Ah! Baseball!
Ah! Baseball!
It’s been a long, cold winter, but spring is upon us and with spring comes America’s first sports love
—Baseball. Football season was fun and basketball and hockey continue, but now Baseball is back, and I’m thrilled. It’s nice to see 22 men battle to take the pigskin down the field and across the goal line, but for me, there’s nothing like baseball. And the steroid problem notwithstanding, we truly live in the golden age of the sport.Baseball is not just the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees battling it out in the American League, or the Cardinals and the Cubs fighting over the Central Division in the senior league. It’s about the minor leagues which have never drawn larger crowds than they do today. (Several minor league teams draw more than a million in attendance each year, even though theirs is a truncated schedule.) It’s about eight and nine year olds hitting the ball off a tee and thirteen year olds playing on a full size field for the first time. It’s about Little League, Babe Ruth and Legion leagues. It’s about high school and college ball, as well as leagues for seniors. It’s about baseball’s offspring, softball for boys and girls, men and women of all ages.
Baseball is the sport for all ages when it comes to participation, when it comes to attending, and when it comes to watching year in and year out. The Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, now coming to a close, draw tens of thousands of fans from across the nation in anticipation of the race for the World Series.
Americans just can’t get enough of baseball. Their children learn early how to hit a sphere with a round bat thrown at lightening speed. Then they go to their own softball or baseball game. After that they go home and watch baseball on TV. And then they go out to see their favorite professional team. It’s in the blood, it’s part of America as no other sport is or ever will be.
Physicists say that the hardest thing in any sport is hitting an 85 mile-per-hour curve ball and turning a double play. I’m no physicist, but there’s no doubt it’s a difficult game. I’ve explained the basics of football to someone from Europe, but when I tried to explain baseball, it wasn’t so easy. But once you understand it, there is no other sport in its league.
It’s a thrill to see the quarterback throw a winning touchdown pass with the clock running out, but for me it doesn’t compare with the drama I witnessed when the Cardinals battled the Mets for the NLCS Championship in 2006. It was the 7th and deciding game. A rookie fill-in closer, Adam Wainwright, was on the mound. He had gotten two outs, but allowed two men on base. The Cardinals long time nemesis, Carlos Beltran, was at the plate with two outs and two strikes. A hit would win the game and send the Mets to the Series. An out would send the Cards to the Series. Ah. Baseball!
Baseball is exciting perhaps when compared to synchronized swimming, bowling, curling, or cricket. But it can't compete in excitement with football, basketball, downhill skiing, horse racing, boxing, track & field or so many other sports. Even poker is a lot more interesting to watch on TV than baseball. Hey, I'd even prefer to watch NASCAR & that sport is only fun when there is a wreck.
You are free to like the game if you wish, but let's agree it is an awful sport for our young people to play.
Basically in youth baseball it is the pitcher, catcher, and hitter who are getting all the action. Compare this to basketball where all the players perform vital roles and are in constant motion. It's possible for an outfielder to play an entire game and not have one ball hit to them at the youth level. For crying out loud, most players don't even work up a sweat! (I ask you, what kind of sport has a fatso like Mickey Lolich as a star?)
Plus, Major League Baseball is not well run. They don't share the income like football does, so there is a huge imbalance in talent. Try being a Royals fan and see how you like it. And the way they've handled this steroid mess is disgraceful.
Eighty years ago, the three top sports in America were baseball, boxing, and horse racing. Times move on. These three sports are all on the ropes. Baseball's day has come and gone.
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I have always been neutral on the topic of whether baseball or football is America's sport. Here's is my best effort to answer the question. My scoring system is like a prize fight on the 10-point must system. For each category the score is 10-9 if it's close and 10-8 if it's a blowout.
Round #1 Minor Leagues: Baseball wins 10-8. Football has no minor leagues.
Round #2 Television: When baseball and football go head to head, football wins every time. A few years ago the Yankees played the A's in a deciding playoff game on Monday night and more people tuned in to watch the winless Cowboys and Redskins square off. 10-9 football.
Round # 3 Draft: I've been to the NFL draft several times in New York. Fans come from all over the country to see who their team picks. They fill up Madison Square Garden. Nobody watches the MLB draft. Challenge any baseball fanatic to name who his team took in the first round last year.
10-8 football.
Round #4 Little League: A majority of American youngsters play little league baseball. Nobody plays Pee Wee football. The Little League World Series is one of the great events of the summer. If there is a national Pee Wee Football championship I am not aware of it. 10-8 baseball
Round #5 College: College football is almost a religion in many parts of America. College baseball is played in front of mostly friends and family of the players. When was the last time a booster got in trouble for buying a car for a college baseball player. 10-8 football
Round #6 Major Leagues Attendance: Baseball has more games and wins hands down. 10-8 baseball.
