Baseball And Cricket

[chonabot]

One thing should be absolutely clear, cricket and baseball are both far superior to futbol/soccer.   That is a nancy boy sport if ever there was one.  Soccer/futbol players throw like girls.

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Tell that to Wayne Rooney and comeback when you get out of spelling hospital....

[markt]

Alan Smith is Chairman of the London Warriors baseball club.

He used to play cricket where he was a spin bowler. In one match he took all ten wickets! (That means as a bowler (pitcher) he got all the outs in the game.)

He took up baseball and became a breaking-ball pitcher. Throwing slow, junk-ball stuff that even the American ex-pats had trouble hitting!

He enjoys both sports, as do the countless Aussies who live in the UK and play both baseball & cricket.

Comparing the two is daft as they both use different techniques. In baseball the hitter hits off the back foot, in cricket, it's off the front.

Cricket-playing critics of baseball ask why baseball players wear gloves?

But that's because baseball has five wicket-keepers: the infielders/catcher. They all have the ball thrown at them at speed, whereas cricket has one, the wicket-keeper.

Someone earlier mentioned the Dutch. They've just hosted the World Baseball Championships, and finished fourth. Link- http://www.wkhonkbal.nl/index.php?taal=eng...45f49c98444e1b6

Edited October 16, 2005 by markt

[Narachon]

One thing should be absolutely clear, cricket and baseball are both far superior to futbol/soccer.  That is a nancy boy sport if ever there was one.  Soccer/futbol players throw like girls.

:D

Tell that to Wayne Rooney and comeback when you get out of spelling hospital....

Neva Hoid 'o him.....

[markt]

What, never heard of Luu Nee?

[Narachon]

What, never heard of Luu Nee?

Sorry.

Look at my Sig.

[keddy]

Alan Smith is Chairman of the London Warriors baseball club.

He used to play cricket where he was a spin bowler.  In one match he took all ten wickets!  (That means as a bowler (pitcher) he got all the outs in the game.)

He took up baseball and became a breaking-ball pitcher. Throwing slow, junk-ball stuff that even the American ex-pats had trouble hitting!

He enjoys both sports, as do the countless Aussies who live in the UK and play both baseball & cricket.

Comparing the two is daft as they both use different techniques.  In baseball the hitter hits off the back foot, in cricket, it's off the front.

Cricket-playing critics of baseball ask why baseball players wear gloves?

But that's because baseball has five wicket-keepers: the infielders/catcher. They all have the ball thrown at them at speed, whereas cricket has one, the wicket-keeper.

Someone earlier mentioned the Dutch.  They've just hosted the World Baseball Championships, and finished fourth.  Link- http://www.wkhonkbal.nl/index.php?taal=eng...45f49c98444e1b6

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You're wrong about Cricket being only a front foot sport, Markt they play off both feet. Did you never see those great West Indian batsmen playing, back in the day. Also it's not so daft comparing the two sports, after all both originated from the ancient English game of stool ball and there are still many similarities to be seen. Also the ball is thrown hard, as well as fielded hard off the bat, though Cricketers aren't so delicate and don't need gloves

[markt]

Obviously Keddy, you've never played both sports, otherwise you would know that a cricket outfielder throws the ball back to the wicketkeeper. The baseball outfielder throws the ball to the cut-off man.

Regarding batting: Yes, cricket batsmen do bat off the back foot when attempting a "slog", but the foremost shot played is off the front foot.

Yes, the ball is fielded hard off the bat, which is incidently is a flat bat, therefore when the spinning ball makes contact with the bat, it deadens the spin.

I used to play cricket and currently play baseball. The way in which the two sets of players warm up before the game is different too.

Two baseball players will stand about 60 feet from each other and throw the ball back & forth as hard and as acurately as possible.

In cricket, as a fielder, you are fielding the ball off the bat. In baseball, you are also fielding the ball off another fielder. ie. third base accross to first, a throw of 90 feet.

In cricket, i enjoyed the batting, in baseball i enjoy the fielding.

Edited October 17, 2005 by markt

[keddy]

Obviously Keddy, you've never played both sports, otherwise you would know that a cricket outfielder throws the ball back to the wicketkeeper.  The baseball outfielder throws the ball to the cut-off man.

Regarding batting:  Yes, cricket batsmen do bat off the back foot when attempting a "slog", but the foremost shot played is off the front foot.

Yes, the ball is fielded hard off the bat, which is incidently is a flat bat, therefore when the spinning ball makes contact with the bat, it deadens the spin.

I used to play cricket and currently play baseball. The way in which the two sets of players warm up before the game is different too.

Two baseball players will stand about 60 feet from each other and throw the ball back & forth as hard and as acurately as possible. 

In cricket, as a fielder, you are fielding the ball off the bat.  In baseball, you are also fielding the ball off another fielder. ie. third base accross to first,  a throw of 90 feet.

In cricket, i enjoyed the batting, in baseball i enjoy the fielding.

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Judging by your remarks you don't seem to have much experience watching Cricket, let alone playing the game. The back foot shot is not just a slog and has a variety of different techniques; backfeet drives on and off side, the pull and the hook, as well as the leg glance and late cut, which can be off both front and back feet. The fielders also have to take many hard fast balls, catching in the slips, backing up attempted run outs, as well as stopping hard drives in the covers. Also you're compmpletely wrong about the flat bat deadening the spin. Have you never watched Shane Warne and others bowl? I appreciate you're a baseball fan but learn more about Cricket before spouting on about how the game is played.

