geez, just kill it already

[M2d]

now they agree? (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/hockey/nhl/02/15/bc.hkn.nhllockout.ap/index.html)

Hockey's what, the sixth sport? Baseball, Basketball, Football, Golf, Nascar...Women's beach Volleyball might be bigger as well. Poker too. Now, after the original, self-imposed "drop dead date", the players' union and management have agreed to maybe agree on a salary cap? and they're talking about playing a 28 game "season"?
Don't pitchers and catchers report soon? let's get on with real sports.

[tdarko]

i am not a hockey fan either but i think you might have stirred up trouble with the canadians /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[M2d]

slow day at work. that was the point.

[BusterStacks]

Hockey is so much more of a real sport than baseball.

[Quad fours]

[ QUOTE ]
Hockey is so much more of a real sport than baseball.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree

[M2d]

so it team handball, but no one except the players like it either.

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
Hockey is so much more of a real sport than baseball

[/ QUOTE ]
hey now don't start any trouble now, haha.
baseball is the most skillful sport you can play, i didnt say athletic or any ol' basketball player or football player could do it. baseball takes athleticism too but if you dont have the skill you could be michael jordan and fail at it.
i know i know you all are going to say look at brian jordan, deion sanders and bo jackson...yes very athletic but they are rare cases and they had the "skill" to do the hardest thing in sports which is hit a moving round object with another round object. flame away

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v638/pwarcham/capt.jpg

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Also, [censored] you. Hockey rules.

[phage]

Hockey...The sixth sport? Depends on where you do the rankings. Of course the NHL should never have expanded so rapidly in the US when there were plenty of Canadian cities that would have supported a team. That may have kept the league at a more reasonable size and kept salaries down.

[JPinAZ]

Try doing everything that's done in football, except that you're standing 6 inches off the ground on a piece of metal 10 inches long and 1/8 of an inch wide. And instead of running you're travelling around 20 miles an hour. And instead of a big ball you play with a piece of frozen rubber the size of an english muffin.

[tdarko]

i am on hockey's side when it comes to toughness and difficulty dont get me wrong. now i have played baseball with dozens of canadians (some that played professional hockey--never NHL though) and EVERY SINGLE one of them says hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports.
i respect hockey players because they are obviously super-talented but you are talking about skating being difficult in your post? they grow up skating, it is like walking or running to them. nobody grows up with hitting a baseball as coming second hand or natural. tony gwynn had to take 3000+ swings a day to stay refined because it is a such a difficult thing to do and goes away so quickly.
i will be back later to reply, i gotta go throw a bullpen--i am not skilled enough to hit /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[istewart]

Hockey, while not close to my favorite sport, is still fun to watch. It's screwed itself so hard here though, it might as well pack its bags in America.

And baseball > hockey. It's not close.

[meep_42]

How many chances do you get to hit a baseball in a game?
How much prep time do you have between those chances?

-d

[phage]

[ QUOTE ]
And baseball > hockey. It's not close.

[/ QUOTE ]
Damn that is wrong...a game played at a snail's pace by steroid freaks is just not much of a sport (IMHO . /images/graemlins/smirk.gif)

[Voltron87]

That's because its going 85-100 mph, spinning, and dipping. Hockey is a tough sport to play, I hope they get the season back but all the "baseball is wack" talk is bs.

[meep_42]

Hockey pucks travel this fast and the point of origin isn't fixed. And the players are moving. On ice. With other players that can hit them.

-d

[wonderwes]

ESPN NHL 2k5 > EA NHL 2005

[istewart]

Are we supposed to be impressed by this? Hitting a baseball is harder than anything a hockey player has to do on a regular basis.

[JoeC]

I agree, used to love going to Pens games when they were good... now the only sport I can watch is college basketball.

[housenuts]

i'm at a loss why americans have never taken a liking to hockey.

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
i'm at a loss why americans have never taken a liking to hockey.

[/ QUOTE ]

A more pressing question is why they never took a liking to football.

[Benal]

[ QUOTE ]
Baseball, Basketball, Football, Golf, Nascar...Women's beach Volleyball might be bigger as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

You got it all wrong. It should read: Hockey, Football, etc..

And to those who say Baseball > Hockey - Hand over your crack pipe. You obviously have no understanding of the greatest game on earth.

[M2d]

[ QUOTE ]

i'm at a loss why americans have never taken a liking to hockey.

