NFL .vs. MLB

NFL .vs. MLB

  • NFL

    Votes: 13 52.0%

  • MLB

    Votes: 7 28.0%

  • Nethier

    Votes: 5 20.0%
  • Total voters
    25
E

ELITEOFWARMAN8

King
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
839
Location
USA
Well?


I say NFL. I never like Baseball. If I want to watch a boring sport, I'll watch European Soccer.
 
In what context?

Baseball is obviously the superior sport, but I'd say the NFL is a better run organization because salary cap.
 
ELITEOFWARMAN8 said:
How is it a superior sport? You hit a ball, quite simple and no major skill.
Click to expand...

If that was all that was involved in baseball then they wouldn't be paying guys millions of dollars a year to play the sport. Baseball is probably one of the most intricately complex sports on the planet. Nice try though.
 
I prefer football to baseball, but hitting a baseball is probably the single hardest thing to do in sports.
 
Owen Glyndwr said:
If that was all that was involved in baseball then they wouldn't be paying guys millions of dollars a year to play the sport. Baseball is probably one of the most intricately complex sports on the planet. Nice try though.
Click to expand...

Well NFL is a better sport, sorry to break it to you. ;)
 
ELITEOFWARMAN8 said:
Well NFL is a better sport, sorry to break it to you. ;)
Click to expand...

NFL isn't a sport. And you haven't given any evidence as to your assertion other than "LOL BASEBALL BORING AND EASY". Both of which I have countered in this very thread.
 
Owen Glyndwr said:
NFL isn't a sport. And you haven't given any evidence as to your assertion other than "LOL BASEBALL BORING AND EASY". Both of which I have countered in this very thread.
Click to expand...

LOL. NFL is not a sport but MLB is? Sorry, it's not. You can't prove it so... I win. :king:
 
ELITEOFWARMAN8 said:
LOL. NFL is not a sport but MLB is? Sorry, it's not. You can't prove it so... I win. :king:
Click to expand...

I don't need to prove anything. You said Baseball is inferior because it is a simple game. I said it was not because hitting a baseball, while in its own right being an intricately complex thing, is only a very very small part of a very difficult and complicated game. If you would like to posit another argument as to why you think football is a superior sport, please go right ahead and I can counter you at your leisure.
 
Baseball is probably the second most boring sport on the planet, Golf being the first. I'd rather watch paint dry on Youtube.
 
BirraImperial said:
Baseball is probably the second most boring sport on the planet, Golf being the first. I'd rather watch paint dry on Youtube.
Click to expand...

I get really tired of having to contest this point, but I must disagree. Having to contest this is rendered worse because I just spent 20 minutes whining about having to explain why baseball is a misunderstood sport during which I explained why baseball is misunderstood and now I'm going to basically just have to retype it.

Anyway, reasons why baseball is misunderstood. I think the big reason (like 95% of the time when somebody says "baseball is a boring sport" this is what they mean), and this goes to any sport that anybody anywhere describes as boring, is that the person in question does not understand the flow and rhythm of the game. When an average person watches their first basketball/baseball/football/whatever game here is usually what happens: that person decides "I am really going to try hard to like this game," so when the game starts they focus 100% of their energy to focusing and truly watching the game. The problem is that no sport actually works like this. No sport has all action all the time. Sports have lulls; ebbs and flows which a legitimate and longtime aficionado of the sport subconsciously is tuned into. The fan will do something else during the lulls and really focus in when something is about to happen. In baseball, a fan really only pays attention to about 10 seconds before the pitch, the pitch itself (and any subsequent play that happens), and about 5 seconds after the pitch. Hell, half the time you only really pay attention during a tense moment in the game (runners in scoring position), or when a batted ball has a legitimate shot at going somewhere. In football, fans will do something else during down time, but they instinctively know when a play is about to happen, and will naturally focus in just prior to the snap. In soccer a fan will focus in when someone seems likely to score. These are instincts a fan has developed over the course of years of following the game. So back to the prospective fan of baseball, he won't understand this rhythm to the game, will focus 100% for the first inning or two, realize that there is a very large amount of time during which nothing happens, and give up and declare the sport to be a boring waste of time, when in reality they simply aren't watching the game in the correct manner.

