OT: Beisbol playoffs

[Darth_Pelican]

Playoff baseball at Wrigley Field starts in a couple of hours... should be a good atmosphere.

[midnightpulp]

To be fair, Midst, a lot of athletes really aren't physical specimens. Endurance, reaction time and coordination aren't really seen on a person's body. Here's a prime example. Although I do believe Soccer is borderline a skill based sport, but it is still heads and shoulders above stickball in this regards.

That exactly my point. Posting those pics is satirizing soccer fans' re ed idea that physique betrays skill or athleticism. Fat=/=unathletic as much as skinny and soft=/=unathletic.

Your last comment is vague. If you think soccer takes more skill than baseball, then I don't know what to say. The reason the game is so popular in the 3rd world is because of its relative cheap cost to play and ridiculously low learning curve.

I'm a fan of all the major North American sports about equally, but baseball has the highest barrier to entry of them all. Bo Jackson, maybe the greatest all around athlete of the 80's and 90's, was a baseball player first, thought of football as a hobby, but was better at the latter. Danny Ainge was a middling baseball player, went into the NBA, and became a borderline all-star. Deion Sanders was just an average baseball player. The game humbled Jordan, etc.

[Mitch]

That exactly my point. Posting those pics is satirizing soccer fans' re ed idea that physique betrays skill or athleticism. Fat=/=unathletic as much as skinny and soft=/=unathletic.

Your last comment is vague. If you think soccer takes more skill than baseball, then I don't know what to say. The reason the game is so popular in the 3rd world is because of its relative cheap cost to play and ridiculously low learning curve.

I'm a fan of all the major North American sports about equally, but baseball has the highest barrier to entry of them all. Bo Jackson, maybe the greatest all around athlete of the 80's and 90's, was a baseball player first, thought of football as a hobby, but was better at the latter. Danny Ainge was a middling baseball player, went into the NBA, and became a borderline all-star. Deion Sanders was just an average baseball player. The game humbled Jordan, etc.

Ah maybe I should have worded it better, I meant soccer requires more athleticism. Stickball is closer to golf in my eyes, but somewhat more athletic. I'd disagree that it had the highest barrier of entry, anybody might be able to pick up a golf club and enter a contest, but at a professional level there are far less compe ive golfers than stickball players.

[spurraider21]

Bo Jackson, maybe the greatest all around athlete of the 80's and 90's, was a baseball player first, thought of football as a hobby, but was better at the latter. Danny Ainge was a middling baseball player, went into the NBA, and became a borderline all-star. Deion Sanders was just an average baseball player. The game humbled Jordan, etc.

yes and i'm sure there are plenty of baseball players that would suck in the NBA too

[Darth_Pelican]

Speaking of Beisbol playoffs, the Astros are in the process of a chokejob; up 6-2 to close out the series in the 8th, and now it's 6-6.

[baseline bum]

LOL now it's 9-6 Royals.

[apalisoc_9]

That exactly my point. Posting those pics is satirizing soccer fans' re ed idea that physique betrays skill or athleticism. Fat=/=unathletic as much as skinny and soft=/=unathletic.

Your last comment is vague. If you think soccer takes more skill than baseball, then I don't know what to say. The reason the game is so popular in the 3rd world is because of its relative cheap cost to play and ridiculously low learning curve.

I'm a fan of all the major North American sports about equally, but baseball has the highest barrier to entry of them all. Bo Jackson, maybe the greatest all around athlete of the 80's and 90's, was a baseball player first, thought of football as a hobby, but was better at the latter. Danny Ainge was a middling baseball player, went into the NBA, and became a borderline all-star. Deion Sanders was just an average baseball player. The game humbled Jordan, etc.

This is not true at all. We've seen baseball players and other sports start out in their teens and still make the pros..

you xan not do this in futbol..Heck even if you start young, you won't make it unless you join an academy at around 5-7 years old.

making an argument for learning curve in favour of baseball over futbol

[Clipper Nation]

This is not true at all. We've seen baseball players and other sports start out in their teens and still make the pros..

