My hypothesis on why some people consider baseball 'boring'

[Oeditpus Rex]

I believe it's because they've seen it only on television. Too many camera directors are in love with the ball, particularly as lens technology has evolved to the point that cameras can zoom in on almost anything on the field — or in the stands, for that matter.

But so much of the game happens away from the ball, similarly to basketball, and we don't get to see this aspect of the game unless we're at the ball park or watching a broadcast with a camera director who knows his/her stuff.

When I was a kid, cameras and lenses weren't what they are now, so we often got a view of the entire infield on teevee. That taught me to watch the movements of the infielders, and I could see the kind of break a guy got on a ground ball and whatnot. I also enjoy watching the mannerisms of fielders and coaches and trying to figure out what's a sign and what isn't, and guessing if there's a play on.

If you focus on the ball, you're missing about 75 percent of the game. A lot happens between pitches if you know what to look for.

Just sayin'.

(Mods: Please don't lock. This is intended to initiate discussion, not flames.)

[dolo amber]

1. That, and they have no souls

:yoiks:

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. I think you're right - I can't stand it on TV, because it IS boring.

But I love going to games!

[wildhorses]

3. they are to be pitied...the herks!!

[u4ic]

4. I guess I'm not one of the aforementioned

people.

I just find it...boring...:D

Nothing against anyone who loves the game. Different strokes for different folks... ;)

[ThomCat]

5. Because it is boring?

I've seen several major league games from good, expensive seats right up close. I've been so close that I was on TV every time someone stepped up to the plate.

Baseball is still boring.

[Oeditpus Rex]

14. Where you sit means little, if anything

It's how you watch.

[SouthoftheBorderPaul]

16. I have to agree.

I've probably been to about 6 pro baseball games in my life. A few years back I went to Houston to see some friends, etc. We got up a 8:30 AM (woefully hungover) to could catch a Glasgow Rangers Football game at a dumpy Scottish pub in town. I've never been to a bar that early in my life. About 40 people were gathered around a large screen TV at 9 AM, drinking dark beer and cheering wildly for a game that The Rangers won by about 8 points. I mean, it was a blow out and everyone was GLUED to the screen. And there was constant action, constant motion, constant excitement. We all had a good time, and the kicker was the game was over in 90 minutes. Beauty, eh?

Then we headed over to Minute Maid Stadium (formerly Enron Stadium, I think) and watched the Astros play. Minute Maid is a BEAUTIFUL sports complex...not a phrase I often use. Retractable roof, decent AC, clean. Gees, nice place. Anyway, the game goes on for 3.5 hours (or thereabouts) and at the end of it, the score was 2 to 1. Maybe it was the hangovers, but most of us dozed off a few times during the game. We had pretty good seats too.

I related this story to one of my best friends who is a recent baseball addict. Her reaction was, "Well, if there weren't a lot of hits, that just means it was good pitching." Okay, great, so the pitcher has the best game of his life and in the process bores the shit out of the crowd. How does this equal entertainment?

Here's my $0.02: If the pitcher didn't hang onto the ball for, like, a minute and a half before EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN PITCH, the games would be a lot more exciting. IMHO, and I really know very little such matters, but if they put a time limit on how long the pitcher could hold the ball before throwing it, it would dramatically increase the pace of the game and the excitement level. Granted, the quality of the pitching will deteriorate but that would only result in fewer strikeouts and more and better hits...and probably more entertainment value and greater ticket sales. I know this is a preposterous idea (and blasphemous to most baseball lovers), but it seemed like a good time to voice it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. Scoring does not equivocate to action

If it did, bowling would be the most popular spectator sport.

One of the beauties of baseball is it doesn't demand constant attention. It's highly conducive to leisure, to chatting with those around you, to enjoying the ambience — "Where the blue sky meets the green grass," as author Douglas Wallop ("Damn Yankees") put it.

[SouthoftheBorderPaul]

59. "One of the beauties of baseball is it doesn't demand constant attention."