Another reason many declare baseball to be boring is because it is a "simple game", as was so graciously avowed in the OP. This is less a matter of a legitimately, albeit naïve fan who tries to focus too much, and is instead a skeptical fan who comes into the game ready to declare the sport idiotic. When they start to watch the game their preconception is immediately confirmed in what they see, which is some beefy overpaid dude trying to hit a tiny ball a long way. But this isn't what is going on at all. What is really going on is a battle of minds. The pitcher isn't just trying to throw a baseball into the strike zone. What the pitcher is thinking is "what is the count? If it's the first pitch of the at bat do I want to try to sneak an easy pitch in for an early strike or open up with my best pitch? If I'm ahead in the count (0-1, 0-2) do I want to throw him junk way outside of the strike zone to get him to chase or do I want to paint the corner? What does his scouting report say? What kind of pitches does he like to hit? What locations are favorable to him? Will he chase a high fastball? Is he a low ball hitter? Is there a hole in his swing? It's a 3-1 count so he's probably expecting an easy fastball in the strike zone, so do I want to throw him something outside the zone? What is my situation on the diamond? How many runners are on base? Where are they located? If this batter hits me well, and there is nobody on base should I walk this guy and pitch to the next guy? How fast are the runners on base? How likely are they to attempt to steal? If I'm a right-handed pitcher, should I slide-step to account for my long unload time? Those are just the sort of things going through a pitchers mind.

Simultaneously going through a batter's mind are things like: "what's the count right now? Based on the count and the pitcher's scouting report what is he most likely to throw? What types of pitches does he tend towards in these specific situations? The baserunner on first base is fast, and so am I, should I attempt a drag bunt? Is the hit and run on? Will I need to swing at this pitch? If I am behind, should I choke up in the bat and try for contact, or gamble on one specific location. If there is a defensive switch on (players on defense swinging towards one side of the field or the other to account for tendencies in the batter) should I try to inside-out the ball (taking an inside pitch to force a pull into the opposite field). The right fielder's arm is the weakest in the outfield and we have a runner on second base, should I try to direct the ball towards right field to give my teammate the best opportunity to score on a base hit? We have a runner on third base and less than two outs, so I should be trying to hit a ball to the deep outfield so he can score on a tag. And that's just free swinging don't even get me into the intricacies of bunting.

In my opinion one of the most exciting and interesting parts of baseball is that most every fan is running all of these hypotheticals through their head while they are watching the game. There exist in baseball that moment of about 10 seconds between when the pitcher has decided what he is going to do and when he throws the ball towards home plate. And in those ten seconds there is this silence. This divine moment of glorious anticipation where you the fan who has run all the possibilities of this play through his head and now eagerly wait (alongside every other fan in the park) to see what will result. This is baseball at its finest. It's a subtle game, one which occurs mostly in the mind and is primarily concerned with possibility rather than outcome. It can be difficult for someone to appreciate the game when this aspect is completely shut off to them, but when it can be grasped and fully appreciated there are few games as exciting.

Finally there is the matter of interest. By this I mean that baseball, more than just about any other sport on the planet, is extremely difficult to be interested in when you don't have a team to root for, or the team you are rooting for isn't particularly good. I like to contrast this to football (american football) which in my opinion is one of the easier sports to be interested in when you don't have a team to root for. Think of it this way, when you are watching a football game, what do you need to know to appreciate what's going on? Essentially (and I may get a beat-down for this from somebody or another) all you really need to be aware of is the quarterback, the running back, a wide receiver/tight end or two if there are any notable ones on the squad, and a few defensive playmakers. That is all you really need to know about to follow and appreciate a game of football. That's what, like 6-8 players between both teams? Easy, that's something a broadcaster can give you in the first 5 minutes of the game.

Because baseball is a highly individualized and compartmentalized sport, and because it is one that deals almost entirely in the hypothetical, and because it is a game so heavily rooted in statistics, it is a game where to truly appreciate the matchup and the possibilities of the game, you need to know essentially every position player and have a general idea of their key statistics. Additionally you need to be familiar with the starting pitchers and their styles, techniques and tendencies, you need to have a decent idea of the tendencies of the home plate umpire, you need to know about the nuances of the field they're playing on; at least generally whether it's a field which plays better to pitching or hitting, and you need to have a decent understanding of the quality of the bullpen. This is why it is much easier when you have a team to follow; following a team and knowing its ins-and-outs makes have to learn all the above information half as difficult, because you already know it for one side. Also it's much easier to watch the game when its "your guys" out there fighting and winning or losing (hopefully winning). When it's just two random teams out there you're much too busy trying to get yourself acquainted with all the above listed nuances to really care. I think this is a big reason why baseball does so terribly in national broadcasts and playoffs/championships as compared to football, where it's a simple matter to turn on a game and immediately understand what is going on.

So that ended up being ridiculously long, but I hope it gave an idea of why (in my opinion based entirely off personal observation) baseball tends to be unfairly branded with the moniker of being a boring sport.
 
