10. You Watch Basketball Indoors
Basketball is much better for fans, as we get to sit in a climate controlled arena – instead of sitting outside in cold, rainy weather.
Photo Source = Flickr – glenn
9. Basketball Games Don’t Take Forever to Play
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has the longest basketball game time, with four 12 minute quarters (48 total minutes per game). College basketball (NCAA) plays two 20 minute halves, for a total of 40 minutes per game. With standard and “T.V.” timeouts and half-time factored in – NBA basketball games last a little under 2.5 hours on average. College basketball games are about 1/2 hour less than the NBA, averaging right around 2 hours per game. This is pretty much the “norm” for basketball, but you’ll get the occasional overtime period. These last just five minutes for both the NBA and NCAA and can take anywhere from 10 to 30 additional minutes to complete because of time outs, fouls, etc.
Baseball, on the other hand, takes forever for fans to watch an entire game. Checking many sites on the Internet, I see that Major League Baseball (MLB) games take, on average, 3.5 hours to complete. However, anyone who has ever been to an MLB game (or watched one on T.V.) can tell you that the real amount of time a baseball game lasts can and does take a whole lot longer – sometimes up to four and five hours (or longer). College baseball is pretty much the same. There are several reasons that baseball games take longer to play, but the main reason is that there are no time limits on any action in baseball. Basketball has both a time limit on the amount of time you can take to get the ball to the half-court line AND a shot clock, which greatly helps to both speed up the game and make it more exciting.
Photo Source = Flickr – ewan and donnabel
8. A Game of Street / Pick-Up Basketball is Much Easier to Organize
It is much, much easier to get together a game of back yard basketball than it baseball. There is almost no equipment for basketball, besides the ball itself. And, it’s really just a matter of finding a basket or a court to play on. You can wear just about any type of athletic shoes to play basketball. Basketball courts are all over the place these days, and people everywhere are looking for pick up games. (Or, you can find a court and play by yourself. Try doing that with baseball.)
Finding enough people to start a baseball game, with their own equipment, is hard to do – to say the least. Then, finding an open field with decent grass and enough space to play (without fear of breaking something) is not easy for most kids today either.
Photo Source = Flickr – Vadim Lavrusik
7. Basketball is an Olympic Sport – Baseball is NOT
Baseball was an Olympic sport for a brief period of time, from 1992 until 2008, but it has been eliminated as an Olympic sport for the 2012 games. Reasons for eliminating baseball stem primarily from baseball not being popular worldwide.
6. Cheerleaders
Beautiful women in hot outfits… Duh! No brainer, right? Well, not in baseball. Basketball has cheerleaders. Baseball, as a whole, does not. There are two MLB teams that understand this is a good thing… The Florida Marlins and the Cincinnati Reds. Both of these teams have recently employed cheerleaders to mixed reviews. Some baseball fans liked the idea of entertainment between innings by these lovely ladies, but a large percentage of baseball fans feel it is a travesty to the game. The latter baseball fans would rather watch the players warming up on the field. Are you kidding me? Nope, not at all.
A recent Gallup Poll study found that nearly 50% of all men are MLB / professional baseball fans. So, with one out of every two men as their target audience, why would the MLB NOT want cheerleaders? Good question.
Photo Source = Flickr – terren in Virginia
5. The Alley Oop
Arguably the most exciting play in all sports, the alley oop dunk is a momentum changing, crowd pleasing display of power and skill. By the odd chance you’re not a basketball fan and haven’t heard of this before, the alley oop involves one player tossing the ball to another player who soars through the air to dunk the ball. But, don’t worry baseball fans… You’ve got squeeze plays, bunts, and intentional walks.
4. Basketball is Fast Paced and Action Packed
Unlike basketball where there is constant action, the most action you’ll see during a baseball game typically takes place during the 7th inning stretch. Baseball can be exciting, don’t get me wrong. But, there is just so much “down time” during a baseball game. You simply don’t have this down time in basketball.
3. Celtics vs. Lakers Rivalry
I know baseball has some pretty good rivalries – like Yankees / Red Sox and Dodgers / Giants – but these just don’t compare to the heated, stoic rivalry of Celtics / Lakers. These two teams, the most storied franchises in all basketball, have collided 12 times in the NBA finals. The most recent was just this past year, with the Lakers winning a seven game series in 2010. Prior to that, the Celtics won a 4-2 victory in 2008.
The Celtics currently lead in total championships with 17 to the Lakers’ 16. Together, the two teams’ 33 championships account for more than half of the 64 championships in NBA history.
Photo Source = Flickr – Avinash Kunnath
2. March Madness is the Best Sports MONTH of the Year
Sure, October is a great month for baseball – but the few games you actually get to watch just can’t touch the frenzy that is NCAA March Madness.
