Baseball much harder to play than basketball

[Chuck Millhuff]

What if the basketball came at you 90 MPH? It would knock even Jim Poteet out of West Texas. Of course few know that Jim was an outstanding highschool pole vaulter. As the ball came he could jump over it if his timing was good enough. Well I could go on but I shant.

[Jim Poteet]

What if the basketball came at you 90 MPH? It would knock even Jim Poteet out of West Texas. Of course few know that Jim was an outstanding highschool pole vaulter. As the ball came he could jump over it if his timing was good enough. Well I could go on but I shant.

Millhuff,

Is there strange stuff in the Olathe water today?

[Shea Zellweger]

What if the basketball came at you 90 MPH?

hmmmm, by that logic, I think tennis is even harder.

[Bill Morrison]

hmmmm, by that logic, I think tennis is even harder.

Or what about NASCAR or Indie car racing?
By the way, many many years ago, I played third base in a church softball game. Never again. Found out why it is often called the "hot corner"!

BILL

[Scott Moseley]

Or what about NASCAR or Indie car racing?
BILL

Bill is sitting behind a wheel with your foot on the accelarator doing left turns for two hours considered a sport?

[Benjamin Burch]

Bill is sitting behind a wheel with your foot on the accelarator doing left turns for two hours considered a sport?

lol. On a serious note, do you know what type of cardio condition these guys have to have? That much g-force on your heart for long of an extended period of time... Impressive.

[Steven Burton]

lol. On a serious note, do you know what type of cardio condition these guys have to have? That much g-force on your heart for long of an extended period of time... Impressive.

Not to mention the heat they have to endure for that length of time. As well as the handling of the car. Yes, they have racing slicks but that does no mean a car doing about 200 is not hard to handle. And for the record the average speed I last heard was about 180. But those suckers even with the restrictions on the motor can do well over 200 if they would let them loose. I mean for crying out loud they had them doing 220 back in the late 60's early 70's until the Hemi got outlawed and they got tighter on the restrictions.

[Steven Burton]

And I would say yes baseball is much harder than basketball. Have you ever tried to figure out the spin of the ball as it comes at you at about 90+ so you know where to swing your bat not to mention what kind of pitch it is. A curve or maybe a screwball then you have to swing with in about 1 second of deciding. And then you have to try to make contact with this fist sized ball to be able to run 90 feet to first base.

[Jim Poteet]

And I would say yes baseball is much harder than basketball. Have you ever tried to figure out the spin of the ball as it comes at you at about 90+ so you know where to swing your bat not to mention what kind of pitch it is. A curve or maybe a screwball then you have to swing with in about 1 second of deciding. And then you have to try to make contact with this fist sized ball to be able to run 90 feet to first base.

All sports are difficult to play at a highly skilled level.

[Shea Zellweger]

And I would say yes baseball is much harder than basketball. Have you ever tried to figure out the spin of the ball as it comes at you at about 90+ so you know where to swing your bat not to mention what kind of pitch it is. A curve or maybe a screwball then you have to swing with in about 1 second of deciding. And then you have to try to make contact with this fist sized ball to be able to run 90 feet to first base.

Again, following this line of reasoning makes tennis the most difficult sport in the world.
While said pitcher is required to throw from a predetermined location to another predetermined location, and not permitted to feint or fake in any way, a basketball defender must be prepared for his/her mark to shoot, pass, or dribble at any time. There is also a possibility for a screen to prevent the defender from following the ball- in baseball, that's catcher interference. The sports are very different, and require differing skill sets, but neither is harder than the other.

[Steven Burton]

Oh, I don't disagree at all. I would not want a 120 mph tennis ball flying at me. I was just answering the question as posed in the title.

[Benjamin Burch]

Again, following this line of reasoning makes tennis the most difficult sport in the world.
While said pitcher is required to throw from a predetermined location to another predetermined location, and not permitted to feint or fake in any way, a basketball defender must be prepared for his/her mark to shoot, pass, or dribble at any time. There is also a possibility for a screen to prevent the defender from following the ball- in baseball, that's catcher interference. The sports are very different, and require differing skill sets, but neither is harder than the other.

I disagree. i think that, in fact, it is more physically difficult to do those things, and Tennis may in fact be harder than baseball.
However, there is not as much spin on a tennis ball that needs to be picked up, and the speed conversions are technically different.

A tennis player has about .44 seconds to react to a 120mph serve, while a baseball player has about .46 seconds to react to a 90mph fastball. So, actually, the speeds play about the same. The tennis player, however, has an 85 square-inch flat surface with which to contact a 2.5'' ball while the baseball player has a 2.875'' rounded surface with which to contact a 2.875'' ball. Much more difficult. Not only is contact more difficult, but good contact is exponentially more difficult.

