Baseball, Football,and Basketball. Athletic Ability

[sportsjunkie]

I had a discuss with my partner last night about sports and athletic ability. He says it dont take atheltic ability to play baseball and it such a easy sport. Basketball, football players can play baseball with ease because they so athletic. i didnt go in a debate with him becausae he wouldnt understand my point of view.

In my opinion it does take athletic ability to play baseball. Micheal Jordan couldnt make the transition.


Let's Discuss

 

[mez 0ne]

Michael Jordan couldn't make the transition because he couldn't hit, which is a skill and has nothing to do with athletic ability.

You don't need to be a top athlete to play baseball, so many out of shape guys who can rake are in the league (and pitchers mind you).

Not even comparable.

 

[oasis]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Michael Jordan couldn't make the transition because he couldn't hit, which is a skill and has nothing to do with athletic ability.

You don't need to be a top athlete to play baseball, so many out of shape guys who can rake are in the league (and pitchers mind you).

Not even comparable.

THIS
For that reason, baseball is the hardest sport to play.

 

[sportsjunkie]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Michael Jordan couldn't make the transition because he couldn't hit, which is a skill and has nothing to do with athletic ability.

You don't need to be a top athlete to play baseball, so many out of shape guys who can rake are in the league (and pitchers mind you).

Not even comparable.

Bro, you have to be in Top condition/shape to be a pitcher.  Its more to being a pitcher than just throwing. BTW Micheal Jordan was a terrible outfielder to.

  

 

[rashi]

Originally Posted by SportsJunkie

I had a discuss with my partner last night about sports and athletic ability. He says it dont take atheltic ability to play baseball and it such a easy sport. Basketball, football players can play baseball with ease because they so athletic. i didnt go in a debate with him becausae he wouldnt understand my point of view.

In my opinion it does take athletic ability to play baseball. Micheal Jordan couldnt make the transition.


Let's Discuss

Your friend is a %!%@*** moron.

 

[p mac one]

If your friend really thinks baseball is easy and that other sport athletes can play it with ease then you should either introduce your friend to the sport of baseball, or find new friends to discuss sports with.

 

[snkrfrk]

Originally Posted by SportsJunkie

Basketball, football players can play baseball with ease because they so athletic.

If that's the case then why don't they? Seems like Baseball is where the moneys at..

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

Hitting is all about skill? Oh.

 

[madj55]

You don't have to be the greatest athlete to play baseball, but your hand eye coordination has to be top notch. Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in all of sports.

 

[DeadsetAce]

Originally Posted by dreClark

Hitting is all about skill? Oh.

 

[trelvis tha thrilla]

Originally Posted by dreClark

Hitting is all about skill? Oh.

Dudes dont know how hard it is to hit a baseball being thrown at you 90 mph with movement.

It takes athleticism, timing, hand/eye coordination, patience, etc....more than just a "skill"

 

[joegolfdad]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Michael Jordan couldn't make the transition because he couldn't hit, which is a skill and has nothing to do with athletic ability.

You don't need to be a top athlete to play baseball, so many out of shape guys who can rake are in the league (and pitchers mind you).

Not even comparable.

Not true at all. Hand-eye coordination isn't a part of athletic ability? Bat Speed? C'mon now

 

[Retroballer]

I mean it does take skill to hit a baseball. The fact that's a totally different skill though. All sports take athletic ability, the ability differs from sport to sport. Hitting is the one skill that you have to keep the sharpest, that's why it's so hard. It changes from pitch to pitch. You have a spilt second to read and react. But just because they are ripped, doesn't mean they arent in shape

 

[mez 0ne]

Originally Posted by SportsJunkie

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Michael Jordan couldn't make the transition because he couldn't hit, which is a skill and has nothing to do with athletic ability.

You don't need to be a top athlete to play baseball, so many out of shape guys who can rake are in the league (and pitchers mind you).

Not even comparable.

Bro, you have to be in Top condition/shape to be a pitcher.  Its more to being a pitcher than just throwing. BTW Micheal Jordan was a terrible outfielder to.