Got ya. Like Muzak. :P

[Uzybone]

64. As a guy who LOVES baseball

I totally agree with ya. Pitchers need to be ready to pitch 30 secs after they get the ball back. If the batter is not ready it should be called a strike. If the pitcher doesnt pitch within 30 seconds, it should be called a ball. The only reason the pitcher can not throw a pitch is if he throws to a base with runners on. I cant stand guys standing there shaking off 5 calls from the catcher, scratching thier balls and spitting for one minute before they throw a slider in the dirt.

[Spirochete]

96. Not preposterous to me

There is far too much time wasted between pitches. The worst one I ever saw for that was John Rocker. He would fidget for a minute and a half before each pitch. Every nervous tic imaginable. By the time he got around to throwing, the batter had stepped out of the batter's box, and the whole ritual would start again without a pitch having been thrown. I remember him pitching to Ichiro, who is a notorious time-waster in the batter's box, and the at-bat seemed to go on forever. I'm all for hurryin that process up some way.

[LostinVA]

42. Yup, can't disagree... went to a zillion Phillies games as a kid

Watch it on TV... yawn... would seriously rather watch golf...

[skygazer]

6. Baseball is a complex game

Most people aren't very complex. Baseball is subtle, like poetry, or ballet. There's teamwork and cooperation in all team sports but in baseball much of that is indirect and nuanced. There's a lot that's psychological about baseball. And there's much that's individual as well as much that's team - in a well drilled team, it's like a dance the way they work together and separately.

I'm not fanatical about any sports but I've always enjoyed baseball.

[Oeditpus Rex]

15. That was poetry in itself

Beautiful, Sky. :hug:

[Call Me Wesley]

7. I thought it was all about the ball.

Everybody wants to have it.

[dr.strangelove]

9. That was wrong on so many levels

it hurts just to look at that picture.

[Call Me Wesley]

12. A dear friend of mine

is a huge Cubs fan. I think he cried that day ...

[dr.strangelove]

13. I'm not a Cubbies fan and I cried.

I was so cheering for the cubs v. red sox world series that year. Oh well, I guess the cubs will have to wait a few more decades.

[reyd reid reed]

37. I wanted to cry...

I was at work, though. And on the phone, no less. With someone who couldn't string together two words without saying, 'ummmmmm...', 'hmmmmmmmm....', 'I know it's here somewhere.....'

I wanted to scream, but I had to watch it -- stunned (to say the least) -- without saying a word.

Probably just as well.

[reyd reid reed]

35. Ouch

[ForrestGump]

8. The alternate (and correct) hypothesis:

they have never witnessed a cricket match. :boring:

Not that baseball is the most happening game...though I'd probably be more bored by it if I actually watched it.

[dr.strangelove]

10. Cricket - whats wrong with a sx hour at bat?

[Oeditpus Rex]

17. I'd love to watch a cricket match

Seems like the kind of game I'd appreciate.

[jakefrep]

98. DirectTV offers them periodically on PPV

If you're into that sort of thing.

[dr.strangelove]

11. I agree

If you enjoy watching out for the little things, baseball is immensly mroe enjoyable live. I too enjoy managing the game. I look for situation to send runners and to steal signs. I look for tells by a pitcher and for where teh fielders play certain batters. I look for which way fielders break, and whether or not pitchers hold guys on well.

But if you don't enjoy the game, its just boring, live or on broadcast.
I love baseball. I watch it live and on tv, I listen on the radio or on the internet, but thats me.

[THUNDER HANDS]

18. i love any sport you can read a book to while watching

I love baseball. Its like the romantic comedy of sports - football is the action/adventure, basketball is the sci-fi and hockey is animal planet (only sport where people still have mullets).

[petronius]

20. Why is it that baseball fans so often want to explain why other people

find the sport boring? If you tell a football, soccer, hockey, track, basketball, or whatever fan that you find the sport boring you usually get a "Your loss, dude." But say it to a baseball fan and you get a long spiel about how 'complex' the game is and how you have to 'master the intricacies' and 'look for the little things' and 'really study the game' to get full enjoyment. Why can't baseball fans just accept that the game just doesn't work for some people?

