Do You Have to Have Been Good at Baseball to Understand It?

[Omar 382]

That's why John McGraw never got to 3000 wins.

Yeah, and Buck Showalter, Joe Maddon, Jack McKeon, Earl Weaver, and Joe McCarthy all had/have no understanding of baseball

 

[rmilia1]

I played a sport professionally albeit not baseball. I think you can understand a sport without playing it. The level of understanding is not the same though imo. That said it's not the elite guys that usually understand a sport best. Those type of guys generally had so much talent that they never had to develop a more complete understanding. It's why formerly elite guys usually fail as coaches in most sports.

 

[Sportsguy9695]

it helps if you have played it in the past. but you can learn it on the fly

 

[broncosmitty]

Yeah, and Buck Showalter, Joe Maddon, Jack McKeon, Earl Weaver, and Joe McCarthy all had/have no understanding of baseball

Buck was an All American, a fifth round pick and nearly a .300 hitter for his professional career.

We may need a definition of what "being good" is.

 

[jwolt92]

I played 4 years worth of college ball. I don't give a flying fuck if you played it or not. There's a certain appreciation required for baseball, but it doesn't matter if you ever could make the throw from short to first.

My brother is a bigger fan of baseball than I'll ever be and he never played after he was 11.

 

[Omar 382]

Buck was an All American, a fifth round pick and nearly a .300 hitter for his professional career.

We may need a definition of what "being good" is.

Ok, what about the other guys?

 

[msgkings322]

Your terms are so vague that there's really no absolute way to answer the question. What's 'good at baseball'? What's 'understand' in this context?

I never played pro ball nor college ball, but I feel like I'm a knowledgeable fan. I 'understand' a lot about it but very little about what pro players know intuitively. Do I win?

 

[broncosmitty]

Ok, what about the other guys?

McKeon - 11 year professional career.

Maddon - professional catcher.

Weaver - 14 year professional career.

McCarthey- player for the Yankeed and Cards.

Id qualify all as "good".

If your occupation is "baseball player", at any point in your life, without a doubt you were a good baseball player.

We're you talking bout Little League in the OP?

 

[Rex Racer]

So I can't appreciate how hard it must have been for Jesus to fast in the desert for 40 days unless I do it myself?

Well, you have been talking a lot about losing weight

 

[Rex Racer]

Technically, the answer is NO................................... however, I find it far more likely that someone who played baseball long enough to make a college team, minor league team or MLB will understand the game as opposed to someone who never played or quit after Little League.

 

[DragonfromTO]

Technically, the answer is NO................................... however, I find it far more likely that someone who played baseball long enough to make a college team, minor league team or MLB will understand the game as opposed to someone who never played or quit after Little League.

Sure, but the beauty is that you almost never have to actually make that kind of blind generalization, you can almost always listen to what each of them has to say and use that to draw a conclusion the "proper" way on whether or not they know what they're talking about.

 

[williewilliejuan]

No, it doesn't hurt, but that wasn't the question. Is it absolutely fundamental to understanding it?

Not at all. I would venture to say that many people who have played even at the highest levels don't go deep into the rule book. They're not tied together at all.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

I played a sport professionally albeit not baseball. I think you can understand a sport without playing it. The level of understanding is not the same though imo. That said it's not the elite guys that usually understand a sport best. Those type of guys generally had so much talent that they never had to develop a more complete understanding. It's why formerly elite guys usually fail as coaches in most sports.

Paul Molitor

 

[DragonfromTO]

Paul Molitor

Ted Williams was also, by pretty much all accounts, a terrible manager. Almost all that the team would ever do is take batting practice, since that's all Ted ever wanted to do. But what worked for Ted isn't necessarily what will work for everyone.

They tell a somewhat similar tale about Bob Gibson. Gibby wanted every pitcher to throw like him, but obviously very few players can do that.

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

So I can't appreciate how hard it must have been for Jesus to fast in the desert for 40 days unless I do it myself?

You should at least go for 41 days and beat the record!

 

[Wazmankg]

I think, as with any sport, you can't really appreciate or understand it unless you've played and by that I mean played legit organized ball for a few years, not just pickup stuff. I don't necessarily think that, over & above that, how good you were makes all that much difference.

 

[Iffster]

Let's put this out on the table. Omar, despite his "story", has probably never played baseball. He is pissed that people who have played the game...at least to some extent....pick on him for being a panzy who only knows baseball statistics.

My suggestion to you Omar...if it bothers you that people who HAVE played the game think they know/understand more about baseball than you...they've already won your argument. Those people know the muscle feel of the game. They know the intuitiveness of the sport. They know the exhilaration, disappoint, and fear of doing something - that you don't and can't know. Bottom line, Omar. Those people know/understand baseball in a very different way, and at a different level, than you do with your statistics. I prefer THEIR way of knowing or understanding

Straight forward, Omar. As an "Older" gentleman, I miss my ability to go out and field a hard hit ground ball, to hit a breaking ball, to react to a pop-fly. Nowhere in my memory do I have a feeling of loss over no longer calculating my wRC+ or my BABIP. (cuz I never did!) Will YOU be able to say the same 30 years from now? Kind of says something about the future of the baseball, huh?

 

[Omar 382]

I played baseball for 10+ years. If you don't believe me, eat a dick.

 

[redseat]

No you don't have to have played to understand the game. You just have to have the willingness to learn or just have an open mind

 

[Iffster]

I played baseball for 10+ years. If you don't believe me, eat a dick.

Don't believe you....if you did, this stuff would not bother you.