You want to talk difficult? Softball is where it's at. Everything is much faster than baseball. A batter has approximately .42 seconds, and has to contact a 3.8'' round ball with a 2.25" rounded surface, increasing the difficulty of solid contact exponentially further.

Softball is the ultimate.

[Jim Poteet]

I disagree. i think that, in fact, it is more physically difficult to do those things, and Tennis may in fact be harder than baseball.
However, there is not as much spin on a tennis ball that needs to be picked up, and the speed conversions are technically different.

A tennis player has about .44 seconds to react to a 120mph serve, while a baseball player has about .46 seconds to react to a 90mph fastball. So, actually, the speeds play about the same. The tennis player, however, has an 85 square-inch flat surface with which to contact a 2.5'' ball while the baseball player has a 2.875'' rounded surface with which to contact a 2.875'' ball. Much more difficult. Not only is contact more difficult, but good contact is exponentially more difficult.

You want to talk difficult? Softball is where it's at. Everything is much faster than baseball. A batter has approximately .42 seconds, and has to contact a 3.8'' round ball with a 2.25" rounded surface, increasing the difficulty of solid contact exponentially further.

Softball is the ultimate.

You're the expert.

[Craig Laughlin]

The tennis player, however, has an 85 square-inch flat surface with which to contact a 2.5'' ball while the baseball player has a 2.875'' rounded surface with which to contact a 2.875'' ball. Much more difficult. Not only is contact more difficult, but good contact is exponentially more difficult.

I think a tennis player might argue that the base ball has to be thrown into a extremely small area and that the batter gets to "set up" his/her stance and take a clean swing at the ball while the Tennis player has a whole court in which the ball can be placed and must therefore be defended additionally they have a much smaller area in which to land the ball. They also have to hit the ball while running full speed and calculating a much wider array of angles. Then must stop, change directions, sprint across the court and do it all over again, and again and again. By the end of the game they are continuing to do all of the above while physically and emotionally exhausted.

This is just a question, how much "time in" in a baseball game? I was told something like 10 minutes? That seems pretty small even for baseball.

[Kevin Rector]

You're all missing the point that the most difficult position in all of sport is none of the above - it is in fact the ice hockey goalie.

[Shea Zellweger]

I disagree. i think that, in fact, it is more physically difficult to do those things, and Tennis may in fact be harder than baseball.
However, there is not as much spin on a tennis ball that needs to be picked up, and the speed conversions are technically different.

A tennis player has about .44 seconds to react to a 120mph serve, while a baseball player has about .46 seconds to react to a 90mph fastball. So, actually, the speeds play about the same. The tennis player, however, has an 85 square-inch flat surface with which to contact a 2.5'' ball while the baseball player has a 2.875'' rounded surface with which to contact a 2.875'' ball. Much more difficult. Not only is contact more difficult, but good contact is exponentially more difficult.

You want to talk difficult? Softball is where it's at. Everything is much faster than baseball. A batter has approximately .42 seconds, and has to contact a 3.8'' round ball with a 2.25" rounded surface, increasing the difficulty of solid contact exponentially further.

Softball is the ultimate.

And both the baseball and softball player have ~2 square feet of space which they must defend. The tennis player has an area 27 feet wide, 39 feet long, and with no fixed height. Additionally, the opponent can put any number of hesitations or other feints into his/her swing- a pitcher cannot do this unless s/he feels like being called for a balk (or illegal pitch). It's a wash.

[Craig Laughlin]

You're all missing the point that the most difficult position in all of sport is none of the above - it is in fact the ice hockey goalie.

Yes, and maybe the craziest as well.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

I knew a guy who was drafted by both a MLB and NFL team. He picked baseball and I asked him why. His response was that football is a game of deception and confusion. The idea of both offense and defense is to confuse the other team. Baseball, he said is a game of execution. On any given play everyone knows what is to be done...seldom is confusion a factor. The challenge is in doing it perfectly, every time. That, I take it, appealed to him.

I don't know if that means that baseball is harder than football but I imagine it speaks to intelligence and focus.

[Benjamin Burch]

I think a tennis player might argue that the base ball has to be thrown into a extremely small area and that the batter gets to "set up" his/her stance and take a clean swing at the ball while the Tennis player has a whole court in which the ball can be placed and must therefore be defended additionally they have a much smaller area in which to land the ball. They also have to hit the ball while running full speed and calculating a much wider array of angles. Then must stop, change directions, sprint across the court and do it all over again, and again and again. By the end of the game they are continuing to do all of the above while physically and emotionally exhausted.

