Preference of sport relies on what one wishes to get out of his or her respective "favorite" sport. If fast-pace passing and shooting at a goal with frequent bone-jarring hits, with very little climax and the very good possibility of a fight breaking out, then by all means, watch hockey. If you want to see very technical skills, slow-paced action, chess-like strategy, and amazing climax-building endings, then choose baseball.
I watch allot of hockey, and I love the gritty action it gives its fans. Hockey is a fast-paced game, perfectly created for the fan who wants to mindlessly watch a thrilling contest between people who can skate extremely well and extremely fast. There is some strategy involved, but not near the amount that there is in baseball or even football for that matter. (My opinion)
These same people can hit a hockey puck faster than anybody can throw a baseball and they can tackle, cross-check, and hit other people harder than some football players, considering they are moving faster before that hit than a football player is before a tackle.
Points in hockey are scored one at a time and in a variety of ways, adding a very creative aspect to the sport. Passes can be made blindly, behind the back, by flipping, by wristing, or by slapping, as can shots on goal. To me this is the most exciting and impressive part of the sport. Pucks are sometimes deflected, on purpose, with amazing accuracy.
Players are able to rest twice during a game as there are three periods in a hockey game. This allows time for the fans to get their beverages, eat, or take a break from the intense action on the ice. Hockey also has the Zamboni machine.
The players are graceful, brutal, physically tough, and well-conditioned in hockey.
Baseball is a slow-paced game, allowing managers to plot EVERY play in the game before it happens. Pitchers have time to think about every pitch;batters are able to think about their approach to every pitch. Fielders are able to gather in their minds what they will do in every situation if a specific situation arises. The average fan does not appreciate this; the avid fan does. Hockey coaches can call plays but can not plan every pass before it happens. One of the things I enjoy most about baseball is trying to guess what pitch is coming, how a pitcher is going to work a hitter, what play the offense will put on and what play the defense will put on. I love that.
Baseball players have the best hand-eye coordination of any players from any other sport. In no other sport does a player have to propel an object back faster than the object was directed toward him.(That of course is only one aspect of what a hitter has to do at the plate) Baseball players have to throw, catch, hit, and run at top speed. No other sport calls upon its athletes to do ALL of these things. No, it does not take the toughness or the physical endurance of hockey, but it takes far more technical skill and mental toughness, as a baseball player experiences more failures over the course of a year than does an athlete in any other sport.
In baseball, runs can be scored one, two, three, or four at a time, sometimes taking many, many minutes of climax-building time to create. In no other sport can momentum change faster than in baseball. That's where the real excitement comes from. In football, hockey, and basketball, games can be over with many minutes left in the match. That can be extremely boring. In baseball a game is never over until the final out. In hockey, a team scores - one way - by scoring a goal. In baseball, teams can score in an infinite number of ways.
There is no resting during a game in baseball. Granted, they don't need a twenty-minute intermission to get their bearings about them, because baseball does not exude the amount of endurance needed as basketball, football or hockey. However, I like this about baseball. There is never any time to look away or go to the concession stand, except for 5 minutes between every half-inning.
Players are mentally tough, extremely athletic, well-coordinated, flexible and some are called upon to achieve a specific technical skill that they can do better than most.
I would also like to add that talent is more evenly dispersed in baseball. Hockey has had a number of players win multiple MVP awards, with one winning nine. In baseball, only one has ever won four and few more per player has won it multiply. Every year, in baseball, a different player could dominate, proving also, how the game is a game of very technical skills. Some years, a player's skills can be right on, while other years, the skills of that players could be off. It's fun to see what player will "break out" from year-to-year. In hockey there is less of that type of anxiousness.
So you see, comparing baseball and hockey is like comparing apples and oranges. I respect the condition that hockey players are in. I respect their ability to do things on skates only a handful of people in the world can do. I respect their physical toughness. However, I prefer a game that is slower-paced, more strategic, much more technical, and not to mention, a game that has a much richer history filled with great stories, anecdotes, and more interesting charcters than hockey. That's why baseball is the best game for me and for millions of other people in the world. I tried to give a neutral analysis of both sports and hopefully one can see why baseball and hockey are sports that attract a different fan-base with some overlap.
Baseball is a sport for those who have patience. Hockey is for those who want a more excitement. Bottom line is, baseball in general takes more talent than hockey. In no way is hockey easy, if it was I would be playing it and picking up my 7 digit paycheck too. But Baseball has movement on the pitches, strategy, and when the ball is coming at you at 90 MPH, with movement, and your trying to hit that; it would seem to be obvious that a hockey puck going 100 mph, with less movement, would be easier to get your whole body, or one of your appendages in front of to stop, than to hit a Slider that can very in speeds. On the other hand American League Baseball probably takes much less skill . But that is just my opinion, I am looking forward to some input from others on this topic.