So guys like CC and David Wells are guys you consider in top shape as a pitcher. There are positions in baseball that require you to be athletic such as SS or CF (or at least be able to field your position), but there have historically been out of shape players plugged in at first base. Pitchers just have to rest, hone their pitching arm with stretches and exercises, and have consistency during bullpen sessions, they are not required to be athletic in all areas to be successful.
Hand eye coordination, bat speed, repetitions, how does that even compare with athletic ability of a sport like football which consists on strength, endurance, speed, physical contact etc? Hitting is an extremely difficult skill that not everyone can do, I don't see how that makes you an "athlete". Albert Pujols has one of the slower recorded bat speeds compared to the MLB average and is one of the great hitters of the game (he is athletic of course), but point is hitting is about skill, early pitch recognition, good coordination and technique using their hips as opposed to upper body strength to drive the ball.

You're friend is wrong about baseball being easy or not requiring ANY ability, but when you compare the other two sports its not even comparable in terms of what is required out of your body..... and I am a huge baseball fan. It also depends how you want to define "athlete".

 

[sportsjunkie]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Originally Posted by SportsJunkie

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Michael Jordan couldn't make the transition because he couldn't hit, which is a skill and has nothing to do with athletic ability.

You don't need to be a top athlete to play baseball, so many out of shape guys who can rake are in the league (and pitchers mind you).

Not even comparable.

Bro, you have to be in Top condition/shape to be a pitcher.  Its more to being a pitcher than just throwing. BTW Micheal Jordan was a terrible outfielder to.

So guys like CC and David Wells are guys you consider in top shape as a pitcher. There are positions in baseball that require you to be athletic such as SS or CF (or at least be able to field your position), but there have historically been out of shape players plugged in at first base. Pitchers just have to rest, hone their pitching arm with stretches and exercises, and have consistency during bullpen sessions, they are not required to be athletic in all areas to be successful.
Hand eye coordination, bat speed, repetitions, how does that even compare with athletic ability of a sport like football which consists on strength, endurance, speed, physical contact etc? Hitting is an extremely difficult skill that not everyone can do, I don't see how that makes you an "athlete". Albert Pujols has one of the slower recorded bat speeds compared to the MLB average and is one of the great hitters of the game (he is athletic of course), but point is hitting is about skill, early pitch recognition, good coordination and technique using their hips as opposed to upper body strength to drive the ball.

You're friend is wrong about baseball being easy or not requiring ANY ability, but when you compare the other two sports its not even comparable in terms of what is required out of your body..... and I am a huge baseball fan. It also depends how you want to define "athlete".

Bro, you have to be in shape to play any position in baseball.  Being  first base aqcuires athletic ability esp with dealing with all the bad throws from the 3B,SS and 2nd. You have to jump and get the ball. go down in the dirt and get it, and also make defensive plays over there.

Pitchers have to play defense to. For Ex; the batter bunts a ball over by the 3rd base line. The 3rd basement cant get to it. the catcher cant even get to it.. The Pithcer is the closes person to the ball. you have to run off the mound and throw across your body to get the runner at first base.

 Baseball requires tons of speed, esp for base running, stealing bases and running to track down a ball thats hit deep in the outfield. Being a pitcher requires endurance.  I assume Matt Keep, Pujols, Prince Fielder and etc dont use some sort of power to  drill a baseball deep  out the park.  I assume you never saw a catcher get run over at home plate or a batter get beam by a pitch "Physical Contact"

If you never played baseball, you wouldnt understand.

 

[mez 0ne]

SportsJunkie wrote:

Bro, you have to be in shape to play any position in baseball.  Being  first base aqcuires athletic ability esp with dealing with all the bad throws from the 3B,SS and 2nd. You have to jump and get the ball. go down in the dirt and get it, and also make defensive plays over there.

Pitchers have to play defense to. For Ex; the batter bunts a ball over by the 3rd base line. The 3rd basement cant get to it. the catcher cant even get to it.. The Pithcer is the closes person to the ball. you have to run off the mound and throw across your body to get the runner at first base.