This is just a question, how much "time in" in a baseball game? I was told something like 10 minutes? That seems pretty small even for baseball.

I'm still pretty sure a good argument can be made for Tennis being the most difficult. However, while the baseball player has a much larger area in which to hit the ball, he has 8 defenders covering that area. So it's interesting.

I was simply commenting on the "speed" aspect. I wouldn't be bothered by someone arguing in favor of tennis. It's insane.

[Benjamin Burch]

I knew a guy who was drafted by both a MLB and NFL team. He picked baseball and I asked him why. His response was that football is a game of deception and confusion. The idea of both offense and defense is to confuse the other team. Baseball, he said is a game of execution. On any given play everyone knows what is to be done...seldom is confusion a factor. The challenge is in doing it perfectly, every time. That, I take it, appealed to him.

I don't know if that means that baseball is harder than football but I imagine it speaks to intelligence and focus.

Yea, the two simply cannot be compared in the least. Totally different. Football is immensely challenging and difficult mentally. The amount of plays and information each player must have memorized, be able to recall within 10 seconds, and be prepared to recognize a change on the fly within another 20 seconds, and process and prepare to execute that change - including positioning - within 5 seconds... is simply insane. All the while trying to figure out what your opponent is doing.

[Benjamin Burch]

And both the baseball and softball player have ~2 square feet of space which they must defend. The tennis player has an area 27 feet wide, 39 feet long, and with no fixed height. Additionally, the opponent can put any number of hesitations or other feints into his/her swing- a pitcher cannot do this unless s/he feels like being called for a balk (or illegal pitch). It's a wash.

No arguments with any of this. I am still partial to softball. It takes a real man to try to play that sport.

[Steven Burton]

Well are you talking slow pitch are fast pitch. If you are talking fast pitch than you are talking speed of over 100 mph due the natural motion of the arm. If you are talking slow pitch then you are still correct as it is harder to connect correctly with a ball that is falling at that angle.

[Benjamin Burch]

Well are you talking slow pitch are fast pitch. If you are talking fast pitch than you are talking speed of over 100 mph due the natural motion of the arm. If you are talking slow pitch then you are still correct as it is harder to connect correctly with a ball that is falling at that angle.

Fast pitch softball. Most pitchers throw around 65. Hurlers are throwing it 70-75. But 10mph jump from 40 feet is far more drastic than a 10mph jump at 78, or 60.5 feet.

[David Graham]

I would say yes baseball is much harder than basketball. Have you ever tried to figure out the spin of the ball as it comes at you at about 90+ so you know where to swing your bat not to mention what kind of pitch it is. A curve or maybe a screwball then you have to swing with in about 1 second of deciding. And then you have to try to make contact with this fist sized ball to be able to run 90 feet to first base.

Yes Steven, I agree wholeheartedly. I have played both Baseball (As a batter) and Cricket as an all rounder (i.e Fast Bowler and Openning Batsman) and its extremely difficult to hit a ball that is pitched at you at 60+ MPH or bowled at you in Cricket at 90+ MPH when it is curling in the air and in the case of cricket bouncing in an often an irregular angle off a pitch. You have only a fraction of a second to prepare the shot that you need to play (not to mention the moving of your feet and body in accordance with that shot or to avoid being hit by the ball.) As a Fast bowler who "hated" batsmen, I took great delight in bouncing the ball up at the batsman suddenly so that it hit them in the upper arm, torso or head (helmet), and thus made them uncomfortable about playing their "natural" run getting shots. That's not to say that top level basketball is easy either, only that a different set of hand/eye coordination skills are required.

As for tennis; in my late teens and early 20's, I played in "A" grade tennis competitions, when we had smaller diameter wooden framed racquets, and yet played a style of tennis that involved a lot more volleying on unpredictable grass courts than the game played now. Today's tennis matches are played on slower more predictable surfaces (clay or composite) with bigger racquets where the ball is hit much harder and with much less subtlety.... which "promotes" a more baseline style of tennis to be played. Sure the reaction times are quick, and yes there is some movement of the ball through the air, but when two baseliners are in action "slugging" it out in long drawn out contests, the greatest skill required is endurance rather than the all round court craft of the great players of former times.

[David Lyons]

What if the basketball came at you 90 MPH? It would knock even Jim Poteet out of West Texas. Of course few know that Jim was an outstanding highschool pole vaulter. As the ball came he could jump over it if his timing was good enough. Well I could go on but I shant.

Hmmm.... After thinking for a while, my response is that it depends on the level of competition. Good basketball players make around half of their shots in the NBA. Good (or great) Major League baseball players only get a hit one third of the time. However, a lot of good amateur baseball players get a hit two out of every three at bats. In amateur basketball, even good players still only make slightly more than half of their shots.