Personally (in the spirit of discussion and with the caveat that I do enjoy baseball), I think there is a bit of arrogance involved - many baseball fans have bought into the George Will mantra of how baseball is more of an intellectual game game than other sports. They are often trying to convince themselves and others that that's true, and hold the suspicion that those who don't like baseball probably aren't bright enough to understand it...

[Oeditpus Rex]

21. Why can't non-fans just accept the fact

that some of us truly love baseball without putting us down for it?

This thread is a reaction to an earlier post. I didn't just suddenly decide to "explain" anything. Indeed, I get very tired of being put into a position of justifying my love of the game. I was hoping this thread would lead to a discussion and perhaps some middle ground, but it appears so far that it's just another pissing contest.

I don't think baseball is any more "intellectual" than many sports. Football is blood and testosterone on the surface, but the strategies are quite complex. However, "grunt-and-groan" sports appeal to a different type of person, I suppose. I'll occasionally watch football because I enjoy seeing how the strategies play out, but I just can't get as excited about it as many people do, and I don't understand why that should be called into question.

And I've known plenty of people who loved baseball and were dumb as a sack of doorknobs. It's not about smarts, it's the game's appeal on an emotional level.

[GalleryGod]

22. Why Try to Improve on Mann's Words....

The one constant through all the years has been baseball. As America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers - it's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again - baseball has marked the time. This field, this game is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again

[Oeditpus Rex]

23. Exactly

I love that screed. It puts my feelings into a nutshell. :thumbsup:

[SeattleGirl]

48. My absolute favorite speech about baseball.

Delivered by one of the finest voices evah:

[petronius]

24. It would help, then, if you had included a link to that earlier post

if you intended this to be seen as a response. As it is, you started a thread (out of the blue, for those of us who didn't see the earlier post) trying to explain why people don't like baseball. It may not have been your intention, but that fits in with my general experience of baseball fans as being more interested than fans of other sports in trying to come up with explanations for why non-fans are disinterested. It's a bit disingenuous for you to complain about "being put into a position of justifying my love of the game" when you're the one who started the thread.

I'm not sure why you viewed my post as a put-down; I saw it as discussion. Where did I show any sign of not accepting "...the fact that some truly love baseball..."? Seriously, what sort of discussion were you looking for?

[Oeditpus Rex]

25. If I'd posted a link

it would've been seen as "calling out." I didn't want this thread to be flame-bait.

I wanted a discussion beyond simply "Baseball is boring" or "Baseball sucks." I wanted people to look at the other side, as I tried to do regarding football in my previous post. I appreciate elements of football, as I do in other sports. I'm just not emotionally invested in them. I don't see their appeal at a visceral level — my visceral level.

I wanted what I want in all discussions: common ground.

As for put-downs, how about "long spiel," "arrogance," "bought into the George Will mantra," "trying to convince themselves" and "hold the suspicion"? I find all those presumptive and/or condescending.

[petronius]

26. I don't view those as put-downs, nor were they intended to be

I apologize if the wording came across as condescending. (That is how I talk; perhaps it doesn't translate as well on screen.)

My basic point was that baseball fans appear (in my experience) far more interested than fans of other sports in trying to fathom why non-fans dislike the game. That topic seemed very much in line with your OP. And I do think that I'm correct with the George Will thing, although I could have been clearer that I was not referring to you personally or anyone else on this thread.

As I said above, I actually like baseball, although it's not at the top of my list. For what it's worth, here are some things I like about the game:

• The field of play (with all that green and the symmetry) is visually appealing,
• the game can be enjoyed with varying levels of concentration,
• the history of the game is fascinating, and has a quirky cast of characters,

and here are some things I don't like:

• the game is very slow,
• the competition is not head-to-head (the teams do different things at different times),
• the season is far too long.

[Oeditpus Rex]

28. I agree the game drags

I don't think many would argue that, even the most dedicated fans. But much of that is because of television, which owns the game and insists on two minutes-plus for commercials between innings. It should take about a minute to switch sides, so there's an additional 20 minutes or so. Add so much time between pitches and more-frequent pitching changes, and it adds up.

I don't think the season is too long as much as the post-season is too long. But that, too, is about money.

