Attitude difference between MLB and NBA player

Just watched Matt Kemp on Dodger replay of game with Giants tonight sprint to dead center and chase down a blast over his shoulder at the wall. The top 10 plays on Sportscenter every night always contain some that are just spectacular defensive stops. These guys are witches. But these same guys don't go nuts pounding their chests....they just act like they've been there before and are expected to make those plays. Basketball players....well not so much....got to make sure you know just how special they are after doing something even relatively average you'd expect them to do for what they're paid. Annoying.

theres unwritten rules in baseball that result in a 80+ mph ball getting thrown at you when you go up to bat after you showboat

LTLakerFan wrote:Just watched Matt Kemp on Dodger replay of game with Giants tonight sprint to dead center and chase down a blast over his shoulder at the wall. The top 10 plays on Sportscenter every night always contain some that are just spectacular defensive stops. These guys are witches. But these same guys don't go nuts pounding their chests....they just act like they've been there before and are expected to make those plays. Basketball players....well not so much....got to make sure you know just how special they are after doing something even relatively average you'd expect them to do for what they're paid. Annoying.

Do you prefer the emotion and external display of intensity in basketball or the relatively calm by comparison demeanor of baseball?

It would seem that this is a case of style preference no?

Personally seeing Big baby Davis drool like an idiot while flexing was an entertaining image (in the same way that a train wreck is entertaining).

This is also why "professional wrestling" has been around for years despite being fake - demonstrative personalities sell. We all know the NBA is trying to market individuals.

CaCHooKa Man wrote:theres unwritten rules in baseball that result in a 80+ mph ball getting thrown at you when you go up to bat after you showboat

Good point....there is that. Any of you guys seen the lefty reliever on Cincy that routinely gets it up to 102-104 mph? Yikes!!!


This dude:

Albertin Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (born February 28, 1988[1]) is a Cuban-Andorran[2] Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds. Chapman bats and throws left-handed. He is listed at 6'4" (193 cm) tall and weighing 195 pounds (88 kg). He currently holds the record for the fastest recorded pitch speed in Major League Baseball,[3] throwing 105.1 mph (169.1 km/h); however, the accuracy of this is disputed.[4] He was also clocked by one radar gun at 106 mph (170.6 km/h) in a game against Pittsburgh, although, again, there is some controversy as to the actual speed.[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroldis_Chapman

What about all the bat tossing and flipping home run hitters do? That doesn't count because it's on offense?

Lakeshow24 wrote:What about all the bat tossing and flipping home run hitters do? That doesn't count because it's on offense?

Oh come on you really equate that with actual, not metaphorical, chest beating and the "primal scream" thing going on now in the league. Hardly in the same class of look at me.

Lakeshow24 wrote:What about all the bat tossing and flipping home run hitters do? That doesn't count because it's on offense?

Bahahaha are you really gonna go there? You are really going to compare tossing a bat after a home run to stuff like the NBA players do.. always dancing, chest bumping, yelling, being over the top at every turn and not showing an ounce of professionalism their just acting like they came off of some trashy street corner game of 5 on 5. What a glorious day it would be where all these guys weren't so focused on marketing their personas that they would just STFU and play like men and not little boys

....are we over looking the fact that a lot of fans LIKE the extrovert behavior they see on the court? Again ...this really sounds like a preference issue being discussed.

Example - I have no interest in Lady Gaga. At all. I do know her name though and realize that she is..popular? She wears meat dresses, is involved with breast milk ice cream and talks about her sexuality . For the most part none of that interest me but i'm firmly aware that she keeps her name in the press and pop culture through these antics. There is a reason that basketball continues to grow and thrive as a sport and a lot of it has to do with the same marketing strategy. Keep people talking. Keep the eyeballs glued. If you want to see what "stoic class" gets you in this day and age look no further than Tim Duncan and the Spurs. While i love TIm OFF of the court on the court he isnt creating a ratings frenzy.

NFL - Terrell Owens - hate him all you want but you know his name and for a time he was THE it NFL player. Compare him to old school legend Jerry Rice who was a better receiver but received FAR less press and we all know why.