I watch allot of hockey, and I love the gritty action it gives its fans. Hockey is a fast-paced game, perfectly created for the fan who wants to mindlessly watch a thrilling contest between people who can skate extremely well and extremely fast. There is some strategy involved, but not near the amount that there is in baseball or even football for that matter. (My opinion)
These same people can hit a hockey puck faster than anybody can throw a baseball and they can tackle, cross-check, and hit other people harder than some football players, considering they are moving faster before that hit than a football player is before a tackle.
Points in hockey are scored one at a time and in a variety of ways, adding a very creative aspect to the sport. Passes can be made blindly, behind the back, by flipping, by wristing, or by slapping, as can shots on goal. To me this is the most exciting and impressive part of the sport. Pucks are sometimes deflected, on purpose, with amazing accuracy.
Players are able to rest twice during a game as there are three periods in a hockey game. This allows time for the fans to get their beverages, eat, or take a break from the intense action on the ice. Hockey also has the Zamboni machine.
The players are graceful, brutal, physically tough, and well-conditioned in hockey.
Baseball is a slow-paced game, allowing managers to plot EVERY play in the game before it happens. Pitchers have time to think about every pitch;batters are able to think about their approach to every pitch. Fielders are able to gather in their minds what they will do in every situation if a specific situation arises. The average fan does not appreciate this; the avid fan does. Hockey coaches can call plays but can not plan every pass before it happens. One of the things I enjoy most about baseball is trying to guess what pitch is coming, how a pitcher is going to work a hitter, what play the offense will put on and what play the defense will put on. I love that.
Baseball players have the best hand-eye coordination of any players from any other sport. In no other sport does a player have to propel an object back faster than the object was directed toward him.(That of course is only one aspect of what a hitter has to do at the plate) Baseball players have to throw, catch, hit, and run at top speed. No other sport calls upon its athletes to do ALL of these things. No, it does not take the toughness or the physical endurance of hockey, but it takes far more technical skill and mental toughness, as a baseball player experiences more failures over the course of a year than does an athlete in any other sport.
In baseball, runs can be scored one, two, three, or four at a time, sometimes taking many, many minutes of climax-building time to create. In no other sport can momentum change faster than in baseball. That's where the real excitement comes from. In football, hockey, and basketball, games can be over with many minutes left in the match. That can be extremely boring. In baseball a game is never over until the final out. In hockey, a team scores - one way - by scoring a goal. In baseball, teams can score in an infinite number of ways.
There is no resting during a game in baseball. Granted, they don't need a twenty-minute intermission to get their bearings about them, because baseball does not exude the amount of endurance needed as basketball, football or hockey. However, I like this about baseball. There is never any time to look away or go to the concession stand, except for 5 minutes between every half-inning.
Players are mentally tough, extremely athletic, well-coordinated, flexible and some are called upon to achieve a specific technical skill that they can do better than most.
I would also like to add that talent is more evenly dispersed in baseball. Hockey has had a number of players win multiple MVP awards, with one winning nine. In baseball, only one has ever won four and few more per player has won it multiply. Every year, in baseball, a different player could dominate, proving also, how the game is a game of very technical skills. Some years, a player's skills can be right on, while other years, the skills of that players could be off. It's fun to see what player will "break out" from year-to-year. In hockey there is less of that type of anxiousness.
So you see, comparing baseball and hockey is like comparing apples and oranges. I respect the condition that hockey players are in. I respect their ability to do things on skates only a handful of people in the world can do. I respect their physical toughness. However, I prefer a game that is slower-paced, more strategic, much more technical, and not to mention, a game that has a much richer history filled with great stories, anecdotes, and more interesting charcters than hockey. That's why baseball is the best game for me and for millions of other people in the world. I tried to give a neutral analysis of both sports and hopefully one can see why baseball and hockey are sports that attract a different fan-base with some overlap.
Baseball is a sport for those who have patience. Hockey is for those who want a more excitement. Bottom line is, baseball in general takes more talent than hockey. In no way is hockey easy, if it was I would be playing it and picking up my 7 digit paycheck too. But Baseball has movement on the pitches, strategy, and when the ball is coming at you at 90 MPH, with movement, and your trying to hit that; it would seem to be obvious that a hockey puck going 100 mph, with less movement, would be easier to get your whole body, or one of your appendages in front of to stop, than to hit a Slider that can very in speeds. On the other hand American League Baseball probably takes much less skill . But that is just my opinion, I am looking forward to some input from others on this topic.