1. Players Are More Athletic, Exciting, and Fun to Watch!
Basketball has, arguably, the most athletic and well-known athlete of all time… Michael Jordan. There are now and have been many exciting athletes in basketball… Lebron James, Dr. J, Kobe Bryant, Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Durant – the list goes on and on. Sure, baseball has some great names too, no doubt… Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Joe Dimagio, Willie Mays, and more. But, modern day baseball players are more known for steroid use than being an “athlete.” (Plus, I don’t think you can compare the overall athletic ability of say Lebron James to Alex Rodriguez – now would you?)
46 Comments
There is a reason for it. Basketball is relatively satisfying and easy to play. If you are reasonably tall, all it takes is putting balls into nets although it requires little or no real skill. Baseball is a very hard game to master although is too complicated for me as I dont really care about sports. I prefer tennis or golf or just even swimming or walking. I like sitting in tubs and especially saunas more than I do excercise
I prefer baseball. I think basketball requires more ATHLETICISM, and I respect that, but I think playing major league baseball definitely requires more SKILL. Hitting major league pitching is incredibly difficult. If you are tall and athletic, basketball is nowhere near as hard. Height will only get you so far in baseball. On the flipside, without athleticism, coordination will not get you very far in basketball. The “signature play” in basketball is a slam dunk – amazing athleticism, but how hard is it to throw a ball downwards into a hoop? Smoking a 95mph pitch out of the park is way, way, way harder than anything in basketball. Baseball has far more subtleties and nuances that the untrained eye just doesn’t see, basketball is way less tactical. In baseball you can always come back, so the game is always “live”. If your team is down late in the game in basketball, you might as well switch it off. Don’t get me wrong, basketball players are some of the best athletes in the world, I just think baseball has more to it. The best sports aren’t played indoors!
Baseball is not olympic sport? excuse me, where did that come from? no baseball field indoors? what about the Tropicana Field in florida? and also, about the rivalry thing, how do u explain the yankees vs red sox rivalry and dodgers giants rivalry? obviously u dont know much about baseball at all…
Not saying baseball is better than basketball; you clearly haven’t seen the hottest cheerleaders in baseball stadiums of Asian countries..
Watching basketball is like watching 48 minutes of musical chairs. The last couple of minutes is the only time it’s worth watching. The game of basket should be structured like volleyball or bowling. Like Volleyball, break each period into it’s own separate set. whatever team score 25 wins, but must win by 2 point. Which ever team wins three sets out five wins the match.
Saying that the celtics lakers rivalry is greater than the red sox Yankees is incredibly stupid. I’m from Boston and Red Sox Yankees is bigger than celtics lakers any day of the week.
Did you know that Michael Jordan(the NBA Basketball Star)played baseball at one time before coming back to basketball?
What makes baseball so amazing is this:Ninth inning,2 outs,Your tied with the other team and you get that pitch and CRAACCCKK!!!!!! ,you hit the walk-off.Some everlasting moments:
Carlton Fisk:1975 World Series game 6,his famous walk-off homer where he was waving his hands trying to “direct” the ball from the foul line.Look up the video.
Bill Mazeroski:1960 World Series game 7,Hit the only walk-off home run in game 7 in the World Series.
David Freese:2011 World Series game 6,You know this.
I never said basketball was easier than baseball. I know that, no need to look any further than all the guys who were studs in high school/college or international leagues that were NBA busts.
My post about Micheal Jordan was aimed at the guy who said baseball is easier to get into or that all a baseketball/football player to do to play baseball is dumb down his athleticism/talents. If that were true and Jordan is a terrible baseball player why did he not just tap into all the extra athleitcism/talent he should have left over so he would not be terrible.
All pro sports are extremely difficult in their own way, be it athleticism (basketball), physicality (football), hand-eye coordination (baseball) or fine motor skills (golf). And I do realize that these skills are cross compatible to some extent to the other sports but the point is that each requires one skill at a much higher level that the others. That is why two sport guys usually are much better in one than the other.
I agree, arguing about what is better is pointless, you like what you like and I like what I like. There is plenty on room on the calender and sports landscape for all.
Okay i believe everyone needs to understand the article was based on opinion so just bad talking is pointless. i love basketball i never can watch baseball, ill play but i can never sit thru it and watch it. puts me to sleep. but the most ignorant thing to say is that baseball is harder then basketball or football thats false and compleatly irrelevent. bringing up points about how michael jordan can do good in basball but being greatest basketball player of all time. thats not intelligent to say i dare derek jeter to play kobe bryant in basketball . but basketball does require more athleticism due to the constant running up and down the shooting the dunks the rebounds blocks and even alley oops. baseball requires tough running but in basketball your running for alot longer. and im only 19 kid living in Queens NY i havent seen red sox and yankees past and only watched documentarys on lakers and celtics but imma tell you this now it get pretty freakin reckless lol. but to the “Casper ” user talkin bad about alley oops, you clearly dont see the athleticism the precision the skill to complete it. im not agreeing about basketball being better, i just prefer basketball. I may be 19 years old i curse like a normal new yorker do talk slang dont care about my grammer cus this is the internet, i am NOT like the ignorance ive seen on this page, reply to me if you’d like. you wont win. and the fact that this website doesnt let me curse completly violates my freedom of speech.