 Baseball requires tons of speed, esp for base running, stealing bases and running to track down a ball thats hit deep in the outfield. Being a pitcher requires endurance.  I assume Matt Keep, Pujols, Prince Fielder and etc dont use some sort of power to  drill a baseball deep  out the park.  I assume you never saw a catcher get run over at home plate or a batter get beam by a pitch "Physical Contact"


You obviously have a different definition of "athleticism" if you consider those things requiring any athletic ability.
Baseball does NOT require tons of speed though, base stealing is NOT a necessity either. You're bringing up things that would be great to have out of every single player because you want everyone to be fast and you want everyone to steal bases, but not everyone does those things and are able to excel at the MLB level because they can hit. There are a lot of slow players playing out of position in the outfield at the Major League level, and there are some fast quick agile outfielders......and how often does a player even run over a catcher nowadays as if that's something that occurs on a daily basis? 
Not everyone is an athlete like Johan Santana who can field his position well as a pitcher, a lot of them don't even lift weights or show up to camp over-weight (and stay over-weight).

 

[ooiron manoo]

This is one of the dumbest arguments you can have with a casual fan because they will always use the fattest baseball player and compare him to the most in shape basketball/football player.  

You think CC and David Wells woke up throwing 90mph?  

.  C'mon bro, you are way better than that.

Was Kevin Durant out of shape because he couldn't lift 135lb's?

Are offensive lineman out of shape because they have big bellies?

It's a stupid argument, all sports take a combination of skill and athletic ability to play on the professional level otherwise anyone can make it and obviously not everyone does.

That's all I'll say, athleticism is more than just "speed" and in baseball you really don't need it just like you really don't have to be strong to play basketball.

The majority of baseball players are in crazy shape, are there fat guys, of course but those are the guys that rely on their natural athletic ability 

 

[Nawzlew]

It's not that baseball requires more athletic ability, it's just that some positions require you to be more athletic than others, just like with football and basketball.

 

[ooiron manoo]

You can apply that statement to all sports across the board.

 

[DeadsetAce]

not even considering their arms, pitchers' LEGS are in phenomenal shape. you don't throw mid 90s without very powerful legs. and just cause dudes have guts don't mean they're not in shape or conditioned. OL and DL while fat are still conditioned. 

 

[mez 0ne]

Now I'm a casual fan....oh.

Again, it varies with one's argument on what you mean by "athleticism"...my 2nd post goes more in depth.

 

[durden7]

Originally Posted by Trelvis Tha Thrilla

Originally Posted by dreClark

Hitting is all about skill? Oh.

Dudes dont know how hard it is to hit a baseball being thrown at you 90 mph with movement.

It takes athleticism, timing, hand/eye coordination, patience, etc....more than just a "skill"

It's more of a skill than it is anything else though.

 

[DeadsetAce]

Originally Posted by Durden7

Originally Posted by Trelvis Tha Thrilla

Originally Posted by dreClark

Hitting is all about skill? Oh.

Dudes dont know how hard it is to hit a baseball being thrown at you 90 mph with movement.

It takes athleticism, timing, hand/eye coordination, patience, etc....more than just a "skill"

It's more of a skill than it is anything else though.

just like shooting a basketball and dribbling, right?

 

[mez 0ne]

Originally Posted by DeadsetAce

Originally Posted by Durden7

Originally Posted by Trelvis Tha Thrilla


Dudes dont know how hard it is to hit a baseball being thrown at you 90 mph with movement.

It takes athleticism, timing, hand/eye coordination, patience, etc....more than just a "skill"

It's more of a skill than it is anything else though.

just like shooting a basketball and dribbling, right?

Yeah, but you are at the batters box by yourself trying to read a pitch and react accordingly, and putting your hand eye coordination to use to drive the pitch to the best of your ability.
Shooting and dribbling in traffic vs 5 defenders in your face with contact (unless you're the Bobcats) and creating space...all while running and using quick instincts and reacting accordingly, running plays...... is a bit of a difference don't you think?

Not saying one or the other is more difficult but you can't compare both instances when it involves different external situations, one demands more out of your body

 

[DeadsetAce]

i'll give you the "no running" part...but there is more instinct and reaction involved than you're giving credit for...in fact, i'd say reaction time is greater (meaning quicker) when hitting.

nice dig @ the bobcats btw