OT: How athletic are baseball players?
August 5th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
I don't watch baseball either, but I figured it was common knowledge that it's a skill game. Being able to run fast and jump high obviously doesn't hurt, but pure athleticism doesn't directly translate to hitting a baseball or turning a double play. Therefore, the average athleticism in baseball will tend to be lower than sports in which it does translate more directly.
August 5th, 2017 at 10:05 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 10:16 PM ^
Better to envision more of a continuum, where (given similar public interest and player incentives) the activities best facilitated by pure athleticism will tend to have the better athletes. Jumping straight to "therefore baseball players are like chess players" only makes sense if you think those activities have similar athletic requirements.
August 5th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 10:13 PM ^
I think if you look at it as skilled rather than athletic, baseball is higher than football, except maybe for QB and receivers. Baseball players are multi-faceted; they have to be able to throw accurately, catch a small ball whizzing at them at 100 mph, judge a fly ball and then make athletic moves to catch it, react quickly to a situation and know intuitively where the ball needs to go in a split second, hit a 100 mph fast ball and a 70 mph curveball (among others), and if you're a pitcher or catcher, you have a bunch of other skills like throwing different kinds of pitches over a small plate that's judged by an imperfect human and crouch down for the good part of three or four hours, bouncing up and throwing accurately in a split second. Basketball players, I think especially these days, are the most athletic of all.
August 5th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
Ignorant threads be ignorant.
August 5th, 2017 at 10:17 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 10:29 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 10:38 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 10:18 PM ^
Outfielders and 2nd and 3rd basemen and SS are almost always great overall athletes. Other positions? Mixed bag.
It's a known fact first basemen are the most athletic of them all. /sarc
Right field is a quirky position in that balls to that field off right-handed bats have weird flight patterns. It's ironic that in my youth the nerd (often me) was placed out in right field. Sure enough, some ball would come looping out that way looking like it would drop short, but in fact went sailing over my head. Then it was the lonely sprint to get the ball and the futile heave back ot the infield.
Ah ... memories. :-)
Not much needed at DH. Swing a bat 4 Xs a game, amble to the bases, await entry to HOF.
August 5th, 2017 at 10:18 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 10:21 PM ^
Baseball is predominantly a fine motor skill that utilizes more hand to eye coordination whereas football is predominantly a gross motor skill outside of kicker, punter, and QB. So, NFL players are more likely to be bigger, stronger, faster, jump higher, be more athletic than MLB players. There is of course always the exception as guys like Mike Trout, Yasiel Puig, Brynce Harper, and Giancarlo Stanton are pretty good athletes.
I can also attest from working in Division 1 & 2 athletics as an S&C coach that the football and hockey players were more athletic than the baseball players typically. Basketball is such a unique body type however, that they are harder to judge because the taller guys often aren't strong, fast, or jump particularly high. The guards and small forwards however tend to be quite athletic, but still not typically super strong.
August 5th, 2017 at 10:24 PM ^
The big heavy guys, not so much. They're just there to swing the big bats and are usually first basemen who just stand there waiting for someone to throw them the ball. The shortstops, 2nd basemen, some outfielders have a lot of athleticism.
August 5th, 2017 at 10:40 PM ^
gif show the next 2 seconds? The Asian kid in the back missed the whole thing.
August 5th, 2017 at 10:29 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 10:38 PM ^
that interviewed a bunch of strength and conditioning coaches and they ordered best athetes in the 4 major sports as
1. Basketball
2. Football
3. Baseball
4. Hockey
August 5th, 2017 at 10:50 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 11:15 PM ^
No way baseball players are stronger or more conditioned than hockey players.
were based on genetic athletic ability, if that makes sense. So they said that if you had a kid, he should play hockey to have the best chance of making it to the NHL because they have the least amount of genetic athletic ability, whereas, NBA players have the most.
