Why do some people dislike baseball from the bottom of their hearts?
A netizen recently asked, “What is it about baseball that people don’t like?”. Let’s look at the top responses!
THE GAME FEELS MORE RIGID
“I think to casual fans, the game feels more rigid and allows for less creativity than other sports. It’s easier to appreciate an impromptu no-look behind-the-back pass in basketball or an improvised move in football than Urias changing arm slots against Soto or creative pitch sequencing or what have you in baseball.”
THEY’RE NOT MARKETING IT RIGHT
“A kid I know, who for most of his life called baseball boring without hesitation, was finally taken to his first game this year. It was one of the highest-scoring games of the year. Yesterday, we went to another one, and his eyes were glued to the field the entire time because the pitcher was on his way to 14 strikeouts. He said he didn’t even care that there was no offensive action since the third inning since the pitcher made it so entertaining.
I believe that people call baseball boring because they’re not marketing it right. This kid had never even tried to watch it before until he was forced to, and now he loves it, and he’s watching games on TV and asking to go back to watch them in person.”
THERE ISN’T A LOT OF ACTION PER SE
“I can understand why a casual ‘fan’ wouldn’t gravitate towards the sport. It takes a while; there isn’t a lot of ‘action’ per se. I know the sport well enough to appreciate good pitching or know when the action will most likely happen. I can sit there and spitball, telling little stories about many random players in the league. It’s not as palatable for people who aren’t that invested.”
IT HAS A LOT OF RANDOMNESS
” Baseball has a lot of randomness built into it. In any game, the best player on a team probably won’t do anything that looks impressive to the casual fan. The best player on a basketball or football team often does something extraordinary in a random game.
So when a non-baseball fan turns on a baseball game, it not only seems to them like not much is happening, but even the best players don’t seem to shine. It’s challenging to market the top players because of this. You have to watch baseball regularly to appreciate who is doing something great, but if you’re doing that, you’re probably already a baseball fan.”
THE PACE
“Many people don’t like the pace; they never learned the game and simply don’t appreciate it. It is the same idea as to why many people don’t like soccer.”
IT’S GONE TOO FAR INTO SABERMETRICS
“Baseball is a fun sport that I grew up watching and appreciated. However, there’s not enough what-the-hell anymore; it’s gone too far into sabermetrics and everything being dictated by pitch counts, and it tends to drag a lot more than when I was a kid.
As I often say, it’s a pleasant diversion from the severe hockey business.”
THE PITCHES HAVE ZERO EFFECT ON THE GAME
“If every batter came to the plate with a 3-2 count, it would be more like football. A steadier tension/release. It is all the pitches that do not affect the game that turn viewers off.”
IT’S TOO SLOW AND BORING
“I mostly hang around non-baseball fans. All it comes down to is the pace and the action. People find the game too slow and tedious. Everybody tries to act like it’s more than that, but it’s because it’s slow-paced compared to other sports and other forms of entertainment.
And honestly, it’s the stigma that it’s a boring game that turns people away without giving it a chance.”
IT’S A GAME OF SUBTLETY
“It’s a game of subtlety. Contrast that with something like football, which certainly has subtlety but is more accessible to enjoy without understanding the subtleties.
I think you benefit, as someone trying to watch baseball for the first time, from listening to a broadcast that can explain those subtleties well and entertainingly. Explain the strategies that the pitcher and catcher are using. Explain things like positioning. That sort of thing.”
IT’S TOO SLOW
“It’s too slow. There’s no player contact, and there may be 30 minutes between anything remotely exciting happening. Even in football, where teams can trade off three and outs, at least there’s a fraction of excitement in some plays.
Baseball will never appeal to casual fans at home. Casual fans don’t care about the details. They want to see hits and fun plays, not a pitcher taking 20 seconds to decide on a pitch and a batter stepping out of the box after every angle to adjust his gloves.”
IT DOESN’T HAVE DRAMA AND STORYLINES
“Stupid people need drama and storylines to enjoy sports. Tom Brady, Lebron, etc. Baseball doesn’t have them, so stupid people don’t watch it.”
THE 1V1 STATIC MATCH UP
“The core of the sport is a 1v1 match up that’s mostly static and can play out much like a chess match. I’m not going to make the argument that it’s a ‘thinking man’s sport’ for a lot of reasons, but if a viewer isn’t comfortable with that being the focal point of the game (for whatever reason), then they’re not going to have a good time.”
TOO LONG
“The games are long (3+ hours), and a lot of it is just nothing happening while the pitcher waits for the catcher to get the sign from a manager on what pitch to call. Every. Single. Pitch.
I love following baseball, but I don’t particularly appreciate watching it on TV anymore. I can’t be starting a game at 8, knowing it won’t end until close to midnight.”
IT’S FINE ART
“It’s an art. Not everyone has the mental capacity to enjoy fine art.”
THE GAME RELIES HEAVILY ON STATISTICS
“Part of it is that the game relies so heavily on statistics that they can find ways to make the game more efficient for winning. However, a more efficient brand of baseball is so damn boring to watch. The stat guys that are hired want to make the game as mechanical and as predictable as possible, but that removes a lot of the randomness that can be fun.
Add that the simple stats to understand, like batting average, are shouted down when you discuss them because advanced stats are better.”
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This article was originally published on Mrs. Daaku Studio.