OK, so you might have deduced from the fun “What’s the best thing about baseball?” thread we did on Monday (seriously, check it out; the answers are great), I am neck-deep in the writing of my next book WHY WE LOVE BASEBALL.
My Dad liked baseball because any body type can play it. Short guys, tall guys, big guys, skinny guys, slow guys, fast guys, there’s room for everyone in baseball.
In baseball, while all infields are the same, every outfield is different, giving a decisive home field advantage to outfielders familiar with how the ball plays off of the walls/corners of each stadium.
"In baseball, you can have an unlimited number of fouls without penalty"
In baseball, THERE ARE NO fouls or penalties. Safe or out. Ball or strike. Foul or fair. Even little "infractions" like catchers interference or running out of the baselines or the ball hitting the baserunner, etc. lead to outs or safe trips to the next base.
Game works pretty well without flags and whistles and hands raised and all that.
Not only does baseball offer a moment for fans to stretch, it’s surely the only sport that pauses the action in the middle of the game so everyone can stand up and sing. At every game, at every level, and everyone knows the song and sings along. I’m at a minor league game today, and I’m grateful for this post for making me stop and notice how odd and charming that tradition is.
In hockey, the home team has a specific advantage of last change, meaning they can see who the opposing team puts on the ice and then match as they see fit. That's a pretty big advantage.
As a longtime KC Royals fan I have often wished at some point in the middle innings when we have a momentary lead that our pitcher could just repeatedly clutch the ball to his gut and fall on it.
Is baseball the only sport for which fans are inclined to make "[My favorite sport] is the only sport that..." lists? And if so, is that a good thing? (And just to be clear, those aren't meant to be rhetorical questions, or snark.)
Andy and KingHarris each referenced this briefly, but I want to draw it out.
In the words of Pete Rose, “this ain’t football; we do this everyday.”
I’m borrowing from what Bill James said in one of his Historical Abstracts - if football were played every day, it would be much less physical and would likely involve multiple quarterbacks per team.
Basketball and hockey games are frequently played back to back, but seldom 5 days in a week - if they were, there would be much more resting of players and a deeper bench would be needed. I don’t know enough about soccer, but my sense is that time off between games is significant there too.
Because baseball is played basically every day for 6 months, a lot more depth is required to field a competitive team, one free agent signing alone is usually not enough to put a team on top, and even the best starting pitchers can only impact roughly a 5th of the total overall games. You can imagine how, if baseball was played just once a week, the Justin Verlanders of the world might pitch every or almost every game, like they did in the 1880s. It really shapes the game.
Probably my single favorite thing is the sound of summer that flows through the radio on a hot night with the game on. Denny Matthews’ pace and voice, vendors sometimes audible, the dull crowd buzz with sudden cheering, seconds on end of inactivity exactly replicating what is around you (sometimes), the sound of the catcher’s mitt or the unmistakable crack of the bat which you can tell if it was barreled or not, and the suspense of the outcome.
Check out Cricket. I know nothing about it and am probably spelling it wrong. But there is something about the (maybe) evolution of the game and a historical connection of some sort.
Yes, to each fields uniqueness. When I was a kid the Almanac had each of the stadiums and they were so different. It was so cool.
My Dad liked baseball because any body type can play it. Short guys, tall guys, big guys, skinny guys, slow guys, fast guys, there’s room for everyone in baseball.
In baseball, while all infields are the same, every outfield is different, giving a decisive home field advantage to outfielders familiar with how the ball plays off of the walls/corners of each stadium.
"In baseball, you can have an unlimited number of fouls without penalty"
In baseball, THERE ARE NO fouls or penalties. Safe or out. Ball or strike. Foul or fair. Even little "infractions" like catchers interference or running out of the baselines or the ball hitting the baserunner, etc. lead to outs or safe trips to the next base.
Game works pretty well without flags and whistles and hands raised and all that.
I believe he meant foul balls. A batter can continue fouling off pitches indefinitely, without penalty, and without limit.
I think he's referring to errors.
Not only does baseball offer a moment for fans to stretch, it’s surely the only sport that pauses the action in the middle of the game so everyone can stand up and sing. At every game, at every level, and everyone knows the song and sings along. I’m at a minor league game today, and I’m grateful for this post for making me stop and notice how odd and charming that tradition is.
It’s the only sport a 27 year old rookie you’ve never heard of can crack the pros and make a name for himself.
Players wear different equipment on offense (batting helmet) and defense (glove).
In hockey, the home team has a specific advantage of last change, meaning they can see who the opposing team puts on the ice and then match as they see fit. That's a pretty big advantage.
Baseball is the only sport in s which the umpires carry brooms.
The fact, that every stadium’s dimensions are different?
Re: "Running out the clock":
As a longtime KC Royals fan I have often wished at some point in the middle innings when we have a momentary lead that our pitcher could just repeatedly clutch the ball to his gut and fall on it.
Is baseball the only sport for which fans are inclined to make "[My favorite sport] is the only sport that..." lists? And if so, is that a good thing? (And just to be clear, those aren't meant to be rhetorical questions, or snark.)
Andy and KingHarris each referenced this briefly, but I want to draw it out.
In the words of Pete Rose, “this ain’t football; we do this everyday.”
I’m borrowing from what Bill James said in one of his Historical Abstracts - if football were played every day, it would be much less physical and would likely involve multiple quarterbacks per team.
Basketball and hockey games are frequently played back to back, but seldom 5 days in a week - if they were, there would be much more resting of players and a deeper bench would be needed. I don’t know enough about soccer, but my sense is that time off between games is significant there too.
Because baseball is played basically every day for 6 months, a lot more depth is required to field a competitive team, one free agent signing alone is usually not enough to put a team on top, and even the best starting pitchers can only impact roughly a 5th of the total overall games. You can imagine how, if baseball was played just once a week, the Justin Verlanders of the world might pitch every or almost every game, like they did in the 1880s. It really shapes the game.
Probably my single favorite thing is the sound of summer that flows through the radio on a hot night with the game on. Denny Matthews’ pace and voice, vendors sometimes audible, the dull crowd buzz with sudden cheering, seconds on end of inactivity exactly replicating what is around you (sometimes), the sound of the catcher’s mitt or the unmistakable crack of the bat which you can tell if it was barreled or not, and the suspense of the outcome.
Totally unique, plus a bunch of other stuff.
Is baseball the only sport where, if the ball goes out of play, you get to keep it?
Pucks in hockey as well.
Check out Cricket. I know nothing about it and am probably spelling it wrong. But there is something about the (maybe) evolution of the game and a historical connection of some sort.