Daniel's Directory

I believe there is no greater sport than the sport of baseball.

Before I explain, I must ask, what makes a sport great?

Is it the sport’s competitiveness? Is it its athleticism? Is it the strategy behind the sport?

Let’s break those down piece-by-piece.

Baseball’s competitiveness is unmatched by any other sport. In a sport where not a lot of runs or points are scored, every hit, every play, every pitch matters. All 9 innings matter. Every aspect of the game matters when you don’t have a lot of wiggle room for error when the right move can get you out of an inning, and the wrong move can give up 3 runs.

The athleticism of baseball is also something that can’t be underestimated. Think about how quick the sport moves once the ball is in play. The reaction time needed in baseball is unmatched by any other sport. For instance, it takes only a couple of seconds for a ball to be hit out to the outfield, the outfielder to run under it and make the catch. It takes less than a second for a 3^rd baseman to react to a hard-hit ground ball down the line. And it takes 300 ms for a batter to see a pitch, decide whether or not to swing, and then swing the bat across to plate to make contact.

How about the strategy behind baseball, or, as I like to call it, the most intricate game of chess in the world? Every single pitch leads to multiple different strategic choices. Do you throw a fastball or an off speed pitch? Should I swing away or bunt? Does the defense implement a shift? Should the runner steal? All of these decisions and more are made on every pitch.

That is why baseball is the greatest sport.

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