[/ QUOTE ]
because only about 10% of our country is frozen wasteland and we have more interesting, sun filled passtimes like baseball. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[DesertCat]

No compromises, the NHL needs to crush this union if they want the sport to survive. I'm not saying Bettman is right, or smart, but the sport needs a single decision maker and reasonable economics. You can't have the union approving rule changes, or they'll never open up the game enough to attract large fan bases. Right now it seems the thugs in the union fight tooth and nail against new rules, afraid they won't be able to make the roster in a wide open, fan friendly league.

Now that said, if Bettman gets complete control, he may still screw it up. But that's better than no-one being in control and the bottom franchises going out of business left and right.

[istewart]

Christ, stop bickering, it's so geographically-based it's pointless to talk about. Hockey is only prominent in very few American areas.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

The problem is that hockey doesn't show well on TV and the league has done a poor job of marketing. It's all about marketing. If you don't believe me, look at how stupid NASCAR is, yet it's huge - its success is thanks almost entirely to its marketing strategy. The NBA also owes much of its recent success to marketing. Football is also very well marketed, but it's simply the best tv sport there is (basketball also shows well on tv).

In my opinion, hockey is the sport of all sports, but it will have a difficult time surviving as a major sport simply because it's hard to follow the puck on a tv and the NHL has done a [censored] job of marketing itself.

[M2d]

like I said before, slow day at work.

anyway, I'm with you. baseball is the nuts. it's the best compromise between physical and mental that we're offered. it's a very democratic game in that strategy is prized almost as much as physicality. I think that's a large part of its appeal.

[istewart]

Baseball is the mathematical pwn. There are myriad books you can write on baseball that you can't write on any other sport.

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
Baseball is the mathematical pwn. There are myriad books you can write on baseball that you can't write on any other sport.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bill James is a god among men.

[M2d]

to be honest, baseball doesn't show that well on TV either. many of the details that give the game its charm are lost on the tube. as an example, when a defense makes a slight shift, because of the situation, it's often passed by on TV.
ironically, on radio, where you lose the sense of sight, the good announcers (Scully, et al) make the game come alive.
Baseball is still riding the momentum from the early 20th century when baseball on the radio was an event. that's when america fell in love with the game, and that's when the game became ingrained in our souls. Baseball has a much smaller hill to climb than other sports because it's already programmed, via our fathers and grandfathers, that we will like it.

[M2d]

forget stats. the prose that comes out of the game is unmatched in sports writing.

[istewart]

Who do you think will be on the cover of this year's SI Baseball Preview? Johnson, maybe?

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
forget stats. the prose that comes out of the game is unmatched in sports writing.

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree with forgetting about stats, mostly for personal reasons. I am a mathematician, and my initial interest in mathematics came from obsessing over baseball stats as a child.

I agree that baseball-inspired prose is without a peer in sports writing. Two favorites:

Roger Kahn: Boys of Summer
David Halberstam: Summer of '49

[jason_t]

Someone Beantown related.

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
the good announcers (Scully, et al)

[/ QUOTE ]

Three times in his sensational career has Sandy Koufax walked out to the mound to pitch a fateful ninth where he turned in a no-hitter. But tonight, September the ninth, nineteen hundred and sixty-five, he made the toughest walk of his career, I'm sure, because through eight innings he has pitched a perfect game. He has struck out eleven, he has retired twenty-four consecutive batters, and the first man he will look at is catcher Chris Krug, big right-hand hitter, flied to second, grounded to short. Dick Tracewski is now at second base and Koufax ready and delivers: curveball for a strike.

"O" and one the count to Chris Krug. Out on deck to pinch-hit is one of the men we mentioned earlier as a possible, Joey Amalfitano. Here's the strike one pitch to Krug: fastball, swung on and missed, strike two. And you can almost taste the pressure now. Koufax lifted his cap, ran his fingers through his black hair, then pulled the cap back down, fussing at the bill. Krug must feel it too as he backs out, heaves a sigh, took off his helmet, put it back on and steps back up to the plate. Tracewski is over to his right to fill up the middle, (John) Kennedy is deep to guard the line. The strike two pitch on the way: fastball, outside, ball one. Krug started to go after it and held up and Torborg held the ball high in the air trying to convince Vargo (the umpire) but Eddie said no sir. One and two the count to Chris Krug. It is 9:41 p.m. on September the ninth. The one-two pitch on the way: curveball, tapped foul off to the left of the plate.

