Baseball is Not a Sport

[Locutus]

Of course it's not and George Carlin covered that angle pretty well.

Anyway, here's a new essay via Fark:

Why baseball has a problem connecting with modern audiences: "[It's] a deliberately slow-paced game conceived at a time when people thought having fun caused polio"


Baseball is not a sport. I classify it as a low-impact recreational activity like Pilates or yoga. It takes more athletic ability to work at the post office than it does to start for the Mets. I’m not saying everyone can make it in the big leagues. It takes a set of highly specialized skills to play baseball. The same could be said of being an accountant. Neither deserves to be televised. Fans in big-city markets consider baseball a worthwhile pastime in the same way people in third-world countries consider electricity to be magic. Just because you’re dazzled by something mundane doesn’t mean it deserves a three-hour block of programming on basic cable.

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Exploding Unicorn: Baseball is Not a Sport

 

[talloola]

I love baseball, I understand the sport from years of a big connection to both baseball and fastball,

and george carlin is hilarious,my favourite comedian, but that was just it, a spoof on baseball or

whatever he chose to do, and good for him, no one did it better.

If anyone thinks baseball isn't a sport, take another look, and know that it would take years of actually

playing, and the stragedy is deep, and interesting.

I didn't read the link, so whatever i'm missing, i'm missing, can't be bothered to stand around and

read, I have to get back to the garden, i'm just in for a little break.

If this isn't a serious dig at the game, then ignore my seriousness.

 

[Niflmir]

Baseball is indeed a sport.

I find it boring but I don't feel the need to deny that it is a sport.

 

[PoliticalNick]

I have to say it is a sport. You run, you swing, it uses a ball...

Now Poker? WTF??? When did poker become a sport? Why does it get sooo much time on sports networks? WTF is next, Tiddly Winks???

 

[Locutus]

Chess, darts, pool, spelling bees...they're all so exciting.

 

[Tonington]

If changing your footwear improves your performance, it's a sport.

 

[shadowshiv]

I have to say it is a sport. You run, you swing, it uses a ball...

Now Poker? WTF??? When did poker become a sport? Why does it get sooo much time on sports networks? WTF is next, Tiddly Winks???

It's all about the ratings. When it was huge a few years ago(not sure if it still is), the various Poker shows were probably ratings bonanzas from the stations.. At least I think that was the reason it was on so much.

 

[damngrumpy]

You're kidding right? Baseball is not my favourite but it is a sport and a good one

 

[gopher]

I coached baseball for 20 years. Anyone who thinks it's not a sport needs to get their heads examined. It's not the same game it was back in the 1960s - back then and before it was far more fast paced and games were concluded in 90 minutes or so. Commercialization is what has caused the lords of the game to prolong each match to three hours or more. Money talks and you know what else walks.

 

[gopher]

There was some talk in local radio about how the World Series no longer gets as much and as fervent nationwide attention as is used in the past. As usual, people complain about the excessively slow pace of the game and the endless commercials. Small wonder why there is so little talk of it nowadays.

 

[Kreskin]

There was some talk in local radio about how the World Series no longer gets as much and as fervent nationwide attention as is used in the past. As usual, people complain about the excessively slow pace of the game and the endless commercials. Small wonder why there is so little talk of it nowadays.

I heard the average world series game used to up 40 or 50 million viewers. Noe it's about 12. Tonight being game 7 will get 15-20. They say the lockout and steroids scandals have a lot to with people losing interest. Records don't mean as much to the ardent fan anymore.

Baseball is a very statistically oriented game. Now the stats mean very little.

 

[Cannuck]

If you don't like it, don't watch it.

 

[gopher]

I heard the average world series game used to up 40 or 50 million viewers. Noe it's about 12. Tonight being game 7 will get 15-20. They say the lockout and steroids scandals have a lot to with people losing interest. Records don't mean as much to the ardent fan anymore.

Baseball is a very statistically oriented game. Now the stats mean very little.

Amazing how so many tv programs today and college football games have much higher viewerships that the World Series! During my youth in NY people were utterly enthralled by the WS. Now, no more. So sad that the game we cherished so much has been polluted by money and commercialization. That's why I have missed the entire Series.

 

[Kreskin]

I saw my first live game this year when we were in San Francisco. It was a lot of fun.

 

[gopher]

I went to a number of high school games during the Spring - as always, it's great fun.

But it's been years since I've been to a pro game. I've been invited to attend one or two games in recent years but have likely attended my last one and have no further interest in the game I cherished so much in the past. Interestingly, I still do post on a nostalgic baseball website but only to talk of the game's past, not its present.

 

[Kreskin]

Gopher, what turned you off from it? I know you said money and commercialization, but in what aspect?

 

[Praxius]

Baseball is indeed a sport.

I find it boring but I don't feel the need to deny that it is a sport.

Baseball is as much a sport as Golf, Darts, Bowling and Curling.

I think the difference is that the above are fun to play, but boring as snot to watch.

Mind you, I played Curling for a year or two in my senior high school years.... didn't care for it before, then I started playing and enjoyed it. But it's still boring to watch.

The teams on TV over think what to do too much. They just stand there debating what should be done. There's the stones, that's how they're laid out.... you have two good options, pick one and toss the damn thing.

 

[Kreskin]

I enjoy watching golf and curling.

 

[darkbeaver]

It's an OK game but the full potential of the clubs has never been capitalized upon. A little blood would quicken the pulse a bit.

The rules need to be revamped to reflect the era. The bat should be carried around the bases to ward of ball attacks, and the player would not be counted out unless he was carried off the infield.

 

[gopher]

Gopher, what turned you off from it? I know you said money and commercialization, but in what aspect?

The excessive length of the games due to commercials, interviews, non-baseball chatter by the tv commentators. Back in the day we had one announcer for tv, one for radio. Today, they have three commentators for both media. Three commentators who all seem intent on getting in the last word on every play or possible matter that takes place on or off the field. Endless chatters, much of which doesn't even involve the game itself.

In the 1963 World Series the average length of a game was only 2 hours. In the 1908 Series it was merely 1 hour, 26 minutes. This is the way the game was meant to be played.

Back in the 1960s when I played (mind you it was a 7 inning amateur game) the average length of a game was 70 minutes. When we had one of those rare 9 inning games it may have lasted 90 minutes, possibly close to two hours. Our 7 inning double headers were over in three hours or less as some of our games only lasted an hour or slightly longer.

With baseball, players stand around and do too little action, the majority of which is on the pitching mound. The game is just too boring to have people standing around doing virtually nothing for three to four hours like they do today. Yes, baseball is still a sport involving much physical strength, great skill, speed, and strategy. I know as I played and coached it for enough years. But the fun has largely been taken out of it. And that's why I no longer watch the World Series and why the tv audience is so much smaller and the WS is culturally far less significant in our society than it used to be.




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