You did say a single fact in that entire thing just opinion giving your argument no grounding whatsoever and you really think lakers/celtics is a beeter Tuvalu than yankees/red sox? You need your head examined if you truly believe that. Where on earth did you fond that many games go 5 hours? I have to hundreds of baseball games in my life both majors and minors I’ve only been to one that exceeded 5 hours and it went 26 innings
just want to say baseball can end within an hour and a half playing all innings . basketball you have to wait till 4th quarter and the clock to run out before the game is over
This entire list is irellevent due to the fact that FOOTBALL RUUUUUUUUUUUUULES!
I just want you to look at the picture on Number 9. In the backround there is a batting cage, which means it is pregame and the teams are taking batting practice. So the guy yawning has nothing to do with the length of the game. You might want to get a new picture for that.
I think both sports had their own greatness, but this list is ridiculuous bias.
Baseball is intense sport, especially in the late inning. Players required a lot of presice, timing and skills.
You said baseball player is not athectic enough? Excuse me, but they can play all game, when you are out, you out for the game. And basketball you can come in and off anytime, drink Gatorade and looks at cheer leaders 🙂
Pretty good, but wait, did he say that Yankees-Red Sox rivalry cannot compare with Celtic- Lakers rivalry. Seriously?
I agree
Baseball is very rarely played in the rain if it rains to hard the game is postponed. The longest average game time for any season has been 2 hours and 57 minutes for the whole league. Trying to hit a round ball with a round bat and hit it squarely with a picture throwing 90 to a hunded miles per hour at different angles and breaks with less than a second to decide if the ball is in your hitting zone take a step and then swing is the hardest thing todo in sports. just ask micheal jordan. It would be easier for a baseball player to transfer to basketball or football than vice-versa. Deion sanders hall of famer (football) average (baseball). And i dont have to deal with snow for half the season if i want to go watch a game.
There is a reason why pro players who have played in two sports pick baseball last… it’s easier to get into. Name one baseball player that went onto play another sport later on in his career? They can’t, they’re not athletic enough. However a football/basketball player can easily dumb down his athletic ability to play baseball.
Yeah. Micheal Jordan, greatest basketball player ever could not compete in double A. Deion Sanders, NFL HOF is a below average MLB player. Drew Henson, Michigan QB over Tom Brady washes out of MLB. Other Div I QBs who could not get out of the minors: Josh Booty and Chris Weinke. Frank Thomas, probable HOF is a tight end at Auburn.
I know facts can be hard when they kill your argument.
All you did was point out the fact that bball and football players CAN play other sports, even if poorly. And I love how you uhh accidentally left out Bo Jackson. I also love how you couldn’t name a single baseball player to play any other sport.
Nice try though.
OK. Bo Jackson, another below average MLB player with 250 more strikeouts than hits and a career .300 OBP.
And I did mention a baseball player who played footballl, read the post again.
For sake of argument, Dave Winfield drafted by the NBA and NFL.
Barry Larkin was ridden every day at practice by Bo Schembechler to come play football.
Rickey Henderson heavily recruited to play football and chose baseball.
Jeff Samardzjia was a Biletnikoff Award finalist and is a middle reliever on a bad team.
BTW, Josh Booty and Chris Weinke played football after their baseball careers crashed and burned.
If you want your argument to be the very narrow point that no one quits MLB and goes to the NFL/NBA, I will give you that one. It proves nothing.
The primary issue is your contention that anyone who plays football or basketball is automatically good enough for baseball is complete BS.
To conclude, your statement that baseball is easier to get into is ludicrous in the extreme. How many guys go from high school to the majors? Happens in the NBA all the time. How many first year football players are stars in the NFL? If more than zero that is more than MLB. Even Dwight Gooden and Steven Strasburg spent time in the minors. Unlike the other sports, just getting drafted does not count.
And thank you, it was a good try. Great one even.
Finally, it is nice to know you love so much.
Sorry guys, but basketball is the number one most boring sport of all time, the same thing happening again and again, up and down the court, what a yawnfest. Athleticism in basketball?? You just have to tall, jump a bit and be an arrogant wanker to the world and they call you a hero! It’s a joke, I’d rather watch any other one of those American sports than a minute of basketball.
