Mainstream sports in America all have their differences. That’s what sets each of them apart and the reason they're interesting as stand-alone games. As different as soccer is to hockey, they both have a goal and free-flowing pace. Volleyball and tennis both have nets and rallies. And then there’s baseball — America’s favorite pastime. It might seem like just another sport, but when you really think about it, baseball is super weird. (Obviously, this is based on mainstream American sports ... not quidditch or frolf.)
1. There is no clock.
In every single sport you can think of, there is some form of clock to keep track of play time. From the strict game clocks and shot clocks of basketball to the subjective 90 minutes in soccer, players must always think about a clock impacting their decisions and play. Baseball is played at its own leisurely pace with only the umpire to tell you to hurry up in batter’s box. Even golf officials give more of an effort to keep play at a reasonable pace.
2. Professional athletes chew tobacco during games.
This is nuts. Countless MLB players stick a giant wad of chew in their lip while they get paid millions to play a game. It’s getting less common today due to cancer awareness, but even chewing gum or sunflower seeds while you play a professional sport just seems so odd. Moral of the story: I fell really bad for the person who has to clean the dugout floors after every game.
3. Coaches wear the same uniform as the players.
Imagine Bill Belichick, on the sideline strapped up in shoulder pads and tight football pants.
4. Failing seven out of 10 times is a good thing.
In the MLB, if you're hitting anywhere around .250-.300, you're doing pretty well. Let’s call that average. You're doing extremely well hitting anywhere around .400 and you're in a slump anywhere under .250. To put it simply, if you have 10 at-bats, and you don’t get a hit 7 times, you're an average MLB hitter. Seventy percent of the time you miss, but you're still doing well.
5. A complete lack of technology.
Until very recently, instant replay in baseball did not exist. There’s been an unwritten rule in baseball that technology and replay have no place in baseball. However, managers (oh yeah, coaches are called managers in baseball) now have the option to challenge a play and defer to instant replay. This is a great step in the right direction for the MLB. I understand the whole “human element” argument. But I don’t understand how it’s argued. Critics claim it slows down the game, but baseball really can’t get any slower.
For being widely considered America’s sport, baseball sure is strange in its rules and intricacies. At the same time, maybe that’s why baseball is so synonymous with American history and culture. We do everything differently than the rest of the world. We ignore the logic of the metric system and come up with our own ways of doing things. Though the game has lost much of its national appeal over the years, baseball’s complexities and quirks are what hold the charm of America’s pastime to today’s world.
