NakamuraWhy Baseball is Better Than Your Sport - Part 2: Hitting .400
Trivia: name one sport where the defense controls the ball. Think about it... okay, time's up. The answer is baseball. But a question like this should have multiple answers. This is what makes baseball so unique. The phrase "the ball is in your court" proves that it is usually up to the offense to make a move. In hockey, the one with the puck scores. In soccer, basketball, football, water polo, lacrosse, and many many more sports, you need possession of the ball to score. Hell, even table tennis, Foosball and pool follows this trend.
Not baseball though. The defense controls everything. The tempo of the game, the score and even who gets the chance to hit. Its like playing a game of poker except you're not allowed to look at what cards you have until the end. The odds are just stacked against you.
Many consider Ted Williams to be the greatest hitter of all time. After all, he is the last person to have hit .400. But nobody has ever hit above .500. This shouldn't be surprising, considering that there is a valid reason to why. It's way too (enter your word of choice
here) hard. Getting a hit is far too difficult. Forget about reacting to the ball, you have to hit it where nobody is. And this is supposed to be the simplest part of baseball. Were not discussing the numbers behind hitting for the cycle or getting a grand slam. This is an everyday, mundane hit we're talking about.
You still think your sport is better than baseball? What's your sport then, basketball? Shaquille O'neal hits more free throws than the greatest hitter gets a hit. You want to talk hockey? Every goalie in the NHL has a save percentage that is .500 higher than the batting average of the greatest hitter to ever walk the earth. If a quarterback can't complete half of his passes, you would bring back Favre too. These averages would be deemed as failures in their sports, but if a hitter can get a hit 40% of the time, we'll see him in the Hall of Fame.
If you only passed 40% of your classes as a student, you would repeat the grade. If a doctor saved only 40% of his patients, you would do CPR yourself. If a cop only stopped 40% of crimes, there would be no purpose in putting your money in a bank. There are very few things that are recognized as a success with such a low percentage. Hitting a baseball is no easy task.
The ball can go anywhere from 62-102 mph. It might be as straight as an arrow or move more than 15 inches. And worst of all, you're supposed to hit a round ball with a round bat. It sounds like someone trying to torment you with utter failure. You get 27 outs and usually less than 5 people get a hit. Team batting averages tend to be hover around .250. You know what else succeeds only a fourth of the time?
Over 25% of subway trains in New York are late on weekdays.
25% of people are willing to pay a little extra to get a hybrid (yeah, right)
A bit below 25% of actual hybrid owners also own SUVs
Only 25% of all music sales are done on iTunes
Over 25% of public schools in Colorado have no Librarians
Less than 25% of citizens between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in the 2005 re-election
Over 25% of citizens in Phoenix, Arizona are uninsured.
25% of people with internet access are online gamers
A professional Major League hitter only gets a hit 25% of the time.
-Written by: Nakamura. This article is copyrighted © by Nakamura and may not be reproduced, recopied, or used in any form without permission from Nakamura
Not baseball though. The defense controls everything. The tempo of the game, the score and even who gets the chance to hit. Its like playing a game of poker except you're not allowed to look at what cards you have until the end. The odds are just stacked against you.
Many consider Ted Williams to be the greatest hitter of all time. After all, he is the last person to have hit .400. But nobody has ever hit above .500. This shouldn't be surprising, considering that there is a valid reason to why. It's way too (enter your word of choice
The Legend also known as "The Splendid Splinter"
You still think your sport is better than baseball? What's your sport then, basketball? Shaquille O'neal hits more free throws than the greatest hitter gets a hit. You want to talk hockey? Every goalie in the NHL has a save percentage that is .500 higher than the batting average of the greatest hitter to ever walk the earth. If a quarterback can't complete half of his passes, you would bring back Favre too. These averages would be deemed as failures in their sports, but if a hitter can get a hit 40% of the time, we'll see him in the Hall of Fame.
If you only passed 40% of your classes as a student, you would repeat the grade. If a doctor saved only 40% of his patients, you would do CPR yourself. If a cop only stopped 40% of crimes, there would be no purpose in putting your money in a bank. There are very few things that are recognized as a success with such a low percentage. Hitting a baseball is no easy task.
The ball can go anywhere from 62-102 mph. It might be as straight as an arrow or move more than 15 inches. And worst of all, you're supposed to hit a round ball with a round bat. It sounds like someone trying to torment you with utter failure. You get 27 outs and usually less than 5 people get a hit. Team batting averages tend to be hover around .250. You know what else succeeds only a fourth of the time?
Over 25% of subway trains in New York are late on weekdays.
25% of people are willing to pay a little extra to get a hybrid (yeah, right)
A bit below 25% of actual hybrid owners also own SUVs
Only 25% of all music sales are done on iTunes
Over 25% of public schools in Colorado have no Librarians
Less than 25% of citizens between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in the 2005 re-election
Over 25% of citizens in Phoenix, Arizona are uninsured.
25% of people with internet access are online gamers
A professional Major League hitter only gets a hit 25% of the time.
-Written by: Nakamura. This article is copyrighted © by Nakamura and may not be reproduced, recopied, or used in any form without permission from Nakamura