I think you may be right about fans trying to understand non-fans, as baseball fans tend to be more analytical, at least in my experience. At least, certain plays and events still get dissected even many years after the fact. You get that in football, too, but not going back to "the Merkle incident." :eyes:

Anyway, apology accepted, and returned for my own testiness. :toast:

[petronius]

29. Cheers!

:toast:

(Merkle wuz robbed, by the way... :))

Edited to say: your theory in the OP really is a good one - baseball more than other sports probably is harder to get drawn into fully without being present at the game (at least at first).

[Radio_Guy]

33. Great question

"Why can't non-fans just accept the fact that some of us truly love baseball without putting us down for it?"

I would also remove "baseball" and add "soccer" and ask that question again.

[Oeditpus Rex]

41. Soccer's got a long way to go

before it has wide acceptance in the U.S. Maybe never.

Mer'kins love scoring. Therefore, a game that typically ends 2-1 or something ain't gonna cut it for most of 'em.

I learned to appreciate soccer by watching it and writing about it. Again, it's what happens away from the ball that's really intriguing. It ain't 20 people running around like Republican chickens.

[Radio_Guy]

43. That's why Arena Football has staying power

*sigh*

People would find a baseball game with Clemens pitching a no-hitter and Martinez pitching a one-hitter boring as well, sadly.

[reyd reid reed]

40. I don't think so at all

I think it's simply a matter of people who truly love the game with reverence and passion wanting to share that feeling with others. We hope that if the game is better understood, it will be better appreciated and more people will enjoy it.

There is absolutely no feeling in the world that equals settling in at a park to watch a game. Absolutely none. The sights and the sounds and the smells. None better.

[Awsi Dooger]

71. Terrific post

I'm a huge sports fan but I loathe baseball. The pure individual sports like golf fascinate me, likewise the pure team sports like football. Baseball is a hybrid that simply doesn't work. Sure, there are subtleties like moving fielders depending on the batter or situation, but it's criminal they don't come into play because the ball rarely shows up. Meanwhile, in football all the motion before a play or the blitz packages are directly related to how the play evolves.

Frankly, baseball earns much of its popularity for just the opposite reason than blowhard George Will or others like to suggest. It's an extremely simple game with the focus of action in only one or two places at all times, so fans understand virtually everything that transpires. Contrast football, where there are so many nuances among 22 players moving in physical blur on every snap that even replays don't fully reveal what took place unless you watch them over repeatedly and from different angles.

Excellent point about the haughty attitude of baseball fans if the game is criticized. Years ago I heard Larry King say on air, "Anyone who says baseball is boring, is a boring person." When I wrote an offbeat anti-baseball column in college, members of the USC baseball team including current Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio stormed the newspaper offices and threatened me. It was hysterical. I love golf but when golf is criticized as boring I understand it and hardly get outraged. Although admittedly it does irk me when idiotic comparison are made to something like chess, as if you can move the golf ball as dependably as a chess piece, no physical prowess involved.

[beyurslf]

27. I think it is because baseball really is boring

[Oeditpus Rex]

31. What sport(s) do you find exciting? (n.t)

[beyurslf]

68. Almost every other sport. Love college basketball. Watch the NFL.

I like golf at times. Really like watching college volleyball as well. Baseball and car racing are about the only sports I just can't watch.

[Medium Baby Jesus]

30. The only thing more boring than baseball

is movies about baseball. :boring:

The sappy sentimentality often associated with the game really creeps me out. When my son was young, I took him to a few Yankee games. He made me promise never to buy him another ticket.

Glad you like it though.

[Oeditpus Rex]

32. Strange how there've been so many baseball movies, huh?

Seventy-something, I believe, and dozens more in which baseball has been featured.

I guess millions of people aren't easily bored.

[GOPisEvil]

34. The game lends itself to conversation.

The game is meant to be enjoyed with family or friends at the ball park. You conversation about the game is meant to fill in the spots between the action. That's why baseball on radio is so interesting to me.

[GalleryGod]

103. Exactly, Dave.

As one who attends at least 17 games per season..did 23 last year.
Saw the Mets-Yankees at Shea from the "New Era" hat company box...20 feet from Posada's back and The Big Unit is bringing it at 95+...boring?
Hardly.

