Why is baseball better than soccer? The better question should be why shouldn’t baseball be better than soccer. As someone playing baseball for close to a decade now, I can safely say that it’s one of the best sport out there.
All over the world, however, soccer or what the un-Americans call football is the best sport. While both sports have their own group of fervent supporters, as far as I am concerned, baseball is much better than soccer.
I know for a fact that what I am saying will lead me to get stabbed in an alley somewhere tonight. But this needs to be said. I get that FIFA and World Cup get millions of views but so does the MLB, but it isn’t getting the love it deserves, which angers me.
To change that, I have come up with a list of reasons numbering in 25 which should help you understand the beauty of baseball and why it’s better than soccer.
Table of Contents
Reasons Baseball is Better than Soccer
1. Umpires
There isn’t a single sport out there with 100% competent umpires or referees, but in baseball, some are competent. While the like of home plate CB Bucknor might have reduced our trust in baseball umpires. But there are some still out there whom we can put our trust in.
But in the case of referees for soccer, they are mostly looking for imaginary infractions and other minute issues. Therefore they are not seeing some of the blatant fouls happening in front of them.
Both sports make use of instant replays, but in the case of soccer, it makes an appearance mostly for goals and similar plays.
2. Managers
According to my experiences, I believe that baseball coaches have brass balls compared to soccer’s managers. In fact, I have seen MLB coaches removed from the field due to them getting into the umpire’s faces more than once.
On the other hand, other than the soccer manager yelling at everyone, I haven’t seen them do much else. Sometimes I have seen them just standing there with wide eyes and nothing else.
Also, a common scene that I see more often than not in soccer is the manager shouting at their player for whatever reason. But in baseball, the coach’s main concern is the player’s wellbeing.
3. Equal Opportunity
When you hear equal opportunity, most of us think that we are talking in the political sense. But in this case, we aren’t actually talking about politics. Instead, we are saying that both teams have an equal chance of winning.
Another aspect of equal opportunity in baseball is that the team was tearing a member down because he messed up somehow. This putting a player down or blaming him is especially true in soccer.
In baseball, the team consists of nine players for both the offensive and defensive parts. As such, whether they win or lose will depend on those nine players. Whether it’s the minor or major leagues, you won’t be able to tell if they will win just because the other team is missing one of their regular players.
4. No Tied Games
This point is related to what we talked about above in that baseball is an equal opportunity sport. So, therefore, a baseball match won’t end until there is a clear winner.
In baseball history, there have only been a select few matches that ended in draw/tie, all of which were due to foolish decisions. In fact, there have only been three World Series matches that ended in a tie.
However, in soccer, ties are rather common from an early age to even now. For that reason, I don’t like watching soccer matches since most often than not, a penalty shoutout is what decides the winner. This, to me, is a cop-out as far as I am concerned.
5. No Own Team Score
I know that it doesn’t happen that often but in soccer, I saw players score for the other team by mistake. In soccer, we call it “own goal“, and other sports have their own version of this.
Thankfully, there is no such thing in baseball, and before you get worked up, fielding mistakes don’t count.
6. MLB Pro Athletes
As a baseball athlete, I know the demands a sport can have on someone’s body. So, therefore, don’t take what I am about to say as an insult to soccer as a whole. But I find soccer players lacking in a sense.
I say lacking because I have seen too many soccer players fall down from a simple tackle and bawl their eyes out. But on the other side, base runners are diving or sliding on diamonds without care.
By using this as an example, I am saying that baseball players are built slightly differently from soccer players. We can see this in another side of baseball. The cleats of soccer players and baseball players show how different their athletes are from one another.
7. MLB Sportsmanship Respectful
To most, a stadium or field isn’t anything that important, but that shouldn’t be the case for sports players. This is because on the field is where they get to do what they love the most and where they get to shine.
This is most visible for baseball players since many of them think of the diamond as something holy. Especially if it’s their home field.
Also, fans of the sport take it quite seriously because there are regulations for gambling in minor and major leagues. In addition, the baseball league is rather strict about Performance Enhancing Drugs(PEDs) and other such things.
At the same time, the World Cup series for soccer is one of the most gambled on sports events globally. There have been cases in which, due to gambling, many suspected teams took a dive in a match.
8. MLB History
Say what you about how old soccer might be compared to baseball, but I believe in the end, baseball has a more rich history. While it might have been in play longer than the other baseball fans and players are more connected to its history.
If you find this hard to consider, just look at players like Babe Ruth, Cy Young, and others like them and what they did for the sport. In fact, some of their accomplishments had impacts that changed world history.
Any players that make it to the Hall of Fame know that their legacies will live on for generations. So, to begin with, we built the Hall of Fame to house their accomplishment for years to come.
9. Without Time Limit
Like soccer, most of the sports around the world have time restrictions. So regardless of the league, these sports played, the players will have to follow a set time limit. But not baseball!
Out of all the sports I have at least come across, baseball is the only one with a time limit. In fact, all this sport has a number of innings that a game might run for, which is nine innings.
I have said this before, but a time limit only hinders a player not helping them unless the situation calls for it.
10. Action Without Action
One of the common comments I hear about baseball from people that don’t know too much about it is that the sport can be rather dull most of the time. Hearing something like that really grates on me. In fact, I have heard people use this so-called dullness as an excuse to say it is baseball, even a sport.