Although you did implicitly state that baseball has 'a very large amount of time during which nothing happens'. Both American Football and Baseball are set-piece games, with brief flurries of activity interrupted by long pauses. I'm more interested by sports with strategic depth similar to that which you've described (honestly, I think most major sporting leagues have tons of strategic depth, baseball is not unique in that manner) but with more flow and continuity between plays.
 
Owen Glyndwr said:
I get really tired of having to contest this point, but I must disagree. Having to contest this is rendered worse because I just spent 20 minutes whining about having to explain why baseball is a misunderstood sport during which I explained why baseball is misunderstood and now I'm going to basically just have to retype it.

Anyway, reasons why baseball is misunderstood. I think the big reason (like 95% of the time when somebody says "baseball is a boring sport" this is what they mean), and this goes to any sport that anybody anywhere describes as boring, is that the person in question does not understand the flow and rhythm of the game. When an average person watches their first basketball/baseball/football/whatever game here is usually what happens: that person decides "I am really going to try hard to like this game," so when the game starts they focus 100% of their energy to focusing and truly watching the game. The problem is that no sport actually works like this. No sport has all action all the time. Sports have lulls; ebbs and flows which a legitimate and longtime aficionado of the sport subconsciously is tuned into. The fan will do something else during the lulls and really focus in when something is about to happen. In baseball, a fan really only pays attention to about 10 seconds before the pitch, the pitch itself (and any subsequent play that happens), and about 5 seconds after the pitch. Hell, half the time you only really pay attention during a tense moment in the game (runners in scoring position), or when a batted ball has a legitimate shot at going somewhere. In football, fans will do something else during down time, but they instinctively know when a play is about to happen, and will naturally focus in just prior to the snap. In soccer a fan will focus in when someone seems likely to score. These are instincts a fan has developed over the course of years of following the game. So back to the prospective fan of baseball, he won't understand this rhythm to the game, will focus 100% for the first inning or two, realize that there is a very large amount of time during which nothing happens, and give up and declare the sport to be a boring waste of time, when in reality they simply aren't watching the game in the correct manner.

Another reason many declare baseball to be boring is because it is a "simple game", as was so graciously avowed in the OP. This is less a matter of a legitimately, albeit naïve fan who tries to focus too much, and is instead a skeptical fan who comes into the game ready to declare the sport idiotic. When they start to watch the game their preconception is immediately confirmed in what they see, which is some beefy overpaid dude trying to hit a tiny ball a long way. But this isn't what is going on at all. What is really going on is a battle of minds. The pitcher isn't just trying to throw a baseball into the strike zone. What the pitcher is thinking is "what is the count? If it's the first pitch of the at bat do I want to try to sneak an easy pitch in for an early strike or open up with my best pitch? If I'm ahead in the count (0-1, 0-2) do I want to throw him junk way outside of the strike zone to get him to chase or do I want to paint the corner? What does his scouting report say? What kind of pitches does he like to hit? What locations are favorable to him? Will he chase a high fastball? Is he a low ball hitter? Is there a hole in his swing? It's a 3-1 count so he's probably expecting an easy fastball in the strike zone, so do I want to throw him something outside the zone? What is my situation on the diamond? How many runners are on base? Where are they located? If this batter hits me well, and there is nobody on base should I walk this guy and pitch to the next guy? How fast are the runners on base? How likely are they to attempt to steal? If I'm a right-handed pitcher, should I slide-step to account for my long unload time? Those are just the sort of things going through a pitchers mind.

Simultaneously going through a batter's mind are things like: "what's the count right now? Based on the count and the pitcher's scouting report what is he most likely to throw? What types of pitches does he tend towards in these specific situations? The baserunner on first base is fast, and so am I, should I attempt a drag bunt? Is the hit and run on? Will I need to swing at this pitch? If I am behind, should I choke up in the bat and try for contact, or gamble on one specific location. If there is a defensive switch on (players on defense swinging towards one side of the field or the other to account for tendencies in the batter) should I try to inside-out the ball (taking an inside pitch to force a pull into the opposite field). The right fielder's arm is the weakest in the outfield and we have a runner on second base, should I try to direct the ball towards right field to give my teammate the best opportunity to score on a base hit? We have a runner on third base and less than two outs, so I should be trying to hit a ball to the deep outfield so he can score on a tag. And that's just free swinging don't even get me into the intricacies of bunting.

