I am re-watching game 5 of the 2017 World Series and at the end the Astros brought in a guy who never appeared in the game to be the pinch runner and he scored the game winning run. Obviously I am not familiar with the rules in baseball but it makes me wonder how effective Usain Bolt would be as a pinch runner.
Deion was the fastest in the terms of "team sports" speed ever. The guy had the record at the combine without really trying for a while.
One of the reasons I enjoy baseball is because pure traditional athleticism isn’t the primary trait that determines success. Yes, it’s hard to be good if you’re not big, fast, and/or strong, but the bar is MUCH lower than it is for American football, hockey, soccer, or basketball. Hand/eye coordination is really the main thing you have to have, and straight line speed is relatively worthless. Usain Bolt might well be the best traditional athlete to ever live. But his size and speed wouldn’t give him nearly the advantage in baseball that it gave him on the track. Had Bolt played baseball throughout his life, he likely would have been a good player; high high potential as a CF with power. But had he suddenly decided in his 20s to try it out, he would have sucked and likely not been able to compete at the AA level, even after playing several years. Anyone who can run 40 yards in 4.3 seconds can play professional football. Any 7 foot man can play professional basketball. Baseball is hard but not because it requires athleticism; it’s hard because it requires tens of thousands of hours of practice to be an elite player, regardless of how naturally gifted a player is.
I didn’t say NFL or NBA. But yes, meeting those criteria generally ensures the ability to play professionally.
Couldn't disagree more with these two claims. If you take out professional sure. But those 2 things don't automatically make you capable of playing at the highest level. It isn't nearly that easy. not even close. There's a reason it's only 1% that are capable of making it
Again, I didn’t say NBA/NFL, just professionally. And to be sure, there’s a similar situation in baseball; any person who can throw a baseball 100 mph can play professionally. So that is one area of baseball where pure athleticism can determine opportunity.
professionally is relative. there's "professional" leagues outside the US that aren't truly at that level of elite. It's just made of up guys who aren't able to make it to the actual elite level.
Of course “elite” is a subjective word. But I consider any person who can earn a living playing a sport to be “elite”.
There's a number of leagues outside the US where you're making less than $20K-30K. And obviously that's not really earning much of a living and i wouldn't call that elite either
There are plenty of 7 footers with no coordination or basketball skills whatsoever. There are plenty of incredibly fast guys without the other skills necessary to make a living at professional football.
You know what separates an Olympic Gold medalist from the guy in the race that finishes last, milliseconds.... Usain Bolt makes too much money to even consider baseball. Though what you've said has likely been tried, there are sprint stars throughout the world. But why haven't they taken the millions of dollars the MLB offers? It's because to play MLB, a guy needs to have the total package in minimum skill set. Who would waste a roster spot on a sprinter to steal a base, when teams only care between 12 and 13 position players? You need a catcher, you need an IF, and you need an OF. Plus you need to carry you're bullpen stocked, because if not your pitchers get over worked and they start getting injured. But even if there was a free roster spot for everyone to have designated base stealer in baseball, the most important thing is having the instinct to steal a base. Some of the fastest guys in baseball suck at stealing base, yet some mediocre runners steal bases and never get caught.
Top speed and baserunning speed (acceleration and turns) aren't the same thing. I imagine there are quite a few guys in the league who could go 1st to 2nd as fast or faster than Bolt can. He would probably be pretty amazing going 1st to home on a ball in the gap, but in most scenarios a normal really fast guy who knows what he's doing with slides and reads will be a more valuable baserunner than Bolt.
Honestly, being the extremely fast isn't a guarantee of success as a base runner. Major league baseball history is flooded with guys that were extremely fast that were poor or average base stealers. It is the same for playing centerfield..... while you usually cannot be SLOW..... instincts and the ability to study pitchers and counts and circumstances play a huge part in all of it. Also Bolt is 6'5" tall and that isn't optimal for stealing bases. So the reality is that because of his sheer speed Bolt would likely be a good base stealer and runner, but wouldn't dominate without having other intangibles and his size would hurt him. Even Deion Sanders, who was shorter (and had some instincts) was a good but not great base runner. He could steal you bases but was thrown out about a quarter of the time and he made mistakes trying to stretch it on the the base paths.
