Does anyone else think baseball is boring? EDIT: Apparently very few!

[sohcrates]

I got back late last night from an Oriole's vs. Red Sox game in Baltimore that my company sponsored a bus trip to.

Basically, it was just an excuse to get all the free beer and hot dogs we could (part of the package deal)

Anyway, MAN, baseball is boring. I thought at least being at the stadium would be cool, and it sorta was, but there was very little emotion!

Let's not get started on baseball on TV, cause that really drags....

Don't get me wrong, to each his own, I just was sitting there through 9 innings last night trying to stay awake!!

(then again, both teams kinda suck)

edit: my grammar = suck

 

[gopunk]

baseball is an acquired taste, imo.

 

[Fausto]

It's like almost any other sport: it's boring if you don't understand it beyond the basics. Golf, auto racing (other than the crashes), tennis, etc are all the same deal.

Try going to see a game with someone really knowledgeable and see if it changes your opinion at all.

Fausto

 

[glen]

really really really boring

 

[StageLeft]

Yeah I absolutely abhor it but then I detest thouroughly the vast majority of team sports. I'd much rather watch something like america's cup or eco-challenge or tour de france or something like that.

It's because my father doesn't like them so as kids my brothers and I were never really introduced to them. I predict with certainty that my kids won't like these sports either.

 

[Arschloch]

If you think baseball is boring, then you probably aren't paying close enough attention.

 

[Spooner]

<< (then again, both teams kinda suck) >>


SAY WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? Now I KNOW you're not saying the Red Sox are not a good team. I'm with Fausto, if you generally don't know anything about the game, the rivalries, the traditions, and stats and such... it may seem pretty boring. If you live around the Boston area.... baseball is KING! It's a lifestyle really. Our stadium (good ol' Fenway) is in the heart of the city with bars, people and fun all around. there's nothing like a sunday afternoon game with beer and sausage dogs at fenway.



Baseball rules

 

[Arschloch]

<< Yeah I absolutely abhor it but then I detest thouroughly the vast majority of team sports. I'd much rather watch something like america's cup or eco-challenge or tour de france or something like that.

It's because my father doesn't like them so as kids my brothers and I were never really introduced to them. I predict with certainty that my kids won't like these sports either. >>


Don't be so sure about that. Neither of my parents are baseball fans OR sports fans, and yet I work for a baseball team.

 

[FoBoT]

i used to , but after i moved to atlanta and went to a couple of braves games, and listened/watched most of their games , it grew on me, kinda like a fungus , i guess

 

[boolerboy]

Baseball is as entertaining as watching paint dry.

 

[sohcrates]

<< Now I KNOW you're not saying the Red Sox are not a good team. >>



I was waiting for the Boston crew to chime in

I have to admit, there were more red sox fans than baltimore fans there last night, and they made a LOT more noise

I give ya'll big props, it rules that you can stand behind a pro sports team, it seems very few cities can

 

[AdamDuritz99]

The most exciting thing about baseball is the peanut man.

peace
sean

 

[vi edit]

BORING - that spells baseball

But, I find just about any sport boring to watch. I'm more of a participant type of person than a spectator type.

 

[MazerRackham]

<< It's like almost any other sport: it's boring if you don't understand it beyond the basics. Golf, auto racing (other than the crashes), tennis, etc are all the same deal.

Try going to see a game with someone really knowledgeable and see if it changes your opinion at all.

Fausto >>



I agree... baseball is a great sport, but it's always better to go with someone who can explain what's really going on. That's why I also LOVE watching Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN with Joe Morgan. Now that's a GREAT show....

 

[ElFenix]

number 1 tip for seeing baseball in person: bring a mini radio and listen to the guys there. they'll start telling you about all sorts of things interesting about the game, whats happening in it, the players, and other tidbits. baseball announcers probably have the hardest job in radio because they have to fill in so much downtime on topic. your regular AM radio host can bounce around to pretty much anything he wants. baseball guys have to talk about the game. most other announcers have a bit more action to talk about.


soccer announcers are the worst. every game i've ever seen the announcer (a brit) barely said anything. and theres only one of them so its not like you have a color guy reading off statistics and history.

 

[SyahM]

yes, for me it's a boring sports.

 

[Dedpuhl]

Love playing baseball

Like watching baseball on TV

HATE going to baseball games (pro)....they are just WAY too boring in person

 

[Instagib]

Yes it is very boring.