Round #7 Fantasy Sports: That's right! I included it. Over 50 million Americans play fantasy sports. Baseball was first but football is more popular. 10-9 football.
Round #8 Preseason: I know people who take their vacations to Florida and Arizona to watch Grapefruit league games. On the football side teams can't give away tickets to games where 2nd and 3rd string players battle it out in preseason. 10-8 baseball.
Round #9 Culture/History: Baseball players from the past are American icons. Everybody knows that Barry Bonds beat Hank Aaron's record who had beaten Babe Ruth's record. They wrote songs about Joe Dimaggio and Willie Mays that are still played on oldies stations today. Quick name the top three touchdown scorers in NFL History. What about the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown? Quick, where is the NFL Hall of Fame? Baseball 10-8.
Final Score is 84-80 for the still undefeated Heavyweight Champion baseball.
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I've read that hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in sports, with a field goal in football (three guys have to be perfectly synchronized in split seconds) and a double play being up there. Plus no one runs out the clock in baseball. Of course, these are reasons baseball is better, not really addressing which is more popular. I think Mike hit it on the head. Some ice skater will probably argue that a triple lutz or double fandango is more difficult than hitting a baseball, but don't believe him.
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This is a big argument/debate inside the walls of ECG and although I believe Bruce's blog better describes why HE feels that baseball is the "king" of all American sports I strongly disagree that it is still the top sport in America.
Mike Hiban's follow-up comment with HIS "points system" is severely flawed. First of all, I know many kids that play pee-wee football and college football/CFL/Arena Football and NFL Europe can be considered the minor leagues for football...granted baseball's minor leagues are better developed it can't be score 10-8 in favor of baseball. Plus you separate Minor Leagues and Little League and give them both a 10-8 rating. Is this Florida? Are you counting votes twice?
Then you only score Television 10-9 in favor of football? As Ross Perot would say that is just Crazy Math!
Baseball doesn't hold a candle in viewer ship to football. The Super Bowl this year was the 2nd most watched show in the HISTORY of TV with over 97,500,000 viewers. The highest rated game for a World Series is 39,000,000. Not even half of the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl is almost a National Holiday in America. The commercials are almost as big as an event as the game itself. The halftime show alone is hyped up and wanted by many performers. Parties are planned, schedules are changed and tv programs are altered for the Super Bowl. The World Series has been beaten by an episode of Desperate Housewives.
You can't even compare baseball and football when it comes to Television yet you give it a 10-9? That is as bad as some Las Vegas judges during a championship fight.
Attendance....I'll come back to that one.
Next is fantasy sports. This should be 10-8 in favor of football as well. I would say the vast maj. of the 50 mil you said played would be fantasy football. Not to mention the many shows are devoted to it as well as all the leagues and special events and websites. It is a landslide victory in favor of football.
I have one thing to say about pre-season for any sport.....Who Cares?
Culture/History - Ok, Baseball does have a lot of history but a 10-8 history win? I'll give it to you but don't agree 100%
Back to attendance. Here is what I sent Bruce a few months ago. I think it best sums the argument up.
The average attendance PER GAME is much higher (over DOUBLE) for the NFL then it is for MLB.
Average per game -
NFL - 68,773
MLB - 32,781
Triple A - 6,783
Of course baseball has a higher attendance b/c they play nearly 10 times as many games (2,425 to 256) as they do in the NFL. But, I would take quality over quantity any day of the week.
You failed to mention the cheating factor as well as the Financial factor which again Football KILLS baseball!
I have so much more to say but I am running out of space. So lets end this once in for all. Football wins! Baseball is a good "filler" sport (as Bruce would say). But, like I said at the beginning, I now better understand his point of view
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Hiban:
You remind me of one of those judges at a Don King fight, if you know what I mean. Let me set you straight.
How about high school sports? Baseball is not even the third sport at many schools. Football & basketball are almost always bigger and soccer and lacrosse often attract larger crowds.
How about wagering? Regardless of your views on gambling, it is a sure indication of interest. Major League Basebal is a distant fifth ... well behind football and basketball at the pro and college levels.
Harman is mostly on target for a change, but I question if baseball is even a good "filler." Americans are a people that want action. We don't want to be put to sleep. As a youth game, baseball is just awful. (Think of all the poor kids stuck in the outfield yawning and not getting any exercise.)
How about TV ratings? MLB is behind football and basketball again. Several years ago when poker was new to TV, I heard from an ESPN employee that poker was outdrawing baseball. This does not suprise me because poker has at least some drama.
The question for debate is whether basketball or baseball is our #2 sport. I believe basketball is the bigger sport, but at least it is a reasonable debate sane people can have.
I will admit more kids play youth baseball than football but this is because of the number of moms who don't want their boys to get hurt. If youth participation is the standard, soccer or basketball might be the top sport. Unlike baseball, you at least work up a sweat in soccer and basketball.
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