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baseball is so boring

 
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Except for playoff and pennant races.
 
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Maybe part of the bore-factor comes from the fact that the rules aren't really simple. I tried to watch it once, and it seemed even duller then cricket (and that's quite an achievement). A guy throws a ball, another guy ignores it, the ball gets passed around the field while people wave strange hand signals at each other, and the same thing happens again. Meanwhile the commentators go crazy about some obscure statistic or other.

Its much the same with cricket though - unless you understand the rules (and I don't really), its very hard to get excited about it. In fact there's probably not many sports where a complete newcomer can get into it very quickly. Football ("soccer" to some), rugby, tennis maybe, but not much else.
 
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I find Soccer/football very dull. you kick the ball, somebody else kicks it, somebody else kicks it the other direction... slow games that end in ties are not interesting to me.

I enjoy a baseball game, but not to the degree of many. To some of my friends, it's all about the statistics. My friend can tell you how well a player is hitting with runners in scoring positions vs. his overall batting average.

Most of the rules in baseball are pretty simple (infield fly rule being the only difficult one i know of).

The other thing i've heard people say about baseball is that just about ANY pitch can turn the game around. In soccer, one kick won't make much difference in the game.
 
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Kishore, you already discussed this very same topic last year.

Baseball is boring to watch at home on TV. I'd encourage anyone to go to at least one game though before just generalizing the game on whole as boring. Being at a major league baseball game is an experience. The atmosphere is amazing, the fans, the smells, the sounds. It's very traditional in America. I took my son, my father took me, his father took him...It's also very historacle.
 
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Which is why I watch ice hockey.
They even changed the rules this season in an effort to speed up the game even more.
 
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Maybe he feels the same way each year?
 
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I agree some games could be really boring.
For eg: A five day test cricket match, its more interesting to watch a snail move :-)
One of the interesting thing I have noticed is that its always not as simple as the game being boring or not. There's always a story or history attached to a sport, and if one is able to latch on to the story it becomes interesting to them.
The baseball world series final where the "Red Sox" won makes it very interesting to the Boston folks.
The Ashes cricket series between England-Australia, only folks from that part of the world could understand it better.
And any Indo-Pakistan cricket match, ceases to be a game, its a war :-)
 
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What did you say; that Baseball is boring? I agree with Greg. Attend a game and you will surely appreciate the game. It is extremely hard to hit a ball that is coming at you at over 90MPH.

In any case, how can you say that Baseball is boring? The Yankees, Red Sox, Indians, White Sox, and Angels. That�s just in the American League.

I think that whomever wins the AL Wild Card, will win it all this year. Nevertheless, GO WHITESOX
 
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I can't sit through baseball on TV but going to the park is magical. Eat the hot dogs, sing the bad songs, laugh at the stupid mascot, get hooked on the game. It's all good.
 
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"Baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand."
 
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In soccer, one kick won't make much difference in the game.



Actually because of the really low scores one kick makes a huge difference. I am defending soccer and I don't like soccer.

Baseball is boring. But sometimes, when you look deep into that boredom, you see the real huge amount of excitement.

For instance, a pitcher's duel where there is no hits and no score is boring, but when it becomes the possibility for a no-hitter or perfect game, then it is one of the most exciting things to ever witness. I was at a game once where Pedro Martinez pitched a perfect game against the Dodger's at Dodger stadium. I am a huge Dodger's fan, and when it came to the ninth inning, everyone in the stadium was rooting for the opposing pitcher. ANd when he had the perfect game on that last out, the crowd roared as loadly as winning the pennant.

Mark
 
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Each to their own.. Kind of unfair, if you do not understand a sport, to judge
its TV coverage as boring.

"Soccer/football very dull ... slow games" - not in derby matches. For example any: Old Firm match.
 
Kishore Dandu
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Originally posted by Gregg Bolinger:
Kishore, you already discussed this very same topic last year.

Baseball is boring to watch at home on TV. I'd encourage anyone to go to at least one game though before just generalizing the game on whole as boring. Being at a major league baseball game is an experience. The atmosphere is amazing, the fans, the smells, the sounds. It's very traditional in America. I took my son, my father took me, his father took him...It's also very historacle.



I am a Texas Rangers and 'A-rod' fan. That does not change my opinion about the game. I have attended many games in the stadium. I had more kick watching Football(american) and Ice Hockey in a stadium.
[ September 30, 2005: Message edited by: Kishore Dandu ]
 
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have you tried playing baseball? that might change your point of view
 
Kishore Dandu
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Originally posted by Jesus Angeles:
have you tried playing baseball? that might change your point of view



In my neighbourhood they do not play much of baseball. They have tons of softball though.
 