The Dodgers defensively in this spine-tingling moment: Sandy Koufax and Jeff Torborg. The boys who will try and stop anything hit their way: Wes Parker, Dick Tracewski, Maury Wills and John Kennedy; the outfield of Lou Johnson, Willie Davis and Ron Fairly. And there's twenty-nine thousand people in the ballpark and a million butterflies. Twenty nine thousand, one hundred and thirty-nine paid.

Koufax into his windup and the one-two pitch: fastball, fouled back out of play. In the Dodger dugout Al Ferrara gets up and walks down near the runway, and it begins to get tough to be a teammate and sit in the dugout and have to watch. Sandy back of the rubber, now toes it. All the boys in the bullpen straining to get a better look as they look through the wire fence in left field. One and two the count to Chris Krug. Koufax, feet together, now to his windup and the one-two pitch: fastball outside, ball two. (Crowd booing on the tape.)

A lot of people in the ballpark now are starting to see the pitches with their hearts. The pitch was outside, Torborg tried to pull it over the plate but Vargo, an experienced umpire, wouldn't go for it. Two and two the count to Chris Krug. Sandy reading signs, into his windup, two-two pitch: fastball, got him swinging.

Sandy Koufax has struck out twelve. He is two outs away from a perfect game.

Here is Joe Amalfitano to pinch-hit for Don Kessinger. Amalfitano is from Southern California, from San Pedro. He was an original bonus boy with the Giants. Joey's been around, and as we mentioned earlier, he has helped to beat the Dodgers twice, and on deck is Harvey Kuenn. Kennedy is tight to the bag at third, the fastball, a strike. "O" and one with one out in the ninth inning, one to nothing, Dodgers. Sandy reading, into his windup and the strike one pitch: curveball, tapped foul, "O" and two. And Amalfitano walks away and shakes himself a little bit, and swings the bat. And Koufax with a new ball, takes a hitch at his belt and walks behind the mound.

I would think that the mound at Dodger Stadium right now is the loneliest place in the world. Sandy fussing, looks in to get his sign, "O" and two to Amalfitano. The strike two pitch to Joe: fastball, swung on and missed, strike three. He is one out away from the promised land, and Harvey Kuenn is comin' up.

So Harvey Kuenn is batting for Bob Hendley. The time on the scoreboard is 9:44. The date, September the ninth, nineteen-sixty-five, and Koufax working on veteran Harvey Kuenn. Sandy into his windup and the pitch, a fastball for a strike. He has struck out, by the way, five consecutive batters, and that's gone unnoticed. Sandy ready and the strike one pitch: very high, and he lost his hat. He really forced that one. That's only the second time tonight where I have had the feeling that Sandy threw instead of pitched, trying to get that little extra, and that time he tried so hard his hat fell off — he took an extremely long stride to the plate — and Torborg had to go up to get it.

One and one to Harvey Kuenn. Now he's ready: fastball, high, ball two. You can't blame a man for pushing just a little bit now. Sandy backs off, mops his forehead, runs his left index finger along his forehead, dries it off on his left pants leg. All the while Kuenn just waiting. Now Sandy looks in. Into his windup and the two-one pitch to Kuenn: swung on and missed, strike two. It is 9:46 p.m.

Two and two to Harvey Kuenn, one strike away. Sandy into his windup, here's the pitch:

Swung on and missed, a perfect game.

(Thirty-eight seconds of cheering by the crowd.)

On the scoreboard in right field it is 9:46 p.m. in the City of the Angels, Los Angeles, California. And a crowd of twenty-nine thousand one-hundred thirty nine just sitting in to see the only pitcher in baseball history to hurl four no-hit, no-run games. He has done it four straight years, and now he caps it: On his fourth no-hitter he made it a perfect game. And Sandy Koufax, whose name will always remind you of strikeouts, did it with a flurry. He struck out the last six consecutive batters. So when he wrote his name in capital letters in the record books, that "K" stands out even more than the O-U-F-A-X.

[istewart]

jason_t, you like what you do? Aspiring to be a Paul DePodesta? /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
Aspiring to be a Paul DePodesta?

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, he completely pissed me off this off-season. Beltre and Green, gone!

[istewart]

After Beltre's year, too.

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
After Beltre's year, too.

[/ QUOTE ]

And Shawn Green's second half.

Beltre should have been MVP. I'm not biased.