 

[Fausto]

<< I agree... baseball is a great sport, but it's always better to go with someone who can explain what's really going on. That's why I also LOVE watching Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN with Joe Morgan. Now that's a GREAT show.... >>


Agreed. Good announcers will really help you understand the game. In any given situation during a baseball game there are always about 20 subplots going on beyond guy-throw-ball-guy-with-stick-try-to-hit-ball. The managers will move the outfield around, the 1st and 3rd base coach will be giving signals to batter or runners (or pretending to give signals to make the other team wonder). Each at-bat is a mini-drama where the count and personalities of pitcher/batter will determine who does what. Catcher changes signs with runner on second so they don't steal the signs....runner tries to steal them anyway...etc, etc, etc. There's always a ton going on...it's just that it's something like a chess match: looks like various pieces on a board not doing much of anything unless you know what to look for.

Fausto

 

[Arschloch]

<< I agree... baseball is a great sport, but it's always better to go with someone who can explain what's really going on. That's why I also LOVE watching Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN with Joe Morgan. Now that's a GREAT show.... >>


Joe Morgan is interesting. Every once in awhile he'll have something interesting to say, but at the same time every once in awhile he'll say something really stupid.

For example, last week in an online column he said that having spees is THE most important characteristic in a leadoff hitter -- even more so than the ability to get on base. What are you smoking, Joe? What's even more incredible about it is that when he played, Morgan was among the best at getting on base. So you'd think he'd understand the value of getting on base. I think he has the problem where he wants to make an interesting point, but instead of just making the point, he goes too far and says something dumb and incorrect.

 

[Viper GTS]

Baseball is OK to play, but sucks as a spectator sport.

For that matter so does football.

Basketball, on the other hand, is entertaining.

Viper GTS

 

[Eli]

I find most sports rather boring.. especially baseball/football.

Basketball is mildly entertaining for some reason. I like the Extreme sports.

Car and motorcycle races are cool, too.

 

[Cerebus451]

As the general flow of the thread has already said..... if you don't know baseball it can be incredibly boring to watch. I can't sit there and watch golf (in person or on TV) because I find it incredibly boring. However, I can watch all the baseball you can throw at me. It definitely helps to either be with someone else that knows the game to chatter with during the down times, or have a radio handy to listen to the color commentary.

 

[Arschloch]

<< Agreed. Good announcers will really help you understand the game. In any given situation during a baseball game there are always about 20 subplots going on beyond guy-throw-ball-guy-with-stick-try-to-hit-ball. The managers will move the outfield around, the 1st and 3rd base coach will be giving signals to batter or runners (or pretending to give signals to make the other team wonder). Each at-bat is a mini-drama where the count and personalities of pitcher/batter will determine who does what. Catcher changes signs with runner on second so they don't steal the signs....runner tries to steal them anyway...etc, etc, etc. There's always a ton going on...it's just that it's something like a chess match: looks like various pieces on a board not doing much of anything unless you know what to look for.

Fausto >>


To go along with this, I think it's the case in baseball MUCH more than any other team sport that the more you already know about the game, the more you enjoy it. In other words, there's more going on "below the surface" in the game of baseball than in football, and certainly more than in basketball or hockey.

If you watch A's pitcher Barry Zito pitch and you aren't a big fan of the game, you probably won't think much of him. But if you ARE a big fan, you'd recognize things such as how tough his curveball is. THAT is the beauty of baseball -- it's in the details.

 

[Fausto]

<< For example, last week in an online column he said that having spees is THE most important characteristic in a leadoff hitter -- even more so than the ability to get on base. What are you smoking, Joe? What's even more incredible about it is that when he played, Morgan was among the best at getting on base. So you'd think he'd understand the value of getting on base. I think he has the problem where he wants to make an interesting point, but instead of just making the point, he goes too far and says something dumb and incorrect. >>


Hmmm...that is an odd thing to say. Speed never hurts, but you have to get on base to make use of it, right? If you can't put the bat on the ball, your speed is worthless. A good example of this is our (Atlanta's) SS Rafael Furcal: when he's putting the ball in play he is a HUGE pain in the ass for opposing teams because his speed allows him to leg out infield hits, occasionally forces a throwing error as the infielders are rushing in order to throw him out, and then he's a big distraction to the pitcher once he's on base because he's always a threat to steal. Kenny Lofton drove me nucking futs when we would play the Indians because he would do exactly this to us. He knew he was gonna steal...we knew he was gonna steal....and he'd do it anyway.

Fausto