When (if ever) is it time to give up driving stick?

[Squint]

I used to work for U.S. Cellular back in the day and occasionally we got free tickets to the Sox games. I always gave the tickets to my friends who cared more than I did, but I went to a Sox game once with a bunch of friends. Ended up drunk and still didn't care what was going on.

The point of going to baseball games is for the people you go with interspersed with random game action. It's not the inverse (game plus random people interaction).

There is a reason there is a 7th inning stretch - and it's not for the players.

[Shadow]

I used to work for U.S. Cellular back in the day and occasionally we got free tickets to the Sox games. I always gave the tickets to my friends who cared more than I did, but I went to a Sox game once with a bunch of friends. Ended up drunk and still didn't care what was going on.

The point of going to baseball games is for the people you go with interspersed with random game action. It's not the inverse (game plus random people interaction).

There is a reason there is a 7th inning stretch - and it's not for the players.

Spoken like a non-fan. I go to plenty of baseball games and the focus is always the game for me. The overall experience is always a lot of fun, but like most fans, I watch the game. There's plenty of time between innings to look around.

[Squint]

I used to work for U.S. Cellular back in the day and occasionally we got free tickets to the Sox games. I always gave the tickets to my friends who cared more than I did, but I went to a Sox game once with a bunch of friends. Ended up drunk and still didn't care what was going on.

The point of going to baseball games is for the people you go with interspersed with random game action. It's not the inverse (game plus random people interaction).

There is a reason there is a 7th inning stretch - and it's not for the players.

Spoken like a non-fan. I go to plenty of baseball games and the focus is always the game for me. The overall experience is always a lot of fun, but like most fans, I watch the game. There's plenty of time between innings to look around.

There's a reason I'm a non-fan. I like actually having to move when I play sports.

And while I respect the individual duels between pitcher and batter, the finer points of coaching the details, and the (very) odd freak athlete moments, the game itself is way too long and slow. When someone can look like Prince Fielder (no hating on him, just pointing out an example) and call themselves an "athlete," it's a game that the lazy can play if their technique is good and they are strong.

[AHTOXA]

I had to look up who Prince Fielder was. My opinions on baseball are very much inline with Squint's.

[Shadow]

There's a reason I'm a non-fan. I like actually having to move when I play sports.

What does being a fan have to do with playing sports? Fans aren't playing the game.

BTW, have you ever played the game of baseball? At all? Little League, maybe?

And while I respect the individual duels between pitcher and batter, the finer points of coaching the details, and the (very) odd freak athlete moments, the game itself is way too long and slow. When someone can look like Prince Fielder (no hating on him, just pointing out an example) and call themselves an "athlete," it's a game that the lazy can play if their technique is good and they are strong.

I'm not so sure you actually understand the game of baseball. Guys like Prince Fielder and David Ortiz excel in the game of baseball for one reason--they are power hitters and they can smash home runs. That's instant offense, which is huge in a game like baseball (which is typically a low-scoring game) for any of the MLB teams. Think about it--what else do they bring to the table? They certainly don't have a lot of speed or particularly good throwing arms or great defense. They exist simply for their "instant" offense abilities. MLB pitchers are in the same boat. They normally can't hit worth a damn and they only exist to pitch. But are they athletes? Absolutely. If you want to bash a few baseball players, go right ahead....but take a look at some other sports like pro bowling or even golf to a certain extent. Hell, I think a beer belly is a prerequisite to become a pro bowler. Those guys consider themselves athletes, but I doubt they could sprint up a flight of stairs without getting winded. And lets not forget NFL lineman. They are all lardasses these days, over 300 lbs....but they are still athletes. Still, the point is that professional athletes are the best in their sports, despite their level of fitness or their appearance. If a guy like Prince Fielder couldn't contribute to a professional baseball team, he certainly wouldn't be earning $24 million salary from the Texas Rangers for 2014. He happens to have an ability to hit the ball in a way that is very rare, even among his pro baseball peers. His size/weight obviously isn't a detriment, similar to the size/weight of an NFL lineman. In fact, an argument can be made that guys his size have a power advantage compared to some of the smaller and more "fit" guys.

[Squint]

What does being a fan have to do with playing sports? Fans aren't playing the game.

True enough statement. At least for sports, however, I tend to like watching things I actually do/can enjoy doing even if I suck at them.

BTW, have you ever played the game of baseball? At all? Little League, maybe?

I did back in the day when I was much younger. Since then, I've umped several different leagues of baseball/softball and been invited to be an assistant girl's fastpitch coach. I turned that down because of time/pay. No, I don't profess to be a huge baseball nut nor do I know everything about it. I do know enough to understand the game.