[markt]

However the gap, since the series finished, has not been easy to fill so I have had to resort to watching baseball and trying to understand the nuances of the game and I'm beginning to get into it. I see many similarities with cricket.

Try playing them both, then you will understand.

Both games are great, but different. Of course there are similarities, they are both played with a bat & ball.

You said you was beginning to get into baseball - great and now's the right time what with the MLB playoffs coming to a conclusion.

[Narachon]

I certainly agree with the dismal assessment of "A Rod"

Alex Rodriguez came to the coaches' room and apologized for his hitting .133 (2-for-15) with no RBIs in the playoffs

Probably kissed 2005 MVP award good-bye with that...

He proabably will still get it. Remember, they award the MVP for how well a player does during the regular season, not how bad he does during the Postseason during clutch moments...

A-Rod tops Ortiz for AL MVP

Posted: November 14, 2005

Associated Press

AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK -- For all their big hits, fielding was the difference between Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz when it came to balloting for the American League's Most Valuable Player.

A-Rod won the award for the second time in three seasons in a vote that rewarded an all-around player over a designated hitter. In his second season as the New York Yankees' third baseman, Rodriguez received 16 first-place votes, 11 seconds and one third for 331 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Ortiz, the DH for the Boston Red Sox, got 11 firsts and 17 seconds for 307 points. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero received the other first-place vote and was third with 196 points.

"I think defense, for the most part, being a balanced player and also saving a lot of runs on the defensive side, I think was a major factor here," Rodriguez said after Monday's announcement. "To me, defense is foremost. It's always been. The White Sox showed us this year pitching and defense wins to this day."

Voting was done before the start of the postseason, when both the Yankees and Red Sox were eliminated in the first round. Rodriguez hit .133 with no RBIs in a five-game loss to the Angels while Ortiz batted .333 with a home run as the defending champion Red Sox were swept by the Chicago White Sox.

"I would certainly trade his World Series championship for this MVP trophy," Rodriguez said, thinking back to Boston's 2004 title. "That's the only reason I play baseball. It's what I'm consumed to do right now."

Rodriguez hit .321 with an AL-high 48 homers, 130 RBIs and 21 steals, breaking Joe DiMaggio's 68-year-old Yankees record for home runs by a right-handed hitter (46). A-Rod also won the award in 2003, his final season as the Texas Rangers' shortstop before he was dealt to the Yankees.

He didn't think the award would end criticism that he doesn't perform in the clutch or isn't a winner.

"We can win three World Series, with me, it's never going to be over. I think my benchmark is so high that no matter what I do, it's never going to be enough, and I understand that," he said. "Maybe when I retire is when all critics and all that kind of stuff will end."

Ortiz batted .300 with 47 homers, a major league-leading 148 RBIs and one steal. Big Papi had 34 RBIs that put his team ahead, the most in the AL, and had eight RBIs from the seventh inning on that gave Boston the lead for good.

"He is the one special player right now, like Barry Bonds, who can change the game around simply with his batting," Rodriguez said.

Ortiz could not be reached for comment.

"Without David, we don't make the postseason. David made an enormous impact on this team, and you can't understate his impact in the clubhouse," Red Sox teammate Curt Schilling said. "Congratulations to Alex. Either one of them could have won it. Both had MVP years."

Rodriguez became the first Yankees player to win the award since Don Mattingly in 1985 and only the fourth player to win an MVP with two teams, joining Bonds (Pittsburgh and San Francisco), Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia Athletics and Red Sox) and Frank Robinson (Cincinnati and Baltimore).

"I'm very pleased with the year he had," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He's getting more comfortable here in New York. Alex helped us win so many games, both offensively and defensively, and he continues to improve."

Still, A-Rod would have had a different approach in October if he had a chance against the Angels, who tried to pitch around him.

"My one regret is I thought I could have walked 10 or 12 times and really just passed the baton and been a little bit more patient," he said. "Probably at the end, I got a little overanxious."

A-Rod also is the fourth to win at two positions, following Detroit's Hank Greenberg (first base and left field), the St. Louis Cardinals' Stan Musial (outfield and first base) and the Milwaukee Brewers' Robin Yount (shortstop and center field).

The Yankees have won the award 19 times, the most of any team.

"A-Rod demonstrates the talent, hard work, and dedication of a true winner," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement. "I look forward to great things for many years from A-Rod as a Yankee."

Rodriguez also spoke publicly for the first time about a report in the New York Daily News this month that he was at a New York poker club. Playing at such clubs is not illegal, though it can be against the law to operate them, the Daily News reported.

"Obviously, it wasn't the right thing to do," he said. "In retrospect, it's probably a place I shouldn't have gone."

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AP Sports Writer Howard Ulman in Boston contributed to this report

Copyright 2005 Associated Press.

The voting was a lot closer than I expected. I guess Ortiz's "clutch" hitting won over some voters. ARod and Ortiz were about as close as you can get in an MVP ballot statistically wise. A-Rod is an amazing player, among the top the best in the leauge, but after his disapointing performance during the playoffs, I strongly believe that voting should not be cast until after the completion of the World Series. I think performing in pressure games/situations should account for something..

But in the end, I'm glad that a Yankee one, once again this year, and not one of those other guys up north.. :D

As for the Nationals, The Card's Albert Pujols won his first National League MVP award, while the Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee almost got the title though ( hear that, Tripcore? )

As for other Yankee news.....Looks like Hideki is staying in the Bronxs , at least until 2009 ...