My conclusion is that I must agree with your assessment. Against quality competition, baseball is much harder to play than basketball.

[Steven Burton]

Fast pitch softball. Most pitchers throw around 65. Hurlers are throwing it 70-75. But 10mph jump from 40 feet is far more drastic than a 10mph jump at 78, or 60.5 feet.

So much for listening to baseball players talk about softball any more. Goes to show you how much they talk up softball.

[Benjamin Burch]

So much for listening to baseball players talk about softball any more. Goes to show you how much they talk up softball.

73mph from 40 feet gives the hitter .374 seconds to react, before the ball is past them. That's the equivalent of a baseball pitcher throwing a ball 110mph - something that has never happened.

Softball is much faster, and much more difficult. The biggest difficulty is the size of the bat-barrel in comparison to the size of the ball. It is easier to make contact, but very, very difficult to make good contact.

[Steven Burton]

They are getting close to that now. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...dspadres092410

[Benjamin Burch]

They are getting close to that now. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...dspadres092410

105 is not really "close" to 110. Again, there is also the dimensions of the ball and bat to contend with.

[Steven Burton]

105 is not really "close" to 110. Again, there is also the dimensions of the ball and bat to contend with.

While "close" is in the eye of the person talking. I will say looking at it from the 101 back in the 90's seem like a move closer to 110 to me.

[Benjamin Burch]

While "close" is in the eye of the person talking. I will say looking at it from the 101 back in the 90's seem like a move closer to 110 to me.

I don't think we'll ever get to 110, though. That simply doesn't seem humanly possible. Whereas 75-78 does seem possible in fast-pitch softball. 78 is something like 116.

[Steven Burton]

Well the mechanics of the arm might be holding use to 105. I wonder if it could be possible if they lift the steroid ban though. Let them build some serious strength. You don't even have to build crazy size just get the strength those drugs can provide.

[Shea Zellweger]

Well the mechanics of the arm might be holding use to 105. I wonder if it could be possible if they lift the steroid ban though. Let them build some serious strength. You don't even have to build crazy size just get the strength those drugs can provide.

In a sense, mechanics of the arm ARE holding us to 105, but more muscle wouldn't help the matter. This article details how pitchers are already throwing at the UCL breaking point. The amount of torque placed on a fastballer's UCL when throwing is pretty much at the maximum that particular ligament can handle before it breaks. It would be necessary to find a way to generate more energy without increasing torque, and that's not going to come from more muscle. There are ways the energy could be generated, but so far nobody has found a way to generate more energy in such a way that it would be a legal baseball pitch. So there is a limit of about 105-106 on MLB pitchers. The article does detail how 110 could be reached (Steven strassburg, pitching at maximum power in Denver, with a 30 mile wind at his back), but it doesn't reflect an increase in power generated, it's just a convergence of ideal conditions.

[Shea Zellweger]

While "close" is in the eye of the person talking. I will say looking at it from the 101 back in the 90's seem like a move closer to 110 to me.

those are just records for the fastest anyone's ever thrown in front of a radar gun. There have been multiple accounts of pitches thrown faster than 101. before the 90s. Also, although Usain Bolt is shattering records, I don't think anyone would say he's "closer" to the 8 second 100 meter dash... that's kind of the sort of thing we're talking about. The only real way for a legal pitch to crack 110 would be to have sufficient tailwind, and most organizations which keep "official" lists of speed records will disqualify scores accomplished with too much tail wind (it's like 2 mph for running)

[Steven Burton]

Well I was not really talking muscle but strength. The two are not the same. I could build strength but don't necessarily have to build muscle. And actually I would say he is getting closer, but I would use other runners in reference to his clocked time. It is all in how you view which is what I have been saying from the beginning.

[Shea Zellweger]

Well I was not really talking muscle but strength. The two are not the same.

No, the two are not the same, but strength or muscle, if you generate more than 80 Newton-meters of torque in your elbow, you are going to break your UCL, so my point stands.

And actually I would say he is getting closer, but I would use other runners in reference to his clocked time. It is all in how you view which is what I have been saying from the beginning.

Ok, but if the goal is not going to be reached, most people in the sports world would not refer to it as "getting closer." The term is generally used (at least in sports) in reference to approaching something which can eventually be reached. Nobody would refer to getting closer to a 111-yard kickoff return, because although the record is now something like 109 yards, 111 is impossible. It's just not the common use of the phrase.

[Steven Burton]

Lol, yes I understand that it is not the common use of the word. I never said I was being common. Beside common is well boring and dull. I wonder if we can find a way to strengthen the tendons and ligaments to make this possible.