[M2d]

Maybe I should have said "aside from stats..."

[ QUOTE ]
Roger Kahn: Boys of Summer
David Halberstam: Summer of '49

[/ QUOTE ]
Boys of summer is pretty much the book that solidified my love of dodgerdom. I love that book. I especially love the section where Roger describes taking a bath with the maid, but that's another thread.

Halberstam's great as well. My all time favorite, though, has to be Angell. The only reason I pick up the New Yorker is when I see he has an article in it.

[zephed56]

[ QUOTE ]
now they agree? (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/hockey/nhl/02/15/bc.hkn.nhllockout.ap/index.html)

Hockey's what, the sixth sport? Baseball, Basketball, Football, Golf, Nascar...Women's beach Volleyball might be bigger as well. Poker too. Now, after the original, self-imposed "drop dead date", the players' union and management have agreed to maybe agree on a salary cap? and they're talking about playing a 28 game "season"?
Don't pitchers and catchers report soon? let's get on with real sports.

[/ QUOTE ]
You say this yet you mention Nascar. And you mention baseball like it requires lots of physical effort.

[M2d]

oh my. thank you.

[M2d]

you were obviously among the first cut from jv and have spent the intervening years bitter about that.

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
i'm at a loss why americans have never taken a liking to hockey.

[/ QUOTE ]

Because Canada invented the sport, and there are about 5 American players in the world who have the skill of the average Canadian player. They have no interest because it is not something they excel at, and therefore the fans aren't as able to cheer for their favorite players. Its kind of a circular problem - they aren't interested because they aren't good at it, but they aren't good at it because they don't show enough interest in it.

[bort411]

I think one of the largest problems in developing (or retaining) an American fan base in hockey is loyalty. There simply is none in any aspect of the sport. The Oilers selling Gretzky to LA; the North Stars leaving Minnesota (one of the few states that liked hockey to begin with); moving the Hartford franchise and eliminating that sweet Whalers logo.

Here's my personal favorite: five years ago, my Blackhawks traded team captain, team USA captain, and CHICAGO born and raised Chris Chelios to the rival Red Wings in a deadline trade for two draft picks and some scrub. As a Chicago sports fan, I'm supposed to care about our crappy team playing the hated Red Wings (if it's a home game I can't even watch it because they are blacked out) hoping at least we don't lose until overtime so we can get one meager point in a quest for the 8 seed in a 4 month marathon playoff tournament where half of those games will not be televised anyway?

NHL owners deserve what they're getting. This is the result of terrible business for the past 20 years.

[jar]

[ QUOTE ]

On the scoreboard in right field it is 9:46 p.m. in the City of the Angels, Los Angeles, California. And a crowd of twenty-nine thousand one-hundred thirty nine just sitting in to see the only pitcher in baseball history to hurl four no-hit, no-run games. He has done it four straight years, and now he caps it: On his fourth no-hitter he made it a perfect game. And Sandy Koufax, whose name will always remind you of strikeouts, did it with a flurry. He struck out the last six consecutive batters. So when he wrote his name in capital letters in the record books, that "K" stands out even more than the O-U-F-A-X.

[/ QUOTE ]

I honestly got tears in my eyes reading this, and it happened almost 20 years before I was born.

[MarkL444]

[ QUOTE ]
geez, just kill it already

[/ QUOTE ]

no kidding. i havent even noticed that hockeys gone. and with it out of the picture, Illitch can spend some more $ on the Tigers. This is good. Why?

Because baseball>>>>hockey

[MicroBob]

classic.

I do a killer Scully impersonation by the way.

I was the play-by-play announcer for the single-A Vero Beach Dodgers for 5 years (97-01).
Good times...even got to meet Scully once.

Wish I had this whole copy then....would have busted it out during a rain-delay or two (of which there are several in Fla).

All I could ever remember off the top of my head was "Ohh and Two to Harvery Keeeenn." (kind of like that).


My trademark scully impersonation line that i would use was from just a regular game.....
"and so for Steve Traschel..what else is new?? His 8th long-ball surrendered this season, tops in the senior circuit in that unennnnnviable department."

when i would really exaggerate 'unennnnnviable' I would usually get a ton of laughs and knowing nods "wow..that's TOTALLY Scully."

as well as the usual farmer john's and beeee-youuuuu-tiful Dooodger Stadium lines.

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
I honestly got tears in my eyes reading this, and it happened almost 20 years before I was born.