Michael Ernest
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I like George Will's definition of football and how it suits so much of the American psyche: "Short bursts of violence punctuated by committee meetings."

Football and hockey are both games designed to rile the audience. Baseball is deisgned to involve the fans, but you have to have some sense of what's going on first.

In goal sports, it's really easy. There's the basket, there's the end zone, there's the goal: go to them.

You can't run out of time or use up the clock doing nothing in baseball; you can only use up your chances.

I'd like to see a double-header in hockey, soccer, football or basketball that didn't require four teams.

In goal sports, fouling is part of the game; everyone accepts it and the time delays that go with it. And play review? Please.

The time between two pitches in baseball versus the time between two plays in football. 'Nuff said.

In baseball you don't give up the chance the score again because you scored. The other team has to earn the right to score.

In football, basketball, and hockey, no one seems to care that a high-scoring game means there was only half the game being played. In baseball, every knowledgeable fan knows a high-scoring game means the defense was poor.
 
Mark Spritzler
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the defense was poor.



Or just the pitching.

Mark
 
Michael Ernest
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Ugh. What a pointless game that would be.

And while I take your point, poor pitching with "otherwise solid defense" is no defense at all. Just like a quarterback has to put his receivers in the best possible position to catch the ball (without getting smunched), a pitcher has to make sure that when the ball is put in play the fielders are more likely than not to quash the opportunity.

There isn't a sportswriter alive, I don't think, who doesn't remember Atlee Hammaker doing what you're thinking...in an All-Star game. 7 runs on 6 hits, including a grand slam. Ow. Needless to say he didn't finish the inning.

(I don't watch the All-Star game anymore but I believe Fred Lynn's slam is the only one in All-Star game history. And I won't watch the AS game again until Bud Selig admits his sacrilege for calling the 2002 game on account of time.)

Any time a (good) pitcher gets shelled badly, you hear that story. Which would be fine but for Atlee wearing a Giant's uniform at the point. It's not quite as painful as seeing Kirk Gibson homer off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the '88 World Series, but it's still no fun to remember. The A's never quite got over watching Mr. Automatic get taken downtown by a guy with one good leg. The Dodgers felt invincible after that, and it showed in the remainder of the Series.

Too bad Orel Hershiser couldn't have pitched for the Giants like he did for the Dodgers. That would have made for a nice couple of seasons.
[ October 01, 2005: Message edited by: Michael Ernest ]
 
fred rosenberger
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I'll never forget the time the Cardinal's Fernando Tatis hit his first Grand Slam Homerun (that's a home run with a runner on all three bases, thus driving in 4 runs)... It was April 23, 1999. I was at pub throwing darts on my birthday with some friends.

Now that feat in and of itself, is not very impressive. Many players have hit Grand Slams. What made it memorable was that he did it AGAIN... In the 100+ years of baseball, 11 other players have hit 2 grand slams in the same game. Fernando was the first EVER to do it in the same INNING.

I still can't believe it happened...
[ October 03, 2005: Message edited by: fred rosenberger ]
 
Jesus Angeles
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Heres one I wont forget,

Houston Astros Biggio

I dont remember exact date, between 1998-1999

Post-season, Astros down by 3, full bases, bottom of 9th inning, 2 out

and he hit a grand slam

winning the game
 
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Anyone who thinks a baseball game is boring is probably not drinking any beer. I love going to see the Yanks. (it doesn't hurt that they make the playoffs every year, either.)

Jason: one and done, baby. one and DONE.
 
Kishore Dandu
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Originally posted by fred rosenberger:
I'll never forget the time the Cardinal's Fernando Tatis hit his first Grand Slam Homerun (that's a home run with a runner on all three bases, thus driving in 4 runs)... It was April 23, 1999. I was at pub throwing darts on my birthday with some friends.

Now that feat in and of itself, is not very impressive. Many players have hit Grand Slams. What made it memorable was that he did it AGAIN... In the 100+ years of baseball, 11 other players have hit 2 grand slams in the same game. Fernando was the first EVER to do it in the same INNING.

I still can't believe it happened...

[ October 03, 2005: Message edited by: fred rosenberger ]




What happended with that Tatis guy eventually. I am interested since he is originally from Texas Rangers.
 