[mac56]

36. To quote Peter Golenboch:

"Only boring people find baseball boring."


:popcorn:

[shanti]

56. ha!

a friend once told me that people who like baseball drink beer and fart a lot *cheesing* no, really, he did! :D

[UncleSepp]

38. I just watch it for the nice butts. n/t

[Kat45]

39. That's not the reason THIS person has.

I used to love baseball when I was a kid. Followed the Red Sox, went to lots of games at Fenway Park--and Fenway Park IS a baseball experience. Then as I got into junior high, I started watching hockey. With its fast pace, it was much more exciting than baseball. I eventually found baseball to be boring, and now I can't stand it. (The way it is elevated and fauned over makes me hate it even more). Though I don't have the time to follow any sport, I still love hockey. And I still find baseball boring.

[SmileyBoy]

44. EVERYTHING that happens on the field and in the stands is BORING.

From the 2nd baseman scratching his ass and balls, to the pitcher horking out an ungodly amount of chaw, to the doofus in section 108 slurking on his 17th Budweiser. It's all BORING.

[madrchsod]

45. go to a baseball game and watch

them stand around waiting for the commercials..dam is that exciting. it really fucks up the flow of the game. at least soccer has it right -no commercial breaks

[WindRavenX]

46. baseball is poetry in motion

nothing will ever touch the game of baseball.
it captures all that is good in a ballet of drama.

[Oeditpus Rex]

47. Yup

But your avatar sucks.

:hi:

[WindRavenX]

49. lol I know

Christ on a CRACKER I know-- I live in BOSTON now. I'm done feeling the hate-- I'm getting a Yankee tattoo soon :evilgrin:

[Oeditpus Rex]

51. In BOSTON??

Damn, you got guts. :scared:

[SmileyBoy]

50. LOL

:rofl:

[grasswire]

52. I think you love baseball....

...because you are a softy for America as it was at its best, and baseball exemplifies that moment in time. This is not a bad thing. It's the same reason I love movie scenes of 1940s nightclubs, gardenias, old jazz, and spam.

[Oeditpus Rex]

55. That's part of it

But you knew that already. :hi:

[shanti]

53. nahhhhh

it's boring because it's so damn s-l-o-w. i prefer fast-paced basketball myself. that said....GO LAKERS!!!! ;) :hi:

[The Great Escape]

54. It's Not So Much That I Think Baseball Is Boring...

I have become very provincial when it comes to supporting baseball. With football and basketball I can watch a game on TV and it does not matter, who is playing. I can enjoy the game. When it comes to baseball, I support one team and one team only. I check only their box scores. I watch only their games on television. I listen to only their games on the radio. As a youngster, I followed baseball as a whole. I can't remember exactly when that changed for me.

[leftofthedial]

57. never forget that half of all Murkans are below average intelligence

our culture has trained most to salivate when the lights blink real fast

in baseball, the sun (or the artificial lighting) shines steadily

[JCMach1]

58. Because it IS boring to watch... playing it is something else

entirely...

[MadHound]

60. I agree, nice analysis

I used to watch a fair amount of baseball on television when I was a kid. And I could always tell when Lou Brock was getting ready to steal another one, from his movements and twitches. Now, the camera rarely focuses on base runners, and instead, as you said, focuses on the ball.

Now in my middle age, I just can't watch baseball on the tube. I love to listen on the radio, and every now and again treat myself to a game at the park, but if I try to watch it on TV, I'm nodding off for a nap in short order.

[gizmo1979]

61. There's isn't enough action and scoring.

Kids need to be entertained every second now days and baseball is a thinking man's game.

[Oeditpus Rex]

62. I don't think that's necessarily true

Thinking isn't a prerequisite to enjoying the game. It can add to the enjoyment, but quite often I simply revel in the choreography of a well-turned double play, relay, hit-and-run, etc.

And ever-present, though subliminal, is the sense that one is witness to part of a long and storied history. Again quoting Douglas Wallop, baseball was always that thing that nothing else was quite so American as.

