Every sports fan has their game of choice. However, just because you’ve got a favorite, that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the others. You’re in a non-exclusive relationship with your go-to sport, and that means it’s just fine to branch out and see what else is out there. And for sure, you won’t be short of options. By one count, there are more than 8,000 sports across the globe.
Of course, most of those sports are pretty niche and quirky and certainly not on television. But even if you stick to the “big sports,” you’ll have plenty of options. One sport that’s often overlooked outside of the United States is baseball. Tune in, and you’ll find that there’s much to love about this game.
However, while the premise of the sport is simple enough to grasp, understanding it on a deeper level takes time. In this blog, we’ll run through some key ways to improve your knowledge and comprehension of the sport. You’ll be an expert soon enough!
Watch More Games
They say that if you want to know what good art looks like, you should simply look at one thousand paintings. By the time you’re done, you’ll have a good idea of what’s quality and what’s trash. You can apply the same principle to baseball. While it’ll take you a long time to watch a thousand games, remember that every journey begins with a single step. There are games more or less every day during the regular season, so you’ll have no trouble finding something to watch. You’ll find that it won’t be long before you have a decent enough grasp of what’s going on and what a quality team looks like.
The Best Of the Best
As we said, the more games you watch, the more you’ll tell the difference in quality between teams. But after you’ve watched a fair few games, look at focusing on the better calibre games. You’ll speed up the education process by watching the best of the best, and by this, we mean players, not teams. Currently, the two best MLB players are Mike Trout and Mookie Betts. Trout continually posts outstanding batting average numbers. Betts is an all-rounder and a key reason why the Dodgers are among the favorites in the MLB Betting Odds to win the World Series. Watch a few of their games, and you’ll soon see what all the hype is about.
Go To A Game
We’re lucky to live in an age when we can watch a sporting event just by switching on the television or pointing our browser to a website. But the truth is that while this is convenient, it’s not the best way to get the full picture of a sport. It just gives you a pretty clear snapshot. You’ll find that you’ll learn much more by attending a game in person. Of course, this will be more difficult if you don’t live in the United States. But hey, that does provide a pretty good reason to take a trip stateside!
When you’re there, you’ll see the nuance and skill of the player much more clearly. Plus, you can tell by the crowd’s reaction whether something was spellbinding or a serious error; those things don’t usually come across on the television. You can also make a point of going to a local watering hole after the game and speaking with an old-timer. They’ll have plenty to tell you about the game — just be ready to indulge plenty of “it was better in the past” monologues.
Play The Game
Finally, he’s a surefire way to understand baseball on a deeper level: play it yourself! It’s difficult to comprehend the difficulty of what the leading players are doing when there’s no context. If there’s a batting cage nearby, pay it a visit. You’ll likely have the ball setting on ‘slow,’ which will mean the ball will be coming at you at around 30mph. The fastest ever pitch was 105mph. Then you’ll understand!