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My esteemed colleague here at The Inscriber, Michael Soltesz has written a brilliant piece that you not only can, but must read on whether baseball has passed it’s prime, and if so what if anything can be done about it.

You can read it right here, and I highly suggest you do.

Now first I want to say this piece is brilliantly written, it is thought provoking and if you are one of the unwashed masses—Yes! that is one of my favorite phrases—then it may even ring true. However, if you are one of the intelligent more evolved people you will realize that baseball is a true thinking man’s game, and that’s what makes it so incredible.

Look, I am not blind to the fact that football now totally dominates the sports landscape. But that is much more a reflection of the times we live in than the real watchability and how good the sport truly is.

The world we live in has gotten to the point that waiting 2 minutes for something to heat up in a microwave is too long. We are a society of instant gratification, and to be quite honest with you, it is sickening. You wonder why kids have no attention spans anymore.

A sport is supposed to be a leisurely pastime that you can enjoy, where time stands still and the only thing that matters is the game in front of you. You say the pace is a little slow, you’re damn right it’s slow, that’s how it’s supposed to be. It is supposed to be savored as you watch, not wanting to get the hell out of there. If you want it that fast, there is no point.

A baseball stadium is almost the last bastion of civility in this country, where time stops for everyone.

Think about it, in all other sports, if you’re down 5 scores in the last 2 minutes, you are going to lose. Not only do you have to battle your opponent, but you are battling the clock. In baseball, if you’re down 5 in the bottom of the 9th, you have as much time as needed to come back. There is nobody else you have to do battle with but the opponent.

I realize people crave the “excitement” of football, and believe me, I love it too. But I love a well-played baseball game a hell of a lot more. That 1991 World Series was a better series than any single Super Bowl, PERIOD. There, I said it.

I would also go one further than that and say the difference between Baseball and Football is like the difference between Checkers and Chess. Sure checkers are fun and everyone can play, it’s fast paced and there’s strategy involved, but chess is a game of beauty and intelligence and patience.

So as I said, while the unwashed masses wait for their opponent to king them, I will take a queens gambit any day of the week. So you want to make baseball better, leave it the hell alone. It has stood the test of time for over 125 years; it doesn’t need your freaking help.

One Reply to “MLB: Comparing Baseball To Football, Like Chess vs. Checkers”

  1. I can’t believe some people are allowed to write columns. Football is ETERNALLY more strategic and complex than simple-minded baseball!! And it is most certainly chess in this comparison!! And a clock running out only adds to that complexity because a whole different strategy and set of plays need to be be developed for that situation. Also think about the roster sizes and the player matchups that must be considered and the amount of film study involved. These things and more go into a game plan that changes with each new opponent. I could go on and on. You’re just repeating a false assumption that baseball has always undeservedly enjoyed. Just because a game is slow doesn’t mean mean it’s smart. Let’s line ’em alphabetically by height, eh?

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