[gizmo1979]

63. I can't argue with that.

Said quite nicely sir.

[IntravenousDemilo]

90. Douglas Wallop obviously had never heard of jazz when he said that. n/m

[imperialismispasse]

77. Exactly

:thumbsup:

[fleabert]

65. sorry. I'm a hater.

I don't even enjoy going to games. Didn't like it as a kid, don't like it now. I went to a game as a kid in NYC- no clue who was playing. I have always found it boring.

I don't like to drink, and don't want to pay out the nose for popcorn and a hot dog, I get bored off my ass sitting there for 5-7 hours. I just have no investment in the game.

I think it comes down to caring about the players as well as the game.

I worship the Spurs- I can watch repeats of their games even. But if they are out of the playoffs, I could give a shit who wins. It's about the players for me. A connection to the game that is beyond the action on the court itself. I never felt that for baseball.

[Oeditpus Rex]

66. Can't argue about the cost

There's a survey done every year, I think; the last one I saw was for 2004. It ranks ball clubs according to the cost for a family of four to watch a game, and includes such things as parking, a couple of souvenirs and drinks and dogs for the family, in addition to tickets for mid-priced seats.

I can't remember which club was the least expensive, but it was somewhere around $110. Boston was the most expensive, at $200 and change. That's a chunk o' cash.

I disagree, though, on player connections; I grew out of that when I was about 13 (though I do know two guys in the majors from their minor league days). There're still players I favor, of course, but now it's all about the ball club. I was never one to switch allegiances if my favorite player got traded or something.

I do wish it was like it used to be, though, when guys stayed with the same ball club for awhile, and the infield of Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey was as synonomous with the Dodgers as blue.

[fleabert]

72. I guess that 's why I love the Spurs then...

the team has changed little in 15 years- David Robinson stayed with the team his entire career, and Tim Duncan has been there for about 7 or 8. they are great people and I actually care about how the team does. That team has done a lot for San Antonio (the humanitarian award was created and named for David Robinson after all) The connection goes beyond hero worhip for me- it's about the people. I have met several players and know people who know them personally, they are good people.

I loved the cowboys as a kid, but don't get really excited about it these days (although when they beat the Redskins, I still get excited, rivalry and all) maybe Texas is just not a baseball state, and I was raised on football and basketball primarily.

Professional sports are an odd phenomenon really, cheering for people you don't know putting a ball where it supposed to go, running around, wearing matching outfits, it's kinda silly really, when you think about it. :-)

I don't begrudge you your baseball games, enjoy! I'll go to a few games over the years I am sure, but my heart is on the basketball court! Go Spurs!

[Oeditpus Rex]

85. Y'know, I've said that same thing many times

When you get kinda off to the side of it, sport really is pretty silly — grown men getting paid brazillions to play games while wearing pajamas 'n' all. Or, in the case of football, more body armor than U.S. soldiers.

Sometimes, when I let my head go there, they just look like buffoons, and I wonder, "Why am I so into this?"

So I try not to let it.

[fleabert]

86. LOL.

don't get me started on my totally insane 20 year addiction to Days of Our Lives. just as ridiculous. Maybe a little more so, since at least atheletes are real people playing out a drama on film...

that show just sucks- yet I continue to watch. :shrug:

what I love is the idea that all coaches should dress like baseball coaches, you know, the same uniform! Can you imagine the football coaches suited up like they are about to play? Ha! Popovich in shorts and a jersey? Hockey coaches in skates and pads? what, do baseball coaches call themselves in occasionally to pull shortstop duties?

:rofl:

[Oeditpus Rex]

91. Some have

Not these days, but in the past, player-managers were fairly common. More recent ones were Pete Rose and Frank Robinson. Probably the most famous was Frankie Frisch, who played second while running the old Gas House Gang in St. Louis.

But, yeah — Landry was "natty" and all, and Shula looked cool in his sweater, but football coaches have always looked to me like they're not really in the game.

Vince Lombardi looked like a garbage collector or fish vendor on his way to a funeral.