[/ QUOTE ]

Audio (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-032902koufax.realaudio)

[Wes ManTooth]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i'm at a loss why americans have never taken a liking to hockey.

[/ QUOTE ]

Because Canada invented the sport, and there are about 5 American players in the world who have the skill of the average Canadian player. They have no interest because it is not something they excel at, and therefore the fans aren't as able to cheer for their favorite players. Its kind of a circular problem - they aren't interested because they aren't good at it, but they aren't good at it because they don't show enough interest in it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Canada has won only 1 olympic gold medal in men's ice hockey in over 50 years. pretty sorry for the country that invented the sport... another sad chapter for "america junior"

[tdarko]

first of all i am glad i got this argument goin and it looks like it worked, baseball looks to be the favorite. [ QUOTE ]
And you mention baseball like it requires lots of physical effort.

[/ QUOTE ]
obviously stated by a person who never played it at a competitive level. you play 162 games and at the end we will see if you give them props for what they do, these guys battle everyday through more pain than you realize for a longer time frame than you probably realize as well.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
first of all i am glad i got this argument goin and it looks like it worked, baseball looks to be the favorite. [ QUOTE ]
And you mention baseball like it requires lots of physical effort.

[/ QUOTE ]
obviously stated by a person who never played it at a competitive level. you play 162 games and at the end we will see if you give them props for what they do, these guys battle everyday through more pain than you realize for a longer time frame than you probably realize as well.

[/ QUOTE ]
Alright alright baseball isn't for wussies and it's hard to play a full 162 game season. Let's be honest here, though. There's a reason they can play a 162-game season and that's because baseball isn't particularly grueling. Much like the baseball season, lifting 20 pounds isn't a big deal, but if you do 162 reps without any break, it's going to get tiring. You can't compare the tax on your body from a baseball season to that of a full NHL season, especially a full trip through the playoffs. Yes it's tough to do, but don't even try to compare it to playing a full NHL season.

[Ponks]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree, used to love going to Pens games when they were good... now the only sport I can watch is college basketball.

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too, about the basketball, not the Pens

[tdarko]

agreed grande, i dont think there is anything tougher than NHL hockey other than maybe rugby (i know some of those crazy bastards) but someone who says playing a baseball season with all the painful and nagging injuries that go with it and having to play through it is just ignorant. but you will notice that in this post even though i am a baseball fanatic that i have yet to denounce anything about hockey.
side note:the gym that i work out at has tons of NFL guys in it and i asked a few what would you rather questions, one being "would you rather get hit with a 95mph fastball or ray lewis over the middle," they all said ray lewis over the middle and these are NFL players.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

I'd take the Ray Lewis hit too. How about this now? A 95mph baseball or a 100mph hockey puck that catches you between the pads? Funny story with that one - during hockey try-outs one year, the kid with the hardest slapshot in town wound up and cranked one like you've never seen. It hit the goalie square in the nuts. It shattered his cup. A goalie cup, mind you. Shattered. He didn't get up from his knees for a good 20 minutes. I haven't heard of him having any kids yet either.

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
A 95mph baseball or a 100mph hockey puck that catches you between the pads? Funny story with that one - during hockey try-outs one year, the kid with the hardest slapshot in town wound up and cranked one like you've never seen. It hit the goalie square in the nuts. It shattered his cup. A goalie cup, mind you. Shattered. He didn't get up from his knees for a good 20 minutes. I haven't heard of him having any kids yet either.

[/ QUOTE ]
ok ok that would be the nuts /images/graemlins/grin.gif

oh [censored] what a terrible pun! /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[Deftoner]

Anyone who thinks hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports is infinetly wrong. Nearly anything done on a football field is clearly hardly, aside from blocking. Apparently you don't realize how fast the players are actually moving. I'd like to see you complete a pass vs a NFL defense.

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone who thinks hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports is infinetly wrong. Nearly anything done on a football field is clearly hardly, aside from blocking. Apparently you don't realize how fast the players are actually moving. I'd like to see you complete a pass vs a NFL defense.




[/ QUOTE ]
this post is so ridiculous it doesnt even deserve the time to type a response

[jason_t]

This is completely absurd.

[scotty34]

That's because all of our best players (I'm not sure how many, but well over 200) are playing in the NHL, which up until recently, did not allow its players to participate in the Olympics. Take the top 200 hockey players away from any other country, and see how well they would stack up to Canada in the Olympics.

