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#42
12-09-2006, 02:16 PM
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Re: Hypothetical Sports Contest #2
[ QUOTE ]
90 MPH means nothing when it never gets near the strike zone. [/ QUOTE ] I promise it's easy enough for a world class athlete to throw a fastball for strikes. A 6'7" super strong and coordinated guy is gonna have no problem shutting down high school hitters. Hitting is a problem, but I assume most of these guys are incredibly fast, and just beating out ground balls or even bunting would probably be enough to score a few runs. 
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#43
12-09-2006, 02:27 PM
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Re: Hypothetical Sports Contest #2
[ QUOTE ]
I promise it's easy enough for a world class athlete to throw a fastball for strikes. A 6'7" super strong and coordinated guy is gonna have no problem shutting down high school hitters. [/ QUOTE ] Why isn't he a pitcher instead of a basketball player then? There's no way it's "easy" for a NBA player to throw a 90 MPH fastball for strikes. Baseball has a completely different skill set than most sports. I wouldn't be surprised if most NBA players couldn't throw a baseball 75 MPH, since they don't know the proper mechanics. I haven't decided which side of this argument I fall on; I'm leaning toward the baseball team though.
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#44
12-09-2006, 02:30 PM
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Re: Hypothetical Sports Contest #2
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] 90 MPH means nothing when it never gets near the strike zone. [/ QUOTE ] I promise it's easy enough for a world class athlete to throw a fastball for strikes. [/ QUOTE ] This is ridiculous.
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#45
12-09-2006, 02:34 PM
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Re: Hypothetical Sports Contest #2
[ QUOTE ]
I promise it's easy enough for a world class athlete to throw a fastball for strikes. A 6'7" super strong and coordinated guy is gonna have no problem shutting down high school hitters. [/ QUOTE ] You're underestimating the immense amount of specialization it takes to be a successful pitcher, even on the high school level. Just being strong and coordinated won't even come close to cutting it, especially when those guys simply have not trained themselves to deliver a baseball with maximum speed and control. Edit: Do you even realize how few actual pitchers (from the pool of all players in high school or older) throw 90 mph+ for strikes?
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#46
12-09-2006, 02:34 PM
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Re: My Thoughts
[ QUOTE ]
That's not true? If it is true the fact that they haven't played the game for a while would be approximately made up for by the fact that they are older and even more athletic. We are talking here about playing 16 and 17 year olds from an average high school. [/ QUOTE ] It is true and I think you are right with your pick. Still I wouldn't totally write off the kids, because I had a weird twillight zone type of experience once. I am living in Europe and around 1990 there was an exhibition where an US army team with a few former semi-pros up to A-A level got totally owned by a team of 14-16 year old kids. If I remember correctly the kids were called "San Diego Baseball Ambassadors". Their pitchers were throwing smoke and not one but two of their hitters homered out of the ballpark on the roof of a house. I'd say that this was a bunch of physical "freaks" and they certainly don't grow on trees like that, but it shows me what kids can do.
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#47
12-09-2006, 02:36 PM
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Re: Hypothetical Sports Contest #2
I haven't done the research but I imagine most if not all NBA teams have one player who excelled at high school baseball and likely could have made it in professional baseball. The pros are incredible athletes. I used to play golf with ex-major league picther Geoff Zahn and he told me that his teammate Andy Messersmith can and did shoot in the mid-70s either left handed or right handed. I don't think average high school athletes would have a chance against this type of skill level.
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#48
12-09-2006, 03:19 PM
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Re: Hypothetical Sports Contest #2
David,
"I was under the impression that the majority of athletes who make it to the pros in any of the trhee major sports was probably a star in all three sports in high school." I don't know what the numbers are, but the percentage is way, way lower than it used to be. Top prospects are identified and groomed at a very early age nowadays. Lots of McDonald's All-American level guys (the caliber guys who make it to the NBA) are working on basketball year-round rather than playing baseball or football or track or whatever in the off-season.
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#50
12-09-2006, 03:32 PM
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Re: Hypothetical Sports Contest #2
Have you guys ever seen Charles Barkley play golf? With a swing like that there is no way on earth he could hit a baseball.
Why does everyone assume that "athleticism" is so transferrable between all sports? A lot of these guys in the NBA are there mainly because they are abnormally tall. The idea that "any good 6'7" strong athlete could throw 90 mph down the middle" is preposterous. IMO the HS baseball team would win easily. My intuition tells me it would actually deteriorate into a laughable affair after a couple of innings.
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