[GalleryGod]

76. That ws a GREAT infield. But NBA costs vs. MLB?

The NBA is a joke except for San Antonio, L.A., Detroit, and a few other cities...a bunch of guys who can't hit a wide open 15 footer;can't pass;can't play ANY D...Oooooo,but we made the ESPN highlight package with a great dunk!:puke:

[fleabert]

80. thanks for the exception for my Spurs, they are wonderful!

a joy to watch, fundamentals baby! fundamentals!

I would join a KobeHater group...he pisses me off to no end. One of the worst clutch players in the league, yet continually acts like his shit doesn't stink and he's a ball hog. :puke:

[GalleryGod]

83. However-without the disastrous 1986 and 1996 seasons

The Spurs may very well have been mired in mediocrity !?

My favorite Spur of all time?
Easy. Malik Rose.

[fleabert]

84. true, very true.

it was a long held belief that the firing of Hill and subsequent naming of Pop as GM and coach (by Pop) was a deliberate move to continue the losing streak and get the #1 pick. it was a long shot, but we got Duncan- one of the biggest coups in nba history, imho.

David's back injury was a gift to San Antonio in retrospect, but it took a long time for me to accept Pop as coach, I hated how Hill left- right before the holidays and all, and that it would have been hell for anyone to win without David at that time. Now I see his value and his ability as a coach to bring together a very diverse and well-respected team. He's wonderful, what do you think about the rumours that he'll retire after this season?

Malik was wonderful, but my heart belongs to Sean Elliot, I had the hugest crush on him and Avery. Now I adore Tim and Tony. such great guys, down to earth and fun.

the best offense is a good defense! but I am glad tim has improved his free throw and tony has improved his jump shot. :-)

(sorry to the OP for the hijack!)

[Oeditpus Rex]

93. Aren't passing and defense illegal

in the NBA now? And didn't they get rid of the traveling violation? :shrug:

[fleabert]

99. not if you watch the spurs!

it's a clinic on defense every game- and unselfishness.

[GalleryGod]

75. 5-7 Hours ? Not.Check your memory banks,'Bert ! Didn't happen.

Unless the game you attended...which had to be either the Yankees or the Mets went 22 innings.

[fleabert]

79. geez- from driving there, parking, getting settled, the seventh inning

stretch, the spitting, the signaling, the waiting, the bathroom lines, the food lines, the hard seats, the sun setting, the inaction on the field, the foul balls, the balls, the walks, and waiting to get out of the parking lot- it felt like a lifetime. I couldn't have been more bored if I had been at home watching paint dry.

5-7 hours seems like an understatement.

[GalleryGod]

81. How many years ago was this ?

:shrug: Were you a child or an adult?

[fleabert]

82. last year- Red Sox. Oakland.

red sox won. It wasn't that horrible, I was just terribly bored. It really did seem like an eternity.

[ScreamingMeemie]

67. Sadly...I used to love baseball. Went to Brewers games all summer

long with my dad, my grandpa, cousins, aunts...you name it. We had a blast. Back then, you could get decent seats for cheap and the biggest ego on the Brewers' roster was basically mild mannered Stormin' Gorman Thomas. My first crush was on Sixto Lezcano...Molly was called the "Ignitor" and Robin was just starting out...

...and then they went out and wrecked it...

the seats became impossible to afford. We moved to the Bleachers for awhile, but that was no place for children...then we watched on T.V....

...and then egos got HUGER than any of the plays made...

...money demanded...

...a strike was afoot...I was gone.

Until...

....until the replacement players took the field, and they were *gasp* smiling, happy to be there...enjoying the sport again. Man those Spring Training games were fun.

Then the "big boys" made a deal and came back...only I wasn't watching them anymore. Neither was anybody else. Quick, they thought...we must think of something, anything to bring the lemmings back.

And so, a "homerun race" was conceived. Only I didn't watch. But a lot of others did. And were duped again. And the egos again ruled the field. Not for me this sport anymore. I miss the game, but not that much.

But, luckily there's room on this earth for football lovers and baseball lovers alike.

[Oeditpus Rex]

94. I fucking despised homer mania

God, that made me sick. Totally cheapened home runs and turned fans into drooling idiots waiting for the next Pillsbury Steroid Boy to crank one. Talk about false icons.