Most of those guys are lying about their age and come from countries that aren't exactly the most reliable when it comes to birth certificates/do entation.

you xan not do this in futbol..Heck even if you start young, you won't make it unless you join an academy at around 5-7 years old.

Which is ing creepy and makes Little League parents look sane.

[Biernutz]

Beisbol players shake hands after they score ...Kickball players ...just a little creepy

[midnightpulp]

This is not true at all. We've seen baseball players and other sports start out in their teens and still make the pros..

you xan not do this in futbol..Heck even if you start young, you won't make it unless you join an academy at around 5-7 years old.

making an argument for learning curve in favour of baseball over futbol

Miroslav Klose worked as a builder and brick-layer before starting football, and while playing at FC Homburg at the ages of 19-20 (who were in the 5th division of Germany when he played) in 1999. After this initial phase of developing his foundations, his talents were fully fledged and demonstrated suddenly and dramatically on the world stage at the World Cup 2002, where he claimed the Golden Boot.

Didier Drogba for example. He signed his first pro contract when he was 21.
Wikipedia: “Former Le Mans coach Marc Westerloppe later remarked that “it took Didier four years to be capable of training every day and playing every week”. Furthermore, Drogba’s complicated family life meant that he had never attended a football academy and only began daily football training as a fully grown adult.

http://www.nickhumph.com/2011/11/05/.../#.Vhwka3pVhBc

To be sincere for a moment, modern training methods in EVERY sport are so efficient now, that a person blessed with world class athleticism and hand eye coordination along with a good work ethic, can pretty much be a professional at anything, even if he starts relatively later.

[apalisoc_9]

Most of those guys are lying about their age and come from countries that aren't exactly the most reliable when it comes to birth certificates/do entation.


Which is ing creepy and makes Little League parents look sane.

Most countries are poor as fuk..they'd do anything to give their kids an edge in third world countries even if it means forcing them into academies.

It is what it is...It's exactly why it's one sport America has trouble dominating despite the major advantage they have in terms of facilities and money because parents Europe an South America don't believe in the BS "Kids should always only enjoy the childhood"..you countries like Argentina, ukraine being good at this sport for this sole reason...They allow their kids to grow up in academies. I realize that sounds brutal and abuse to the average North Americans but believe it or not, the kids do enjoy it.

[apalisoc_9]

http://www.nickhumph.com/2011/11/05/.../#.Vhwka3pVhBc

To be sincere for a moment, modern training methods in EVERY sport are so efficient now, that a person blessed with world class athleticism and hand eye coordination along with a good work ethic, can pretty much be a professional at anything, even if he starts relatively later.

Working 2nd jobs isn't the same as only started playing the sport in their teens.

That's different than your average American story..Started this sport in HS.

I repeat, you can not be a pro if in futbol if you're not doing moves at age 5-7...

I doubt you can say the same thing about most american sports..or most sports for that matter...Save maybe for Hockey.

Drogba and klose have been playing the sport since they were kids...like age 5 and shi

[DAF86]

Moving the goal posts much? First, it was "baseball players aren't athletes!" I demonstrated to you that 3 positions in baseball require not just good athleticism, but world class athleticism near or on the level of NFL wide receivers and that players at those positions are overall more athletic than soccer players. And all infield positions aside from first base and catcher require a great deal of athleticism, coordination, and quickness. You can't seem to wrap your mind around the fact that different positions require different attributes. What you're doing is like me citing a goalie as an example of the general athleticism of soccer players.


Instead of that, let's have a decathlon. Something that measures all the core athletic traits. The Kansas City Royals starting 9 plus Dyson (who has sprinter speed) would decimate Real Madrid. Only event the soccer team would win would be the 1500. The baseball team would have the fastest sprinters, the faster hurdlers, and would sweep the shot put and Javelin by a ridiculous margin. I have no clue why you continue to prop up the athleticism of soccer players when real measurements show that Ronaldo, the best athlete the game has ever produced according to many, has subpar athletic traits compared to American Athletes, baseball included.

