Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
One of my facebook buddies, Robert Valera of Leominster, brought up a good point today as he asked the question, "What is the hardest thing in sports to do for the average person?"
He lists hitting a Major League fastball, tackling an NFL running back, hitting a 3-point shot against an NBA player, hitting a hole-in-one in golf or stopping a shot by an NHL player.
Is there a right or wrong answer? No way.
But as far as I'm concerned, I'm going to wipe away two selections right away: 3-point shot and stopping a puck. The puck might be the easiest since you just need to put pads on and hope Sidney Crosby hits you with the puck. If you're 300-plus pounds, you've already taken away the majority of the space in between the pipes so you're chances of deflecting one away is pretty good.
The 3-point shot, I know it's hard, but does anyone really play defense in the NBA anymore? I'm guessing Kobe Bryant would play off of you and allow you to pop in a trey --maybe not.
Tackling an NFL running back seems like a no-win situation -- Adrian Peterson goes 1 on 1 with you and you stand your ground, but he complete smashes your face into the turf. It can be done, but you might never recover from your multiple fractures.
But my point is that even though you shouldn't have any business tackling a pro football player, it can be done. Not brute strength vs. real brute strength, but dive at his legs and upend him. You don't have to be powerful to do it, cut him low and hope his knee doesn't ring your bell or you'll definitely have a concussion.
Best advice: flop on the ground and pray he loses his balance while trying to leapfrog over you -- that's still considered a tackle.
I'm not really buying the hole-in-one deal, either. How many 80-somethings do you read in the paper that recorded a hole-in-one on some course? More people do it than just Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson, right?
I have no patience for golf and am really bad at it, but I almost did it a long time ago when golfing with my father-in-law. I think the shot was 100-plus yards away, I could have thrown the ball onto the green from the tee, but it doesn't matter the course length.
Hitting a Major League fastball is no joke.
There's a reason why so many people can't play the game at a high level. Failure is the nature of the beast in baseball. It's one thing to brag that you hit an 84 mph fastball as a college baseball hero, but 92-95 mph and even higher in the majors is a lot different.
Sure, you could stick out your bat and get a piece and foul it off, but I'm saying that doesn't count. Be a mouse and try to bunt ... again, that doesn't count.
We're talking about being a real man and taking a big league cut. Oh, don't forget, pitchers tend to not always hit their target, too. So look out, getting drilled in the head or ribs should always be in the back of your mind. Your reaction time is next to nothing while facing real MLB heat, this isn't Wii baseball you're playing. I suppose you could get lucky like everything else and make real contact, but it's not as easy as many might thing -- but those are usually guys who couldn't even make their Little League team. Or if they did, it was because daddy was the league president.
Hitting a MLB pitcher is easily the hardest thing in my book.
Do you agree or disagree?
I think hitting a major league pitcher or trying to make a one-timer slap shot are the two toughest things to do in sports. It's all that balance you need to get off a good shot on the ice that gets me!
ReplyDeleteBut you need to remember, stepping in front of a 100 mph slapshot takes big brass balls as well as skill.
ReplyDeleteTeddy Ballgame said it himself - hitting a round ball with a round bat is the hardest thing to do in sports. And all he did was hit .344 for his career. Gents, he is hands down, the benchmark for hitters.
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