Re: Explain Baseball to Me
There is more drama in baseball than any other major sport.
Basketball is fun to play, but I don't watch too much of it. The players seem to spar for the first three quarters, then turn it up at the end. Basketball games should be 10 minutes. Plus, the last two minutes of a basketball game take about 15 minutes to play.. UGG. With the timeouts...and fouls...
Football is fun to play but again, not all that great to watch. Penalties are what I hate about football. Whistles going off left and right...long pauses between plays. Final 2 minutes of game takes 15 minutes to play.. sound familiar?
Soccer...um, yeah.
Hockey I enjoy watching. There is always action. You will see people get nailed, you will see nice passes, and shots fairly regularly. Oh, and fistfights. I think playoff hockey could be the pinnacle of sports entertainment.
Baseball has so much drama. Example...2005 NLCS Astros v. Cardinals. Cardinals are rolling along winning, when Berkman comes up and smacks a pitch off Carpenter...the whole stadium stands up while the ball flies through the air. Home run. Place goes NUTS. Loudest stadium I've ever heard. Later on Lidge comes in to close it out. Some guys get on base and he faces Pujols. With I believe 2 outs the place is even louder than earlier. Next pitch Pujols jacks. There is a few seconds of suspense, as 45,000 people watch the ball travel through the air. It's a home run. The building is SILENT. Astros lose.
Baseball has drama because you can see plays developing that you sometimes cannot in basketball, football, or hockey. Another example is Juan Uribe catching a foul ball in the stands. Everyone can see that play developing, as the ball is suspended in the air. Or if your team needs a double play ball and there is a grounder up the middle, the play is developing. There is suspense in that.
An interesting note about baseball is that the defense controls the ball and controls the pace of the game. Also, I think it could be the only sport where one player is elevated from the rest (the pitcher).
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