Are You a Real Fan?
April 4th 2012 02:56
Baseball, for me, is an extremely easy topic for me to write about. I could write about sabermetrics, how to throw a curveball, or something along the lines of type of bat you should use. But today I am going to collect all my thoughts regarding this topic and write about why I believe baseball is the best sport in the world.
Baseball, known as America’s Game, is one of the most loved and watched sports in North America. It is unarguable that most people love a trip to the ballpark, whether they are two years old or ninety-two years old. Some may say Baseball is boring, I will admit it can be slow at times and hard to follow. But if you remember back to the last day of the regular season last year you would may disagree. Let me refresh your memory; last year on the last day of the season, the longshot Rays and the Cardinals were fighting for their lives. Both teams had put forth incredible streaks together to push for the Wild Card spot in their respective leagues. For the Rays to make the playoffs they needed to beat the Yankees and have the Redsox lose to make the playoffs. The Cardinals needed to win while the Braves needed to lose to the Phillies. It was not looking good for the Rays, but with a 9th inning rally they tied the game and forced extra innings. At almost the same time the Redsox blew a 9th inning lead and the game was tied. In dramatic fashion Evan Longoria hit a walk off homerun to give the Rays the win. This literally happened seconds after the Redsox had lost. The Redsox were out and the Rays were in. It is vey unlikely that this situation will ever happen again. The National League side was not as exciting but still great, the Cards did their part by winning and the Braves could not muster enough offense for a win against the Phillies. It is hard to believe that after 161 previous games, the team’s records could be so close. This is just one of the many things that makes baseball such a great sport.
Personally, my favourite part of baseball would be the statistics. Baseball is undoubtedly one of the most over analyzed sport in the world, but I love it. You can find statistics on anything. They even have newer, unpopular stats like WAR, and other Sabermetrics but that is a whole different story. With all these stats one can know anything about anyone, making you feel like a pro, which is quite nice. You do not have to be a professional statistician to understand these stats either. Statistics are not the only thing though; personal opinion is also crucial to following baseball.
If you do not like to pick favourites, maybe baseball isn’t for you. Baseball is fueled by rivalries, with all the divisional games in the 162 game seasons. You grow to hate the other teams in your division with a passion. As a Jays fan, I cannot stand the Yankees or the Redsox because I am sick and tired of them seeing their names above the Jays in the AL East standings. If you do not like to choose favourites you probably won’t like baseball. If you can root for a team all season long win or lose, the game will bore you. I root for the Jays because they are the only Canadian team left in the MLB.
As a Canadian it would be stereotypical of me for hockey to be my favourite sport. Although I love hockey, it isn’t nearly as interesting as baseball. I think the deciding factor for me is the length of the season. 162 games gives you a ballgame to watch almost every day, which makes it easier to follow along with the standings and rankings. You don’t get this with the shorter 82 games NHL schedule because teams don’t play as often and you often miss games because you are unsure of when the next game is.
Although baseball can be slow at times and you could even say boring, there is no doubt in my mind that baseball is the greatest sport on the face of the earth.
Baseball, known as America’s Game, is one of the most loved and watched sports in North America. It is unarguable that most people love a trip to the ballpark, whether they are two years old or ninety-two years old. Some may say Baseball is boring, I will admit it can be slow at times and hard to follow. But if you remember back to the last day of the regular season last year you would may disagree. Let me refresh your memory; last year on the last day of the season, the longshot Rays and the Cardinals were fighting for their lives. Both teams had put forth incredible streaks together to push for the Wild Card spot in their respective leagues. For the Rays to make the playoffs they needed to beat the Yankees and have the Redsox lose to make the playoffs. The Cardinals needed to win while the Braves needed to lose to the Phillies. It was not looking good for the Rays, but with a 9th inning rally they tied the game and forced extra innings. At almost the same time the Redsox blew a 9th inning lead and the game was tied. In dramatic fashion Evan Longoria hit a walk off homerun to give the Rays the win. This literally happened seconds after the Redsox had lost. The Redsox were out and the Rays were in. It is vey unlikely that this situation will ever happen again. The National League side was not as exciting but still great, the Cards did their part by winning and the Braves could not muster enough offense for a win against the Phillies. It is hard to believe that after 161 previous games, the team’s records could be so close. This is just one of the many things that makes baseball such a great sport.
Personally, my favourite part of baseball would be the statistics. Baseball is undoubtedly one of the most over analyzed sport in the world, but I love it. You can find statistics on anything. They even have newer, unpopular stats like WAR, and other Sabermetrics but that is a whole different story. With all these stats one can know anything about anyone, making you feel like a pro, which is quite nice. You do not have to be a professional statistician to understand these stats either. Statistics are not the only thing though; personal opinion is also crucial to following baseball.
If you do not like to pick favourites, maybe baseball isn’t for you. Baseball is fueled by rivalries, with all the divisional games in the 162 game seasons. You grow to hate the other teams in your division with a passion. As a Jays fan, I cannot stand the Yankees or the Redsox because I am sick and tired of them seeing their names above the Jays in the AL East standings. If you do not like to choose favourites you probably won’t like baseball. If you can root for a team all season long win or lose, the game will bore you. I root for the Jays because they are the only Canadian team left in the MLB.
As a Canadian it would be stereotypical of me for hockey to be my favourite sport. Although I love hockey, it isn’t nearly as interesting as baseball. I think the deciding factor for me is the length of the season. 162 games gives you a ballgame to watch almost every day, which makes it easier to follow along with the standings and rankings. You don’t get this with the shorter 82 games NHL schedule because teams don’t play as often and you often miss games because you are unsure of when the next game is.
Although baseball can be slow at times and you could even say boring, there is no doubt in my mind that baseball is the greatest sport on the face of the earth.
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