Kishore Dandu
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Originally posted by John Dunn:
Anyone who thinks a baseball game is boring is probably not drinking any beer. I love going to see the Yanks. (it doesn't hurt that they make the playoffs every year, either.)

Jason: one and done, baby. one and DONE.



Those rivalries + A Rod + etc etc + beer still makes this game boring. You have to remember my initial comment that playoffs + pennant races are some what meaningful.
[ October 04, 2005: Message edited by: Kishore Dandu ]
 
Michael Ernest
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It's a genuinely offensive generalization. Would you like to remove it, or shall I?
[ October 03, 2005: Message edited by: Michael Ernest ]
 
fred rosenberger
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What happended with that Tatis guy



He went to the Expos in 2001, where he played for a few seasons. not sure what happened after that.
 
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Originally posted by John Dunn:
Anyone who thinks a baseball game is boring is probably not drinking any beer.



If the sport is good, you don't need drink. Here in Scotland, because we have the Old Firm (see earlier post), its been a criminal offence to drink before or during a football match for the last thirty years. Being sober didn't detract any from my enjoyment of the recent Scotland v. Italy World Cup Qualifier. That was a cracker - I distinctly remember becoming aware that the stadium was noticeably shaking after Kenny Miller darted between a combined �63million of Italian defence to grab the lead.
[ October 04, 2005: Message edited by: Paul Sturrock ]
 
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is that true that when a person catches the ball( base ball :-)) during a home run, he can keep it for himself?
If the same is true in cricket, when sehwag, afridi, jayasuriya, lara or gilcrist are batting, they may need over a dozen cricket balls.
 
Jesse Torres
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Originally posted by Sripathi Krishnamurthy:
is that true that when a person catches the ball( base ball :-)) during a home run, he can keep it for himself?
If the same is true in cricket, when sehwag, afridi, jayasuriya, lara or gilcrist are batting, they may need over a dozen cricket balls.



Absolutely. You can also keep Foul balls.
 
Paul Sturrock
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If the same were true for cricket, it would spoil the game. Constant new balls would mean the spinners don't have much of a chance.
 
John Dunn
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is that true that when a person catches the ball( base ball :-)) during a home run, he can keep it for himself?

well, for ~some~ people, sometimes...

In the Bronx, if the opposing team manages to hit a home run that goes in the bleachers, the entire stadium will chant, "Throw it back!!"; until the person tosses it back on the field. We don't take the **** home!!! Boy, it really brings a tear to my eye!!

As for baseball and beer... Well, it's like French Fries and ketchup, mustard and hot dogs, milk and cookies, etc, etc. Buddies, baseball, & beer - forget Scotland man, it's just beautiful.
 
fred rosenberger
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The average life of a baseball in a Major League game is something like 5-7 pitches (so i've heard) anyway. when a ball gets scuffed, the umpire will hand a new one to the catcher, and the old one is discarded. they go through several dozen balls per game regardless of the fans getting them.

any ball that goes into the crowd can be kept by the person who gets it, whether fair or foul. the exceptions are when a fan reaches over the wall to catch a ball that would have landed in the field, or if the ball was playable by a fielder...

there was that Chicago game last year where the ball was popped up into the first row of the seats. the outfielder was reaching over the wall to try and catch it (this is perfectly legal, and expected), but a fan caught it. that ruled it a foul, where it could have been an out if the player had gotten it.
 
Michael Ernest
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Hitting a spheroid with a round bat is hard enough. Given the speed at which major league picthers can throw, a scuffed ball is a huge advantage. Any attempt by a pitcher to 'doctor' the hide or stitches of the ball is punishable by ejection.

Some of the most clever pitchers at this kind of cheating are famous (or infamous). Gaylord Perry was well-known for his spitball. A savvy catcher would wupe any trace of moisture on the ball before the umpire saw it, making it hard to spot other than by the goofy action of the ball's path. Phil Niekro was often suspected for using an emery board to scuff the ball. When he did get caught it was quite a story in sporting circles.

Knuckleball pitchers are specialists of this order, but they use grip on the ball to achieve an almost spinless pitch, so that the threads on the nall dominate the action of the ball, making its path hard to anticipate.

Incidentally, most fastball pitchers don't succeed by the mere speed of their pitching. What fastball pitchers used to refer to as their 'stuff' was the action they got on the ball. Speed in addition to unexpected drift in the path of the ball makes it a long day for the opposing batters.
 
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