I know I'm preaching to the choir here. But got in a little debate about the relative beauty of baseball and soccer on another forum. And thought I would post my response here among fellow travelers and admires of the truly beautiful game!
People who say that watching baseball is like watching paint dry continue to amaze me. I think they must have really dull senses and a form of intense attention deficit disorder. Baseball is admittedly not hyperkinetic constant motion.
Baseball alternates between quiet moments and explosive moments of high intensity, somewhat in the manner of a finely wrought symphony. Unlike with drying paint, a whole host of amazing things happens in a baseball game, each worthy of close attention, during both the quiet moments and the explosive ones. A baseball game is a series of discrete movements, many involving the exercise of high skill. Each moment is pregnant with possibility. You don't need to be near the goal or under the basket to score. You can score from any base, in the right circumstances. In a tight and competitive game, you hang on each pitch, with the gap between pitches serving to build the tension and the anticipation.
The game as a whole is a series of finely coordinated individual moments that sum to something much more than a mere collection, each contributing to the overall narrative of the game. How one could not see the intricate beauty in this astounds me. How one could not appreciate the level of control in a finely spun curveball or slider. How one could fail to be awed by the power in a blistering fastball, with late movement, placed exactly where the pitcher aims to place it. How one could fail to see the artistry in a well-executed and well planned sequence of pitches that leaves the batter in the end looking flummoxed and foolish. How one could fail to be impressed by the canniness and athleticism of a batter who fouls off tough pitch after pitch, finally drawing a a walk or hammering a triple into the gap. How one could not see the grace and athleticism of a center fielder tracking down and corralling a hard hit ball in the gap, or appreciate the technique and power that it takes to turn and throw that ball, once caught, on target from the outfield at 100 mph to gun down a runner sliding into home, testing the outfielder's arm.
How one could witness the beauty of an athletic double play, the cat and mouse dynamics of an outstanding baserunner, trying to read the pitcher to get a good jump .. and on one and on .. and compare all THAT to paint drying, of all things. Well, that's just beyond comprehension! Look, I don't mean to diss soccer. Its got its elements of beauty and grace too. But if soccer deserves to be called the beautiful game, then I guess baseball should be called the Truly beautiful game!