In between a pitch, a whole host of thinking is being done, some of which a proper fan might be able to follow. From the batter’s tendencies to his last at-bat, all of these things are being considered by both the catcher and the pitcher.
So next time you see nothing happening on the field, don’t jump to a baseless, get it, conclusion.
11. Ballparks VS Stadiums
In baseball, each stadium has a personality about them that I found out that only those who really appreciate the sport can see. This isn’t a knock about soccer stadiums and their fans but just something that I observed.
Also, have you ever looked at a soccer stadium and felt something nostalgic about them because I haven’t. Every soccer field in the world is built to look the same which might impact the gameplay, but it doesn’t help make it look welcoming.
In terms of making something look cozy, baseball ballparks take the win, in my personal opinion. If you look closely at ballparks such as Fenway Park and Yankee stadium, you will see what I mean by saying welcoming.
These ballparks showcase brick fronts with warm colors and other friendly presence that makes a trip there enjoyable.
12. Art in Plays
In soccer, the players are kicking the ball from one side to the other, and into me, that just lacks an artistic touch that I see in baseball. By artistic touch, what I mean is that a play that takes my breath away.
I AM ALWAYS IN AWE when I see pitchers such as Gerrit Cole and Chris Sole or hitters such as Trea Turner and Shohei Ohtani. Now, none of these players is doing something out of the ordinary.
In fact, they are only doing what they need to do but just doing it well.
13. No need to be Captain America
By not needing to be Captain America, I mean that baseball players don’t need to be in peak human condition. To convince you, I just need to make you look at players such as Babe Ruth or Pedro Martinez.
Both the players I mentioned above were at the top of their respected position, yet they looked as nonathletic as possible. However, suppose you look at any active soccer players. In that case, they all look like they are trying to be the next American super-soldier.
14. 162 Games in a Season
Both soccer and baseball have world series games, but the one for soccer happens once every four years. Baseball World Series happens every year, on the other hand. As a result, Soccer World Cup holds 64 games, while the baseball world series holds 162 games.
15. Minor Leagues
Soccer also has a type of minor league like baseball, but I prefer the one in baseball. The simple reasons are that it’s more visible for fans, the divisions make it easy to see their improvements, and you can cheer the ones you like from the get-go.
All in all, baseball’s minor leagues make it easier and more fun to watch the rookies play compared to soccer.
16. Small Changes Big Impact
Both soccer and baseball have been around for a long time, and throughout this time, there have been changes obviously. But in my eyes, the changes in baseball haven’t been as drastic as those in soccer.
The biggest change in baseball was the instant replay through slow-motion cameras. Yet, compared to changes in soccer, it isn’t that big. But the impact the cameras bought has been big.
17. Anything Can Happen
In soccer, some teams just dominate, such as Manchester United or the Brazilians or Portugues in the World Cup. However, that isn’t the case with baseball.
In baseball, even the worst of teams like the Astros can have the chance of winning 1 in 3 or even 2 in 3 games. The possibility of anything happening is what makes baseball better than soccer.
18. All-Star Games
Sure soccer has the World Cup and EPL but is anything as awesome as the All-Star baseball games. Not to me, there isn’t.
They all make this mid-summer classic such an awesome event, from the home run derby to the future games or the fan fest, even the celebrity softball game. Also, the constant sold-out crowd in a baseball stadium makes it much better than any soccer event.
19. Outside Talent Growing
In soccer, we see that players at a younger age attempt to get into the English league because their home team is not that great.
On the other hand, in baseball, the players are actually improving themselves to the point that teams in the US are the ones that are going to poach them before they become stars. This chance of proving yourself beforehand is what makes baseball better than soccer.
20. Farm Systems
Baseball is a rather hard sport even compared to soccer, especially in hitting a baseball. Due to this, baseball has what is known as a farm system or farm team. The purpose of this is to give the players more experience before they move on to the Big League.
21. Stats!!
Sure soccer has goals and passes percentages for their players, but baseball is the king of having stats. In fact, the game revolves around statistics so much that there is a whole different name for it called sabermetrics. Alongside those stats, you have records that will never be broken.
22. Commercials
Certain players from both baseball and soccer will be sponsored to appear in commercials. Still, the ones for baseball are slightly different. Because in baseball, the commercials come only during idle time.
But in soccer, for every 11 minutes of gameplay, you might actually see a chunk of that time in replays which to me seems ludicrous.
23. Family Event
There is a reason why baseball is said to be the nation’s Pastime because families can watch it. The action and excitement of the sport make it so that both male and female young and old can enjoy it equally.
On the other hand, soccer is seen more as a guy’s sport before and even now.
24. Wide Skillset
Soccer is a rather specialized sport. If you are a foreword or a striker, that is the only set of skills you will need to learn, meaning there are restrictions on you.
But in baseball, the sport is broader; thus, a fielder can become a pinch hitter since he will have learned about hitting beforehand while training.
25. The Movies
When was the last time you heard about a good soccer movie, and how often have you seen an amazing baseball movie. That is all I have to say!
Conclusion
These are the few reasons why I believe baseball is better than soccer. However, there are definitely more out there, and each baseball lover will have their own list.
When it comes to America’s Favourite Pastime, baseball will always be better than soccer.