You're the one that doesn't seem to be getting the point. Nobody is saying that all the baseball players are fat and/or unathletic, we're just saying that for a "professional sport" baseball seems to have an awful big number of those type of "athletes". Whereas in futbol you just can't make it as a professional if you are not at an elite level of fitness.

Yeah, baseball might have some players that are faster than the fastest futbol player. But baseball also has a lot of players that are comically slow, so slow that even bums from the street could beat them in a sprint. You don't get that on futbol.

You literally said on "average" and if you get the speed average of every professional futbol player in the World it is clearly going to be better than the speed average of every professional baseball player in the World. Because every position in futbol requires a very high level of athleticism.

I deleted your pics for space reasons, but only Pujols (Cardinals era) and Cabrera could be considered "superstars." Don't know why you insist on posting Fielder. It was already proven that he's faster than Ronaldo

Cabrera has lost 5 steps since gaining weight. Here's his prime form (not fat):



And Pujols isn't fat. It's called "mass," something soccer players don't have, so I understand your confusion:

Are you seriously going to use the semantics card? David Ortiz isn't a superstar? OK, let's just say very good players then.

The MLB continues to take in record revenue and baseball continues to grow in its hot spots (Japan, South Korea, Caribbean, even growing in China). Oh, you're gonna link clickbait articles about "54 years old!" Too bad the real numbers, which can't be spun by journalists, don't support any of those opinions.

Still boring as and not as popular as it used to be.

[Mitch]

needing to defend stickball to prop up soccer

[midnightpulp]

Working 2nd jobs isn't the same as only started playing the sport in their teens.

That's different than your average American story..Started this sport in HS.

I repeat, you can not be a pro if in futbol if you're not doing moves at age 5-7...

I doubt you can say the same thing about most american sports..or most sports for that matter...Save maybe for Hockey.

Drogba and klose have been playing the sport since they were kids...like age 5 and shi

Link?

Kicking the ball around in the park as a kid isn't necessarily "playing." The text is there in black and white, detailing their soccer careers. They didn't get serious until later and still became professionals.

American sports are the same way. Every kid grows up casually playing baseball, football, or basketball. Some take it more seriously and enter the equivalent of academies for those sports. There's always exceptions, like Tim Duncan who came late to the game at 15, but no American kid is a stranger to any of those sports.

[apalisoc_9]

Mid posted something about baseball in Japan..While it;s true that it's still the number one sport there.

Futbol leagues in Japan only started in 1995 and futbol in general is called the "new generation" sport.

it's essential a major threat to beisbol as the older generations die out.

Name me a sport that can get this popular in a country that only started to have their pro league in 95...

[Raven]

That's soccer, tbh. The greatest athlete ever seen in soccer (Ronaldo) has athletic stats that are subpar by American sports standards, baseball included. Like most soccer players, he excels through his skill rather than athleticism. Yes, he does beat a lot of his opponents through his superior athletic ability, only because the "athletes" he's playing against are such .

When two midgets are the 1 and 2 best players of all time (Maradona, Messi), you know you have a skill game first, sport second.

who told you that tbh? It's not even close to be true...

[apalisoc_9]

Link?

Kicking the ball around in the park as a kid isn't necessarily "playing." The text is there in black and white, detailing their soccer careers. They didn't get serious until later and still became professionals.

American sports are the same way. Every kid grows up casually playing baseball, football, or basketball. Some take it more seriously and enter the equivalent of academies for those sports. There's always exceptions, like Tim Duncan who came late to the game at 15, but no American kid is a stranger to any of those sports.

Did you even read your own post?

Nothing in your link says they started playing ball late in their age...

We know in most sports this is achievable..Specially in Griderion.

[Raven]

Link?

Kicking the ball around in the park as a kid isn't necessarily "playing." The text is there in black and white, detailing their soccer careers. They didn't get serious until later and still became professionals.