In my opinion one of the most exciting and interesting parts of baseball is that most every fan is running all of these hypotheticals through their head while they are watching the game. There exist in baseball that moment of about 10 seconds between when the pitcher has decided what he is going to do and when he throws the ball towards home plate. And in those ten seconds there is this silence. This divine moment of glorious anticipation where you the fan who has run all the possibilities of this play through his head and now eagerly wait (alongside every other fan in the park) to see what will result. This is baseball at its finest. It's a subtle game, one which occurs mostly in the mind and is primarily concerned with possibility rather than outcome. It can be difficult for someone to appreciate the game when this aspect is completely shut off to them, but when it can be grasped and fully appreciated there are few games as exciting.

Finally there is the matter of interest. By this I mean that baseball, more than just about any other sport on the planet, is extremely difficult to be interested in when you don't have a team to root for, or the team you are rooting for isn't particularly good. I like to contrast this to football (american football) which in my opinion is one of the easier sports to be interested in when you don't have a team to root for. Think of it this way, when you are watching a football game, what do you need to know to appreciate what's going on? Essentially (and I may get a beat-down for this from somebody or another) all you really need to be aware of is the quarterback, the running back, a wide receiver/tight end or two if there are any notable ones on the squad, and a few defensive playmakers. That is all you really need to know about to follow and appreciate a game of football. That's what, like 6-8 players between both teams? Easy, that's something a broadcaster can give you in the first 5 minutes of the game.

Because baseball is a highly individualized and compartmentalized sport, and because it is one that deals almost entirely in the hypothetical, and because it is a game so heavily rooted in statistics, it is a game where to truly appreciate the matchup and the possibilities of the game, you need to know essentially every position player and have a general idea of their key statistics. Additionally you need to be familiar with the starting pitchers and their styles, techniques and tendencies, you need to have a decent idea of the tendencies of the home plate umpire, you need to know about the nuances of the field they're playing on; at least generally whether it's a field which plays better to pitching or hitting, and you need to have a decent understanding of the quality of the bullpen. This is why it is much easier when you have a team to follow; following a team and knowing its ins-and-outs makes have to learn all the above information half as difficult, because you already know it for one side. Also it's much easier to watch the game when its "your guys" out there fighting and winning or losing (hopefully winning). When it's just two random teams out there you're much too busy trying to get yourself acquainted with all the above listed nuances to really care. I think this is a big reason why baseball does so terribly in national broadcasts and playoffs/championships as compared to football, where it's a simple matter to turn on a game and immediately understand what is going on.

So that ended up being ridiculously long, but I hope it gave an idea of why (in my opinion based entirely off personal observation) baseball tends to be unfairly branded with the moniker of being a boring sport.
Click to expand...


Which it is, Sorry.
 
ELITEOFWARMAN8 has not distinguished himself as of late for his tendency to create justifications behind his arguments.
 
ELITEOFWARMAN8 said:
Which it is, Sorry.
Click to expand...

Really. I spend the better part of an hour carefully crafting an argument. And this is what you have for me? Why do you even bother creating threads at all?

@Iggy: Yes I know you like hockey :p. Personally though I love the anticipation that is built into baseball. Yes there is strategy in every sport, but not every sport gives you that time for reflection. That time between every play to sit back and imagine the possibilities and to appreciate fully the situation the game is in during that specific moment.

Hockey's fun. Hockey is probably one of the few sports on the planet where you can legitimately pay full attention to 100% of the game and not feel tired by it, but it just doesn't bring the same kind of leisurely reflection and enjoyment for me.
 
I love baseball but it is difficult to appreciate as much or have that deep-rooted love of the game if you never played. I understand why people who just don't like sports or never played baseball find it boring.

Unscientific poll data suggests however that women love sports players in the following order: 1) baseball/basketball players virtual tie.............1459) football players. Haters gonna hate...
 
ELITEOFWARMAN8 said:
Which it is, Sorry.
Click to expand...

That's just rude and ignorant. You started a thread, so you've indicated you want people to comment on the matter in the OP. Owen then makes a very good effort at explaining his reasoning for his view between the two sports. No-one would expect you just to accept his view, but you could at least do him the service of reading his post fully and responding to it politely and properly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Smellincoffee
Shohei Ohtani inaugral member of 50/50 club
Replies
3
Views
442
Quintillus
Quintillus
Smellincoffee
The Say Hey kid, Willie Mays, dies at 93
Replies
0
Views
265
Smellincoffee
Smellincoffee
Quintillus
Paris Olympics 2024
5 6 7
Replies
129
Views
7K
Miniskirt
Miniskirt
V
  • Poll Poll
Is American football morally defensible?
4 5 6
Replies
104
Views
6K
Kyriakos
Kyriakos
I
Technology should matter again
Replies
15
Views
1K
leif erikson
leif erikson
Back
Top Bottom