[scotty34]

Same deal with the captain of our midget AAA team. Took a slapshot square in the nuts, shattered his cup, and one of hits nuts exploded *shudder*

[tdarko]

man that just makes me quesy reading about it /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[zephed56]

[ QUOTE ]
you were obviously among the first cut from jv and have spent the intervening years bitter about that.

[/ QUOTE ]
Clearly. Good argument too.

Nah, I was an ice hockey player. And a soccer player. I played tee-ball once though.

Seriously, baseball players are sitting for at least half the game, and stand in one place for most of the other half. I'm wrong how?

The fat girl at work gets more exercise in a week than baseball players do during a game.

[zephed56]

[ QUOTE ]
first of all i am glad i got this argument goin and it looks like it worked, baseball looks to be the favorite. [ QUOTE ]
And you mention baseball like it requires lots of physical effort.

[/ QUOTE ]
obviously stated by a person who never played it at a competitive level. you play 162 games and at the end we will see if you give them props for what they do, these guys battle everyday through more pain than you realize for a longer time frame than you probably realize as well.

[/ QUOTE ]
Look, I know that it is not easy to play that many games, and eventually your body will fatigue and lead to injuries.

But each individual game of baseball is less physically demanding than a hockey game. It's not even close.

[zephed56]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd take the Ray Lewis hit too. How about this now? A 95mph baseball or a 100mph hockey puck that catches you between the pads? Funny story with that one - during hockey try-outs one year, the kid with the hardest slapshot in town wound up and cranked one like you've never seen. It hit the goalie square in the nuts. It shattered his cup. A goalie cup, mind you. Shattered. He didn't get up from his knees for a good 20 minutes. I haven't heard of him having any kids yet either.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yiles, I always tried to nail my goalie in the head at practice. He was an idiot. /images/graemlins/heart.gif

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I'd really prefer that the NBA just go away.

[Ray Zee]

yea i watched koufax throw some of those no hitters. but baseball is the only game that you can enjoy over the radio. of course not with present day announcers. poeple want too quick gratification. and a long slow game doesnt do it for them.
hockey isnt a u.s. game and that makes it tough for it to keep an audience for long. u.s is where the money is at and they have to find a way to keep the game fun and interesting to watch. last year i went to a sharks game and sat in one of the best boxes. i really and honestly fell asleep at the game.

[MicroBob]

In 1995 I saw a catcher take a similar injury on a foul-tip.

He laid there on the field in agony for 20 mins or so before the ambulance carted him off.

Was told they actually swelled up to the size of grapefruit (or maybe one of them did).

He reutrned 3 or 4 days later and could barely walk. This was AFTER it had actually healed somewhat.

I got chills just watching him try to shuffle around (kind of walking) with his legs all spread apart.

Don't know if he had kids or not...he eventually became the manager of that team.


I also saw a right-handed batter against a lefty-sidearm/submarine style pitcher for a really freakish injury.
The lefty came way around with a breaking-ball that jammed the batter....he checked his swing and fouled it off straight up and into his eye.

He laid there bleeding out of his eye-socket for awhile...and didn't know for a few days if he would be able to see out of that eye again. After the swelling went down his eye-sight was thankfully just fine.


A guy I worked for in Vero Beach used to play in the minor-leagues. He got hit by a pitch in the eye and had to wear a patch for several months before he actually re-gained his eye-sight (the doctors didn't think he would get it back). Other who I have talked to who were there called it one of the worst injuries they have ever seen (from the point of being sickened just by witnessing it).


Baseball injuries can realy suck.


I have worked in both baseball and hockey and am a fan of both sports. I think arguing about which is 'better' is silly.

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
Seriously, baseball players are sitting for at least half the game, and stand in one place for most of the other half. I'm wrong how?

The fat girl at work gets more exercise in a week than baseball players do during a game.




[/ QUOTE ]
that is as ignorant as me saying hockey players only play for a minute at a time.

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
But each individual game of baseball is less physically demanding than a hockey game. It's not even close.

[/ QUOTE ]
throw or catch a nine inning game and come talk to me

[M2d]

stick a fork in it. it's done.
i heard an interview with some team official who said that Hockey can bounce back like baseball did after they killed the world series. um...yeah...right. Baseball started with a huge fan base and only had to bring the fans back. Hockey has a huge row to hoe.

[jar]

They just killed it. Heard Bettman announce it on the radio.