American sports are the same way. Every kid grows up casually playing baseball, football, or basketball. Some take it more seriously and enter the equivalent of academies for those sports. There's always exceptions, like Tim Duncan who came late to the game at 15, but no American kid is a stranger to any of those sports.

i'm neutral here, but I can easily tell you that most of them start at 5-7 in a club i mean. It's practically unfathomable to start after 12.

[apalisoc_9]

Learning curve in favour of beisbol..

funniest I've read in a while.

[Clipper Nation]

Most countries are poor as fuk..they'd do anything to give their kids an edge in third world countries even if it means forcing them into academies.

It is what it is...It's exactly why it's one sport America has trouble dominating despite the major advantage they have in terms of facilities and money because parents Europe an South America don't believe in the BS "Kids should always only enjoy the childhood"..you countries like Argentina, ukraine being good at this sport for this sole reason...They allow their kids to grow up in academies. I realize that sounds brutal and abuse to the average North Americans but believe it or not, the kids do enjoy it.

Those "academies" sound like Jerry Sandusky's dream set-up, tbh. There's a reason why we're not copying third-world holes.

[midnightpulp]

You're the one that doesn't seem to be getting the point. Nobody is saying that all the baseball players are fat and/or unathletic, we're just saying that for a "professional sport" baseball seems to have an awful big number of those type of "athletes". Whereas in futbol you just can't make it as a professional if you are not at an elite level of fitness.

But there's not an "awful lot of those type" of players in baseball. Your lot keeps posting the same handful of players over and over. I can easily say that there seems to be an awful lot of skinny fat midgets in soccer and whereas in baseball, you can't make it as a professional when you look like you smoke crack everyday. See how that works? You're arbitrarily defining "athlete" as something that only people with less than 10% body fat are capable of being. Prince Fielder, a player you love posting pics of, can bench 405 pounds. That's not "athletic?"

Yeah, baseball might have some players that are faster than the fastest futbol player. But baseball also has a lot of players that are comically slow, so slow that even bums from the street could beat them in a sprint. You don't get that on futbol.

See above. Speed isn't the only form of athleticism. Sure, there's some bums off the street that could beat David Ortiz in a footrace, but it's not likely one of them would be stronger than him, could throw harder than him. I can easily apply that logic to soccer. "Soccer has a lot of players that are comically weak, so weak that you could take a bum off the street and he would beat him in a strongman contest." Like basketball, American football, baseball has certain positions where speed and leaping ability are necessary over strength and where strength is necessary over speed and leaping.

You literally said on "average" and if you get the speed average of every professional futbol player in the World it is clearly going to be better than the speed average of every professional baseball player in the World. Because every position in futbol requires a very high level of athleticism.

I stand by that. The 4th fastest player in world football runs a "comically slow" 4.7 40 yard dash. You seem to think because soccer players are "lean and shredded" they're automatically faster. I also stand by baseball players being stronger on average and being able to jump higher on average. Furthermore, just because a baseball player plays a "non-athletic" position like pitcher it doesn't mean he's not athletic.

Pat here was drafted as pitcher by the Orioles:



Meanwhile, Ronaldo is tearing it up with his 31" vert, leaving the commentators in "awe."

Are you seriously going to use the semantics card? David Ortiz isn't a superstar? OK, let's just say very good players then.

He isn't anymore. You posted a pic of past his prime Ortiz. He was a lot leaner when he was a superstar. Besides, fat=/=unathletic.



[/QUOTE]Still boring as and not as popular as it used to be.[/QUOTE]

Stats don't bear that out. Attendance is just as good as ever. If you're talking about television ratings, every sport (aside from Am. Football) isn't as "popular as it used to be" because there's more than 13 channels now.

I don't care if you find it boring. I totally understand that. If you didn't grow up with it, it's a hard game to come into. My issue is with the re ed arguments about athleticism put forth by soccer fans. They pretty much reduce it to stamina, which is the easiest thing to train for.

[td4mvp2k]

@ comparing footsie a sport for boys to a sport for men

would rather play tennis

[apalisoc_9]

So this beisbol? Honestly looks more like a taking contest to me...no wonder it's a dying a sport.

[apalisoc_9]

who poos first?