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Cricket Vs. Baseball

KiWiNiNjA

International Coach
Yeah, it is situational, but that's the gist of it.

Considering the great batters fail 6 times out of 10.
 

BackFootPunch

International 12th Man
Yeah that number has always just blown me away. It must be tough to know that, even though you're really very good, you're going to fail at your primary job 60% of the time.

It's interesting that a batter can have that one perfect swing and make great contact and drive in the runs that win a game, yet a batsman in cricket can play the perfect cover drive for four then snick off next ball and look like an idiot.

Baseball is about winning the really big moments throughout a game, cricket (batting at least) is about not losing the average-sized moments over and over again.
 

Howe_zat

Audio File
Yeah that number has always just blown me away. It must be tough to know that, even though you're really very good, you're going to fail at your primary job 60% of the time.

It's interesting that a batter can have that one perfect swing and make great contact and drive in the runs that win a game, yet a batsman in cricket can play the perfect cover drive for four then snick off next ball and look like an idiot.

Baseball is about winning the really big moments throughout a game, cricket (batting at least) is about not losing the average-sized moments over and over again.
It's just the other way around though. In cricket the very finest bowlers only succeed around once in every 50 deliveries, i.e. they fail 98% of the time.
 

KiWiNiNjA

International Coach
Yeah, but for a bowler in cricket there are varying levels of success. A dot ball can be viewed as success. They also have the time to work over batsman, so it's not all about taking a wicket of every ball.

With the batter in baseball it basically comes down to getting on base (a hit or a walk), or making an out. Yes, there's the number of bases that one takes from a hit, but ultimately their job comes down to only two outcomes.
 

Hurricane

Hall of Fame Member
I find baseball a bit boring at times. My major beef, and I will do a loko by suggesting a rule change here, is that you shouldn't be allowed to step outside of the batters box between pitches. I realise they do it so they can see the signals from the third base coach - but have them just turn around quickly and make the signals quicker. I basically want the time between each pitch drastically reduced.

If I knew more about the game i would probably enjoy predicting what pitch is coming next based on the pitch count etc.

My final beef is that I don't enjoy some of the american commentators. The commentators are so keen not to insult the intelligence of the learned baseball fan at home that all the commentary is very understated (again I would like this if I knew more about the game).

Live baseball is fun and the game is the perfect length and you don't notice the time between pitches at all as you are too busy drinking, making small talk, and then standing up for the 7th inning stretch.
 

Hurricane

Hall of Fame Member
A second post on this topic - is that I would be interested to know of any ex cricketers who have gone to MLB.

I know Devon White played cricket (in Jamaica possibly?) only until he was 14 and then took up baseball. He had a very vertical swing to his bat when chasing low pitches.
 

Lokomotiv

U19 Cricketer
Actually, I know a lot of cricket fans who are big fans of baseball. And I'm one of them.

If you look at the New Zealand Cricket team from a couple of years back, more than half the team were big baseball fans. I think the whole side went and watched a Marlin game on one tour, and a Dodgers or Giants game on another.

Also, that video is horrible, especially since I've never heard about cricket fans finding baseball boring.

It's almost like you have to like one or the other, or something. I like both sports, and I like them because of there differences.
Baseball has clear shortcomings.

1. Left batters have clear advantage
2. "Strike zone" is dependent on umpire
3. There is no boundary
 

Pietro Modena

Cricket Spectator
Actually, I know a lot of cricket fans who are big fans of baseball. And I'm one of them.

If you look at the New Zealand Cricket team from a couple of years back, more than half the team were big baseball fans. I think the whole side went and watched a Marlin game on one tour, and a Dodgers or Giants game on another.

Also, that video is horrible, especially since I've never heard about cricket fans finding baseball boring.

It's almost like you have to like one or the other, or something. I like both sports, and I like them because of there differences.

I'm sure there are Cricket fans out there who enjoy Baseball.. but a majority of Cricket fans I know here in the US just can't get to like it. Similarly, I would be willing to bet all of my money that a Baseball fan would never like Cricket. The problem is that when you're raised on one sport, and then exposed to the other sport as an adult, you're going to look at that other sport through the lens of the sport you were raised with... and therefore, you're going to find it uninteresting. Now, if one were raised on both sports, it's a different story.
 

Pietro Modena

Cricket Spectator
Baseball has clear shortcomings.

1. Left batters have clear advantage
2. "Strike zone" is dependent on umpire
3. There is no boundary
They are only shortcomings from your point of view.

A lot of Baseball fans say how Cricket has several shortcomings, like:

1. No baserunning
2. No stealing bases
3. No foul territory

It's all about perspective. To them, Cricket lacks those things so it's uninteresting. I think the video does a good job in letting Baseball fans understand how others see their beloved game, much like how they see ours and constantly poke holes.
 
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Dan

Hall of Fame Member
He's playing some nice cut shots there. If the captain had installed a gully he would have had it far easier.
 

KiWiNiNjA

International Coach
As a cricket fan, I have found that <insert sport here> has many shortcomings.

1. It's just not cricket.
2. Umm, no, I think I covered everything in 1.
 

NUFAN

Y no Afghanistan flag
The thing which I always find difficult to understand in the MLB is the 162 games per season. I have a few sports where I watch my team play every match and just feel that it would be almost impossible to do so over the course of a season. I understand that the players are professionals, but with the small number of teams which makes the playoffs, I feel as though there are a large number of matches which are not exactly meaningless, but not played at a high intensity. I know it wont be changed though, for historical reasons..

In saying that, when I was in New York I went to a Yankees game and a Mets game and absolutely loved it.
 

BackFootPunch

International 12th Man
The thing which I always find difficult to understand in the MLB is the 162 games per season. I have a few sports where I watch my team play every match and just feel that it would be almost impossible to do so over the course of a season. I understand that the players are professionals, but with the small number of teams which makes the playoffs, I feel as though there are a large number of matches which are not exactly meaningless, but not played at a high intensity. I know it wont be changed though, for historical reasons..

In saying that, when I was in New York I went to a Yankees game and a Mets game and absolutely loved it.
Yeah you'd think there'd be heaps of nothing games but I guess with only 10 teams out of 30 making the playoffs they've gotta be up for every one because often a team will miss out on the postseason by just a game or two.

I imagine things lost a bit of their usual intensity when two rubbish teams are playing each other late in the season though.
 

BeeGee

International Captain
I enjoy both sports.

When the world contains both chocolate and cheese, why must you choose one over the other? Sure, the cheese isn't as sweet as the chocolate and the chocolate isn't as salty as the cheese, but who cares? Enjoy them both!

Go Rockies! Go Blackcaps!
 

Hooksey

Banned
I enjoy both sports.

When the world contains both chocolate and cheese, why must you choose one over the other? Sure, the cheese isn't as sweet as the chocolate and the chocolate isn't as salty as the cheese, but who cares? Enjoy them both!

Go Rockies! Go Blackcaps!
I like chocolate but not big on cheese. There's the difference then.
 

Dan

Hall of Fame Member
I'm a huge cheese fan and don't mind chocolate on occasion.

Given how much I like cricket, that bodes fairly badly if I ever try and get into baseball :ph34r:
 

Hooksey

Banned
I'm a huge cheese fan and don't mind chocolate on occasion.

Given how much I like cricket, that bodes fairly badly if I ever try and get into baseball :ph34r:
I wonder what food determines how much people like AFL football then?

Thinking souvlaki and soccer might enjoy some symmetry?
 

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