Baseball And Father Day, What’s Better?

Basketball is fast paced and has consistent scoring.

Hockey has too much contact between the players and fights often break out.

Football can be slow paced but sometimes there is a big play that ignites the crowd.

Baseball also has an slow pace and it is relaxing. 

Out of the four sports I mentioned, baseball is my favorite. It has more strategy than basketball or hockey.  For people who enjoy fast paced sports, baseball is slow and boring, but for me, it is Americas pastime.  I will always enjoy the strategic aspect of the game as well as the possibility of the rare feat occurring at any point of any 1 of the 162 games of the regular season.

When the ball is hit to a fielder, they have to think about what they have to do with the ball which makes each play more important.  For example, the team in the field is up by 2 runs and the bases are loaded with no outs and the ball is hit to the first baseman.  He would have to throw home to get the force out there and then the catcher would throw to first to try to get a double play.  Another strategy is to intentionally walk a batter if first base is unoccupied so that when the ball is hit to an infielder, all they would have to do is step on the base instead of tagging the runner.  However the risk of that is the team in the field can score an additional run with the extra base runner if the batter gets a hit.

Another reason why there is more strategy in baseball is because there is no clock to keep time.  Baseball is a game of 27 outs, and after the starting pitcher has left the game, it is up to the team’s manager to bring in the proper relief pitcher to match up with each batter at the plate.

Late in the game, the manager also has to decide whether to warm up a left-handed or right-handed pitcher in the bullpen or when to use a pinch hitter (more common in the National League than the offensively friendly American League).

You could be on a nice beach with the waves of the sea hitting the sand and listen to the game in the background on the radio.  Or if you are stuck at work in an office (during a weekday afternoon game), you could listen to the game on a radio while you are stuffed with many tedious tasks.  After a long days work in the summer, it feels good to watch a game while you are cooling yourself down under your air conditioner.  Unlike any of the 3 other sports, baseball is played just about daily so I have something to watch and look forward to every day.  On the other hand, football is played just once a week and hockey and basketball are played no more than 3 times a week.  Baseball’s slow pace makes it easier to listen to it on the radio than other sports which are fast paced.

It is also harder to accomplish certain feats in baseball.  You might be watching or at a game and someone pitches a perfect game or turns an unassisted triple play, or hits 4 home runs all in the same game.  Other sports have rare feats (such as scoring lots of points), but they are not as exciting as the ones in baseball.  You could tell your family, children or friends that you saw Eric Bruntlett end the game with an unassisted triple play.

Some hitters of the opposing team do not hit as well against right-handed pitchers as they would against lefties or vice versa.  There are also a lot of statistics to keep up with in baseball as well compared to other sports.  I also like to keep records of many different statistics (not only with baseball) as well so baseball is a perfect fit for me.

Also when I was younger, I used to play in Harlem Little League and my father was my coach for many years.  He was a strong figure in my life as he introduced me to the game of baseball and it has caught on.  I enjoyed playing the game since it is not a high contact game and my father was an excellent leader.  He encouraged me to play so that way I would have some physical activity, and learn to work with other people as a team in my early years.  That would be another reason why I like baseball is because my father first introduced me to the game and I actually had hands on experience so while watching a game, I know what the players go through.

Charles Butler is a Harlemite, HW intern-(writer and blogger (www.philsfaninnewyork.wordpress.com), Harlem resident, and baseball fanatic. He got his Associates Degree from LaGuardia Community College last August.