[quote]DBCooper wrote:
[quote]Mutu wrote:
I don’t understand what people mean when they talk about baseball “skills”? I mean I guess hitting the ball with a bat is difficult, but other than that…? I mean the only other part to this game is catching the ball, and catching a ball with a big glove isn’t really a skill is it?
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Play the game at a high level and then come back here and tell us this.
Fact is, baseball is most likely the hardest of the three major sports to play well at the professional level. Think about it: how old is the typical rookie in the NFL? 22? The NBA? 19? 20? In major league baseball, it’s probably about 23 or 24, and it’s much more rare for a rookie to come in and have an impact than it is in football, maybe about equal in basketball. The point is that it typically takes several years longer to be able to compete at a high level in major league baseball than it does in either the NBA or the NFL. It’s the skill development and refinement that takes longer in baseball, hence the longer wait. In the NBA and the NFL, first round picks may flame out, but they largely make the team their first year. A first round pick in baseball rarely gets an invite to major league camp at Spring Training.[/quote]
The reason it takes longer for a baseball player to mature has nothing to do with the high skill level of this sport in comparison to another sport - ALL professional sports require large amounts of skill by definition.
Having played baseball for years (still hate watching it on TV) I would say it has a lot more to do with the small amount of practice time you get when playing. In little league you can easily only get 5 minutes of batting practice in during a 3 hour practice. As you move up in leagues there is naturally more helpers and you get more time, but still it is very short compared to other sports.
There are very few things you can do on your own in baseball. Sure you can practice your swing, throw a ball against a wall, hit a ball off a tee or toss it up for yourself, take grounders by throwing the ball at a concrete wall… playing catch with a friend… but that’s not the same as taking a full speed pitch.
If you are not a pitcher or catcher, even games do not get you much practice. You might take 3 or 4 at bats and get a few plays in the field.
Baseball players take so long to mature because it takes them a few extra years to get the prerequisite practice time in to actually be good at the game.
Compare that to basketball players… even in small towns there are games on the local basketball court around the clock. When you are on your own you can practice dribbling, free throws, three pointers, etc. Kids that love basketball can rack up over 100 hours a month of good practice outside of school whereas baseball players cannot.
Is it really that surprising that players can come out of high school and do well in the league with that in mind whereas baseball players need to spend time in the minors first?
is you do not get enough practice in the lower-level leagues. A basketball player can get good practice literally around the clock, whereas Taking batting practice from a good