Boxing - Money Mayweather and his mouth and antics make a whole lot more $$ than Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather ever did

Olympian Track & Field women doing little cute sexy dances to create a buzz and get press

Female tennis players modeling for the same reason.

I don't think this is an NBA thing. I think it's an American Culture thing. As opposed to a Chinese Culture thing (you don't see that type of behavior in China generally because that's not how the culture operates).

Oh yeah...Skip Bayless is still employed NOT because he is a classy and quality sports anchor / source of sports information but because of his over the top buffoonery and statements. Everyone knows that.



Yet we all know his name.

HE keeps people coming back to hate or watch the train wreck.

Exactly

well they are playing a live board game, I dont pound my chest and scream when Im winning in checkers so...

i dont see whats the big deal.. just a couple days ago i was at work, i found a document that needed a correction done to it, i made that correction, stood up, beat my chest and yelled "THATS RIGHT MOTHERF#@$%!S" everyone cheered for me. its the american way.

Football players are the most annoying showboaters to me... bumping chests and everything over a tackle on special teams... but i guess when you're in that atmosphere you HAVE to be emotionally charged out there to survive

I believe they're just different kinds of sports. Different sports, different reactions. There's hardly any opportunity to go crazy in baseball because of the nature of the (often boring) game they play. Standing around in the outfield scratching and spitting for 15-20 minutes at a time with no action is not going to call for special celebrations...

I watch both sports, and NBA is just far more exciting, thus more reactions
it is also fast paced so theirs more celebrations etc.

Baseball is a slow paced game

I think CLeansed broke down the essentials quite nicely.

I'd also add that when an NBA player makes a play, it's almost always head's up against an opposing player. Baseball players are usually make a play on a ball, with no opponent anywhere nearby. The only difference might be a runner going heads with a catcher going into home base. I don't watch baseball so I don't know if dudes get amped and maybe show some emotion then but I find it hard to believe a dude would tackle a catcher, score a home run then just walk away like nothing happened.

There are showboats in baseball too but not that many. Barry Bonds...Reggie Jackson...Ozzie Smith are a some that come to mind.

These are valid points above. I feel though often plays that aren't even that big these players still act as if no need to take them in stride. Whatever....I get the emotion. And also the similar physical motion (but with different context) where there is a serious intense stare (sans primal scream) along with a fist to the chest motion that let's the arena and cameras know just how big the player's heart is....one of my favs......

nameant wrote:I don't buy the whole "it's more exciting" thing. I have seen COUNTLESS players hit routine open 3 pointers and they can't go down the other end of the court without flashing 3 fingers on their hands to the crowd.

jr smith

iguesshisnameisant wrote:..not all basketball is exciting. I have seen basketball games that are just as "boring" as baseball games.

2003-2005 seasons, turrble

Difference? NTCs and 5&10 rules. Imagine the NBA with these. Of course you could expound futher to NFL contracts... Get a hangnail. Cut.

gcclaker wrote:There are showboats in baseball too but not that many. Barry Bonds...Reggie Jackson...Ozzie Smith are a some that come to mind.

IIRC Ozzie usually did his flips after he made a defensive play. I don't mind showboating if you play D.

revgen wrote:

gcclaker wrote:There are showboats in baseball too but not that many. Barry Bonds...Reggie Jackson...Ozzie Smith are a some that come to mind.

IIRC Ozzie usually did his flips after he made a defensive play. I don't mind showboating if you play D.

Agreed... Just pointing out that baseball isn't devoid of its own characters. There was another player whose name I can't remember that caught flyballs with his bare hands.

What's funny is the first player I seen put up 3 after a basket was vlade divac. We use to laugh and say look at vlade throwing up neighborhood. Lol it was fun and something we joked about.

I always liked showoffs good or bad. They bring more interest to the game.

Tug McGraw beating of his glove, Garciaparra's at-bat routine, Mickey river's bat twirl and Sosa's after a home run salute, I loved all those things. And no baseball doesn't show-off as much as basketball, but it does not make them more professional. Yell™