A well-timed homer is a thing to behold (Bobby Thompson, Kirk Gibson). But when you've got five or six of them per game it's just a cluster fuck and it takes fans out of the real game. (Imagine if every other NFL play were a bomb. It'd get boring as all hell.) I love little ball — singles, doubles, hit-and-run, stealing.

The most exciting play in baseball is a bases-loaded triple because you've got 13 guys in motion with several possibilities. A home run is a dead ball.



Sixto Lezcano...? :rofl:

[ScreamingMeemie]

100. Are you laughing at me? Are you laughing at me...?

Because, if you're laughing at me...I'll....I'll... I'll do something. ;) :hi: He was cute

[Oeditpus Rex]

101. Nah, it's just

that's a name I haven't thought of in a loooong time.

Hell, I can't even remember who he played for. :shrug:

But "Sixto" always sounded to me a lot like "Queekstraw," which is what Baba Looey called Quick Draw McGraw.

[ScreamingMeemie]

102. Hahahahahahaha!

:rofl: Number 16 for the Brewers. Outfielder.

[av8rdave]

69. Baseball is always better live than on TV. My theory...

is that baseball was invented long before TV, and isn't a good fit. Football, while invented before TV, if perfect for it: small bursts of action, with breaks of indeterminate length (at the pleasure of whoever directs the TV coverage).

However, nothing beats actually being at a baseball game!

[GreenPartyVoter]

70. Tv baseball is boring, seeing it live is slightly better, playing it is

best of the 3 choices. It's fun to do, but not really fun for me to watch.

[Reverend_Smitty]

73. I think it's a tragedy...

that ticket prices and concession prices are so expensive these days. It's nearly impossible for a family to go out to a baseball game more than once a season. To me baseball is a game that should be enjoyed with all your senses and just being in the ballpark is half the fun, and another magical thing baseball does for me is get me interested in statistics (I hate math but I love crunching baseball numbers)

To me going and seeing a baseball game live represents one of those "true happiness" moments for me. I also enjoy watching it on tv and listening on the radio...The voice of Bob Murphy conjures up pleasant memories of my youth.

So to answer your question, I donno why people find it boring

[Oeditpus Rex]

87. I'm a stats freak too, and I also hate math

Not the SABR type; I think those folks got way too much time on their hands. (Why do we need OPS as a stat, anyway?) But my dad taught me how to figure averages and ERAs when I was just a little snip, and I've been doing it ever since. And I love to study player charts.

[northzax]

74. baseball fans doth protest too much

who cares that your sport is boring? isn't that your problem? why do you need to justify it all the time?

[Oeditpus Rex]

89. For the counter-reason that others seem to need

to constantly remind us that it's "boring."

And it's hardly our "problem." Indeed, it's our great pleasure.

[Rosie1223]

78. Baseball on TV is boring because

the announcers spend all their time spouting statistics about how this team compares to the '46 Phillies (or some such). Who cares?

Seeing a game at the ball park is much better, I'll agree, that is until the drunk guy behind you spills his beer on you.

[Richardo]

88. I *said* I was sorry!

Geez!

:)

[Ron Mexico]

92. Baseball is boring because there are some seasons in which

the Dodgers don't make the playoffs. ;)

[Oeditpus Rex]

95. As long as they're mixin' it up in September

I'm cool with it. Post-season is the icing. More than anything else about baseball, I love a two-radio pennant race. And if they can't win it themselves, knock San Diego's or the Giants' asses out of it. :thumbsup:

[GalleryGod]

104. I Love Dodger Stadium!

Went to Giants-Dodgers in '04..great!
"Dodger Dogs!":applause: :applause: :woohoo:

[Oeditpus Rex]

105. I've never been there

Forty-one years as a fan, and I've never eaten a Dodger Dog. :cry:

She sure seems to be enjoying hers.

[EstimatedProphet]

97. I think what you're saying is true of anything

Any kind of spectator entertainment-sports, concerts, whatever-is always more exciting when you're actually there. I think it has to do with the energy from the crowd.