I'm not so sure you actually understand the game of baseball. Guys like Prince Fielder and David Ortiz excel in the game of baseball for one reason--they are power hitters and they can smash home runs. That's instant offense, which is huge in a game like baseball (which is typically a low-scoring game) for any of the MLB teams. Think about it--what else do they bring to the table? They certainly don't have a lot of speed or particularly good throwing arms or great defense. They exist simply for their "instant" offense abilities. MLB pitchers are in the same boat. They normally can't hit worth a damn and they only exist to pitch. But are they athletes? Absolutely. If you want to bash a few baseball players, go right ahead....but take a look at some other sports like pro bowling or even golf to a certain extent. Hell, I think a beer belly is a prerequisite to become a pro bowler. Those guys consider themselves athletes, but I doubt they could sprint up a flight of stairs without getting winded. And lets not forget NFL lineman. They are all lardasses these days, over 300 lbs....but they are still athletes. Still, the point is that professional athletes are the best in their sports, despite their level of fitness or their appearance. If a guy like Prince Fielder couldn't contribute to a professional baseball team, he certainly wouldn't be earning $24 million salary from the Texas Rangers for 2014. He happens to have an ability to hit the ball in a way that is very rare, even among his pro baseball peers. His size/weight obviously isn't a detriment, similar to the size/weight of an NFL lineman. In fact, an argument can be made that guys his size have a power advantage compared to some of the smaller and more "fit" guys.

You'd be surprised at how fast some of those 300+ lb linemen can move. Most of your paragraph just reiterated my statement about being able to be strong and have some technique and be considered an athlete. For the record, I don't consider pro-bowlers athletes, even if I do respect their skill to do what they do. Related, I am not a fan of the argument about what is a sport or not, because it just depends on your metrics for whatever game/sport.

[Shadow]

You'd be surprised at how fast some of those 300+ lb linemen can move. Most of your paragraph just reiterated my statement about being able to be strong and have some technique and be considered an athlete. For the record, I don't consider pro-bowlers athletes, even if I do respect their skill to do what they do. Related, I am not a fan of the argument about what is a sport or not, because it just depends on your metrics for whatever game/sport.

Not surprised at all. A guy I know has a son who plays college football. He's more than 300 lbs and he's 6'4". He runs the 40 faster than most guys that are more than 100 lbs lighter.

But again, athleticism isn't just about being strong or having technique. It's much more than that. To try and simplify it like that is disrespectful to the athletes who excel that their sports. There are lots of guys out there playing various sports professionally and making tons of money doing it. Look at George Foreman. Remember when he came back to boxing as an old man and regained a heavyweight championship belt? Oh wait...he must have been strong and/or had some technique. Yeah, that must be it.

Look at the world's best marathon runners. Do you think a guy built like Prince Fielder could be among those top marathon runners? Of course not. But could one of those marathon runners hit a baseball like Prince Fielder? Of course not. That doesn't make him any less of an athlete than them.

[Squint]

Not surprised at all. A guy I know has a son who plays college football. He's more than 300 lbs and he's 6'4". He runs the 40 faster than most guys that are more than 100 lbs lighter.

But again, athleticism isn't just about being strong or having technique. It's much more than that. To try and simplify it like that is disrespectful to the athletes who excel that their sports. There are lots of guys out there playing various sports professionally and making tons of money doing it. Look at George Foreman. Remember when he came back to boxing as an old man and regained a heavyweight championship belt? Oh wait...he must have been strong and/or had some technique. Yeah, that must be it.

Look at the world's best marathon runners. Do you think a guy built like Prince Fielder could be among those top marathon runners? Of course not. But could one of those marathon runners hit a baseball like Prince Fielder? Of course not. That doesn't make him any less of an athlete than them.

This is a much better argument in favor of someone who appears out of shape (in any fashion) still be considered an athlete.

In regards to Foreman, I was 9 when he retired for a second time and have never been that big into boxing. Feel old yet?

[daleadbull]

You'd be surprised at how fast some of those 300+ lb linemen can move. Most of your paragraph just reiterated my statement about being able to be strong and have some technique and be considered an athlete. For the record, I don't consider pro-bowlers athletes, even if I do respect their skill to do what they do. Related, I am not a fan of the argument about what is a sport or not, because it just depends on your metrics for whatever game/sport.

Not surprised at all. A guy I know has a son who plays college football. He's more than 300 lbs and he's 6'4". He runs the 40 faster than most guys that are more than 100 lbs lighter.

But again, athleticism isn't just about being strong or having technique. It's much more than that. To try and simplify it like that is disrespectful to the athletes who excel that their sports. There are lots of guys out there playing various sports professionally and making tons of money doing it. Look at George Foreman. Remember when he came back to boxing as an old man and regained a heavyweight championship belt? Oh wait...he must have been strong and/or had some technique. Yeah, that must be it.

Look at the world's best marathon runners. Do you think a guy built like Prince Fielder could be among those top marathon runners? Of course not. But could one of those marathon runners hit a baseball like Prince Fielder? Of course not. That doesn't make him any less of an athlete than them.

I think the source of the disagreement comes from the definition of an athlete. This is what I think, sure every sports professional is considered an "athlete" but that does not mean they are all extremely "athletic". I considered myself more "athletic" than certain pro athletes like Prince Fielder etc.

I think the confusion lies with calling all sports professionals as "athletes". I don't consider Golfers, Bowlers etc. as athletes. To me being athletic involves a combination of strength, speed, quickness and leaping ability etc. For this reason I don't consider all professional sports players as "athletes" even though that seems to be the most commonly accepted term.

[tankinbeans]

Competitors seems to be a more general term that could save semantic disagreements.

Opinion from a noncompetitive tankinbeans has been opined.

[six]

So far... time to give up stick >>>> baseball/athleticism > ?

[Rope-Pusher]

Time to twist it up a bit more?

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”


― Ernest Hemingway