Why Baseball Is Best
Before we get going, we need to clarify some terms and make some distinctions in
the conversation. So far the comments we’ve seen in this discussion have raised
several issues, and all of them can’t be addressed in one post. It seems to me,
and you can correct me if I’m wrong, there are three major issues before us: 1)
What is a sport? (discussion on ride across the sky) 2) What is an athlete? 3)
What is the best sport?
Question 1 is being discussed on another ride across the sky, and the answer to
question 2, simply put, is one who competes in the answer to question 1. So far
in the discussion about what a sport is, the main part of the debate has been
whether judged events such as figure skating, gymnastics, diving and the like
are sports. The major question on those sports has to do with whether or not the
scoring in those sports is objective (I argue that it is objective, but see the
other site). There are, however, some undisputed sports, and these are the ones
we want to focus on. I would be willing to add others to this list (it is by no
means exhaustive), but here are the major sports in America, listed in no
particular order: Baseball, Football, Basketball, Soccer, Ice Hockey, Tennis,
Golf (I’m sure some of you will debate this), Volleyball, Lacrosse, Track &
Field, Combat Sports, Swimming, and I’m sure more could be added to this list. I
believe that team sports are more difficult, and therefore superior, to solo
sports. This eliminates Track & Field, Swimming (please don’t argue that relays
in these two sports are team events – also these two sports are very one
dimensional), Combat Sports, Tennis, & Golf. Volleyball is out, because it’s
really very simple and not nearly as demanding as the other sports we’ve already
crossed out. Lacrosse is a tough one because when you consider the basic
elements of the game, strategy, and physical requirements it matches up with the
remaining sports, however, there’s no discussion that the other five sports are
significantly more popular. Popularity is not an end all to the discussion, but
there’s only one person in the conversation (I think) who has ever even played
it. Besides that Deacon Blues (who even coaches Lacrosse) says Baseball is best,
so we don’t really have to argue about it. Finally, Lacrosse is essentially Land
Hockey. There are differences, but the basic elements of the game are very
similar. So, that leaves us with Baseball, Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, and
Soccer; these are the ‘big five’ American sports.
One more preamble to the discussion – I am a Baseball man. I have played these
other sports (except hockey) at in some limited capacity, but I have not given
nearly as much thought to the other games. As far as I’m concerned, when we come
up with ranking system for these sports, positions 2 through five are completely
debatable (although I have a suspicion which way it will go). That is to say,
after baseball I have no specific loyalty to another sport. Also, I’m going to
post this in four different posts so we can discuss, if necessary, each facet of
the argument.