? I'm trying to understand why people like it.

When I watch it all I see is ; strike, strike, foul ball. Oh !! Ground ball, first base!! Made a 20 meter run. Oh fly ball, caught it out. I just dont see the entertainment in it. My friends think im crazy.

Yes I'm very bored.

[kbmb02]

My friends think im crazy.

And, perhaps, those who aren't (your friends) think even less of you for your negative comments regarding America's past-time . . .

[Frenchee]

Haha I knew someone would get offended. But I realllllllllly don't care . I wasn't being sarcastic by asking can someone tell me why they like it. I wanna know maybe I don't watch it enough to like it... My friend said he likes it cus the plays they make etc can be interesting.

[SteveJ]

Maybe its because I'm french.

Yep.

That's probably it.

:^)

To put it in a truely French perspective, it could be similar to sitting on the side of the road, having a picnic with your friends, drinking warm wine, waiting for hours just for a pack of cyclist to ride by in a blur, and then not even know who they were or who won the stage.

I was never much of a baseball fan, but learned to love the experience when attending an A's game with a big group of people from work. Start off with a tailgate party with burned hotdogs and warm beer. Then sitting at field level and watching all your female co-workers shouting out things(sometimes very risque) to catch the attention of one of the players. Eat a bunch more food, maybe a cold beer, buy your son a ballcap. The next day, when people ask you who won the game, you'll reply,"I don't even know who was playing, but I had a great time!"

Bill Cosby had some good material about baseball...The outfielders have to talk to themselves to keep from falling asleep. "Hey batter batter!"

[Fishhead]

Me too,

I find most sports to be very "under-whelming".

Baseball usually goes like this. The pitcher throws the ball, the batter hits the ball, and then the outfielders catch the ball- over and over. There's the occasion when someone messes up ( they don't catch the ball), but it is usually followed by the same boredom of pitch,hit,catch. Then they rotate and the same process starts over again.

Exciting!! (NOT)

[SteveJ]

At least baseball does not try to pretend that there is any urgency in the game. No delay of game calls, etc...

With American football, they have four 15 minute quarters. When was the last time a football game actually took only an hour? They take 30 minutes to play even after there has been a "2 minute warning". Kinda like getting my teenager to stop playing video games.

"Two more minutes, Dad."

"That's what you said a half an hour ago!"

After watching the Olympics with my wife (I had to suffer through the ice skating, but she had to endure hours of curling.), I was wondering what all the other sports would be like if they added a panel of judges to score each play. "That was a nice touchdown, but the Russian judge only gave them 3.6 points for the play."

That would make for cool sports reporting:

Oakland Raiders 28.6 points, New Orleans Saints 17.2 points.

[Frenchee]

Hahaha! Nice reference to the French Steve.

Yea, I watched the Tour De France but I only go because before the bikers pass there are tons of sponsors that drive in floats and trucks and toss out tonnnsss of free crap Thats the only reason I like to go. Or else you only see them pass for about 5 seconds and its over haha. They are quick.(cyclers)

I agree with you, I went to the Giants game and it was fun. It's fun going to the stadium because you get the whole experience but on T.V it is pretty long

Its nice to see peoples perspectives.

Haha, ice skating thats another one...

[Anschauer]

Actually baseball is important to anyone who has to work in their garage for hours on a Sunday afternoon.

The game actually helps my ADD brain focus more on what I'm doing and it keeps good company.

When I hear of a great play I run into the house to see it on replay and get another glass of water.

I sometimes watch games like Yankees-Sox but I not often because I can always think of better things to do.

[Shad]

Sorry for the late reply on this topic but here's something you can try to get a better understanding of the game.

If you live in the U.S. or can find one in your area of the world: go to your local batting cages and ask the operator to turn the machine up to 90mph (most batting cages top out at 70mph for safety reasons, but if you ask nicely you might get them to turn it up to Major League Baseball speeds), grab a bat and start swinging away. You'll find hitting that little white ball with only +/- 0.8 seconds to see it, react to it, and put a bat on it is far more difficult to do than you think when watching it on TV. Only remember pitching machines throw straight fastballs at best. Curves, sliders, cutters etc. are a topic for another time.

After you've swung yourself to exhaustion trying to hit one "outta the park": Pick up the balls now laying at your feet and try throwing them back through the opening to the machine. Make sure you're throwing them between 70 to 90mph. The rectangular opening the balls come out of should be a good representation of a strike zone. Do this 100 times and you'll see what life for a starting pitcher is like in a single game.

If you have any energy left, go out to the largest park in your area and have someone shoot balls out of a cannon directly at you from 90ft away, making sure they bounce and hop in random directions that nearly take your head off or go so high in the air you loose sight of them. This will give you a taste of the fielders life.

Repeat this process for 162 days. (183 if you're good at it.)

I say this with a smile and in good fun, of course. I'm a die hard baseball fan, but wasn't always so I understand both sides of the baseball is boring argument. It is a game that is understood best when played. To me the slow pace is part of the allure. Makes for a perfect summer day as a spectator lounging in the sun watching with a cold beer surrounded by friends, while the players perform miracles throwing, catching and hitting that little white boring ball.

All the best, Play Ball!

-shad

[2761377]

Curves, sliders, cutters etc. are a topic for another time.

Play Ball!

-shad

here is the heart of the matter for the serious baseball fan. the batter/pitcher duel. baseball is a game within a game, and is actually very cerebral. while the pitcher tries to throw a pitch that will either fool or overmatch the batter, the batter is trying to guess what that pitch will be. location, speed and movement all contribute to the batter's difficulty. truly, it is generally conceded that hitting that little white ball at the major league level is THE single most difficult acheivment in all sports.

it is game for aficianados- casual fans have never been an important base for professional clubs. the more you know the game, the more you enjoy watching it. and, you can't really know the game unless you've played it, at some level. baseball wisdom must start with at least some experience.

hth,

robert w.