Does Basketball take skill and athletisicm compared to other popular sports?

I agree that baseball requires a lot of intelligence, and a good amount of skill, but athleticism is very minor in baseball. Outfielders are the only ones at all that require all that much.

 

Huh? I'd say that all the infield positions would require a good amount of athletic skill, particularly shortstop. First base would be the one place you could put a fat-butt and get away with it.

 

SS and 2B require athletic players, but they don't have to cover anywhere near the ground that an OF does, especially a CF. There aren't very many extremely athletic 3B, much less 1B. Third basemen just have to be good with the glove, and first baseman have to know how to catch any kind of throw.

 

So by this reasoning, the only component of athletic ability is pure speed? Yes, outfielders have to be fast, but I think the best all-around athlete on most teams is the starting shortstop. In fact, I read about a scout that wouldn't even look at a high school player who doesn't play shortstop. His reasoning is that if your a good enough athlete to play shortstop, then you can play anywhere on the field. Conversely, if you weren't a good enough athlete to play shortstop in high school, you probably didn't have what it took to make the majors. I'm not saying I agree totally with this assessment, but that's one take on the issue.

Middle infielder don't have to cover as much ground as an outfielder, but that doesn't mean they don't have to be fast. Of course, quickness is the more important factor for infielders. Especially at third base. Of course, you can have guy at the hot corner who is not particularly fast, but he better have quick reflexes or he's going to end up in the hospital. Ken Caminiti is the best example of this I can think of.

To say that outfield is the only position that requires athletic ability is a gross generalization and an oversimplification of the game.

 

1. soccer
2.hockey (soccer and hockey by far the two most demanding)
3.basketball
4.football
5.golf (i suck so bad at golf that it is more funny entertainment)
........

999,999. video games
1,000,000. baseball (two words.. John Kruk)

 

i forgot bike racing


Lance Armstrong is the greatest athlete of our time

 

Harold Miner would think it would take a lot

 

Of the big three I would say that for athletic ability I would rank them
1. Football
2. Basketball
3. Baseball
and for skill, the reverse. Of course there are positions that may defy these rankings, eg a place kicker in football, a center fielder in baseball, or a point guard in basketball may take more or less skill or athletic ability than your average player. "The toughest thing to do in sports is to hit a round ball squarely."