August 5th, 2017 at 11:26 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 10:42 PM ^
August 6th, 2017 at 12:55 AM ^
If you go back 30 years, 300+ lbs linemen with even modest athelticism were considered freaks of nature, no one save for Nolan Ryan could hit 100 MPH, and the idea that your 6"10" power forward should be 3-point threat would have been considered laughable.
the idea that your 6"10" power forward should be 3-point threat would have been considered laughable
As memory serves, that was Magic Johnson's unique contribution -- he was a 6'8" guard in the days wen such a thing was thought impossible. It wasn't.
was not a very good outside shooter.
August 5th, 2017 at 11:04 PM ^
Wouldn't it depend on the position you're comparing?
For example a CF, 2B or SS compared to a kicker?
And what's your definition of athletic? Do you consider OL athletic?
August 5th, 2017 at 11:12 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 11:25 PM ^
Ah ... 1968 ... two Mickeys -- Lolich and Stanley.
Mickey Lolich won the 1968 series for the Tigers. Fantastic lefty for that series.
August 5th, 2017 at 11:38 PM ^
August 5th, 2017 at 11:54 PM ^
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August 6th, 2017 at 12:57 AM ^
If you can make any of the following plays, you can sit around talking about how "unathletic" you are.
Joe Theisman tells a story about how they used to put the football recruits on the basketball court to see if they could play. If they could, they considered the recruit to be a pretty good athlete.
I played football, baseball and basketball from the time I was a little squirt until I couldn't play anymore. It takes a heckuva lot of athleticism to excel at baseball. It's a really strange comparison in my opinion as how does one really measure and put a value on "athleticism"?
There are guys that can run and jump but don't know how to throw a baseball or look funny shooting a basketball. Are they athletic or not? I just don't think it's fair to say athletes of one sport are more athletic than athletes of another sport.
Suit and and play in a Big Ten baseball game, and then you will have your answer. Most of these players will not be good enough to play professionally.
Before you do though, stop drinking.
Review Michael Jordan story.
Baseball players on the whole are pretty athletic. You can find outliers, but don't kid yourself.
August 6th, 2017 at 11:54 AM ^
Baseball players are generally atheltic for the elements of baseball that require it; same with every other athlete. Soccer players are very athletic and talented, but they would probably look out of place on a basketball court. Outfielders and short-stops are usually pretty athletic and could probably translate those skills to WR or CB pretty well, but would be out of sorts at trying to block guys on the line.
August 6th, 2017 at 10:08 AM ^
Some are, many aren't.
August 6th, 2017 at 10:11 AM ^
The game has changed considerably. There are still a few specialists hanging around, e.g., designated hitters and pitchers who may lack speed or be a bit overweight; however, the vast majority of professional baseball players have outstanding strength and conditioning. I talk to the Class A kids in Florida as well as the management and staff for the Tigers, Twins and Red Sox. The kids are all top athletes in high school who chose baseball over other sports. The programs in place to build top-notch ballplayers are as impressive if not moreso than what I have seen in football and basketball. If you ever get a chance to see the MLB Channel's program on the San Francisco Giant's strength and conditioning program, it will blow you away. I believe it is called, "The Ten Percent" as only 1 of ten minor leaguers ever make it to the show.
BTW, 53 years old and still play competitive baseball with and against many former MLB, MiLB, college baseball and college and NFL football players. The football players aren't marvel athletes on a baseball field. They are mostly just strong.
Hitting a baseball is incredibly difficult and requires hand-eye coordination far beyond that required in any other sport.
August 6th, 2017 at 10:38 AM ^
I think you're just trying to say you find baseball boring.
August 6th, 2017 at 11:04 AM ^
For employees of my company to try out. This is a big company, I saw dozens of people try, very very few could get a pitch over 50 mph. My best was about 62 (weak stuff I know). and I tried many times to throw harder, faster to no avail. The next month my arm and shoulder were still sore and the guy who sits next to me said the same thing. Anyone who thinks pitchers (at least) aren't athletes is nuts.