And what exactly is always new and exciting every time baseball teams step onto the field? Yup, nothing. Just the hope that there is a brawl tonight, some sort of physical activity at least.
Just like basketball.
Numbers 1 and 2 just about cover it.
March Madness is just about the best thing since sliced bread. The ‘one and done’ format of the games just heightens the drama, and any team has a chance to win it all. It’s no wonder it captivates the country so much.
And the athleticism of basketball players is what makes it all so fun and exciting to watch. Baseball? About the only sport where you are paid millions to get fatter as the season goes along.
Hey what about these ladies?
http://www.sportsgrid.com/mlb/baseball-cheerleaders-in-the-dominican-republic-theyre-a-reality/
Very nice
I used to play baseball in a horse pasture with three other guys and no more equipment than a ball and bat( sometimes we’d have to chase the horse to get the ball back). Basketball requires a permanent goal, It all depends on where you live.
Good point. I played baseball every day as a kid with 5 other kids in my neighborhood. We didn’t have a hoop near us so baseball and football were the sports of choice. Good comment.
10. Generally, you watch baseball in warm sunny weather, or on balmy evenings.
9. The last minute of a basketball game takes about twenty minutes w/ timeouts and commercials. The last minute of a baseball game takes — one minute.
8. It’s just as easy to organize a baseball game — if you have friends.
7. Olympics Shmolympics. Biathlon is an Olympic sport. So’s curling. Who cares?
6. I like slutty-looking girls as much as anybody, but I get all I need by watching gangsta rap videos. When I’m watching a game, I wanna watch the game.
5. Anyone who is still interested in alley oops after seeing three of them really needs a broader range of interests.
4. The action in a basketball game is largely meaningless until you get to the last two minutes of the game. Which is precisely when they start showing all those commercials.
3. Cheering for the color of a shirt — what could be emptier? Unless you’re from Boston or LA, rivalries are meaningless.
2. March Madness is great if you like forming passionate attachments to teams and players you never heard of until a week ago. Tournaments are a marketing gimmick, pure and simple.
1. I’ll put Ken Griffey Jr’s greatest catches next to Michael Jordan’s greatest anything, any day. Or Jackie Robinson’s steals of home. Or Pete Rose breaking up double plays with a hard slide.
Hey man make a top 10 !
Number 10 is great haha, Baseball is watched outside in cold rainy weathers, ALWAYS.
I don’t even like baseball – but the list it lame
baseball is played in sunny days and good weathers most likely not rainy days… do u even know anything about baseball?
10. Yeah generally, not like basketball where the weather inside stadiums are constant
9. But in baseball, that minute is so boring it seems to take an hour
8. That’s true. If you happen to have 17 friends who are readily available because they have nothing else to do in life
7. You would care if it was allowed again in the Olympics – admit it
6. Okay, just the game for you then
5. Anyone who has seen a home run knows another one cannot be more exciting than the previous
4. 300 games of baseball just to determine who makes the playoffs? The last 3 would be significant enough
3. Cheering for someone with a stick while trying to hit a ball? Just try Cricket
2. No month for baseball eh? too bad
1. Michael Jordan is known by people all over the world as the best athlete of all times. Griffey and pals are legends – in trailer parks across mid-America
I am from dominican republic and here, we live and breathe baseball.
10. The weather is not a problem in this tropical country. And that´s why they play it in summer at the united states, i think.
9. If you´re watching a baseball game, your team always have the chance of winning, because there´s no clock.So in this sport you always keep the faith.
8. Come on, since i was a child, i played baseball every day, sometimes even only two people and with no ball or bat, in the street, with bottle´s cap and with broomsticks as the bat.
If you really want to play a sport you dont need a professional field, or utility. In basketball you need a hoop.
7.Nobody cares about that.
6.Although i kinda agree with you, when you go to watch a game, you go to watch a game.
Otherwise, in the dominican league we have plenty of cheerleaders in every game, as paul said.
http://www.sportsgrid.com/mlb/baseball-cheerleaders-in-the-dominican-republic-theyre-a-reality/
5.I sincerely doubt that the alley oop is the most exciting play of all sports.
I think that you are exagerating, baseball homeruns are somehow the same level of excitement.
4.In baseball you have every single kind of possible play, and basketball is just the same and the same, and the same and the same. Basketball is full of ¨down time¨, because its just the same, it doesnt have all the posibilities of a baseball game.
3.You gotta be kidding me if you think that Celtics- Lakers is stronger than Yankees-Boston, seriously, you gotta be kidding me.
2.March madness, of course, the best sports month, dont you thing you are over-rating the ncaa?
1.They might be tall, but not stronger than baseball players.
Fun to watch, maybe in your mind, basketball is boring, and remember, Michael Jordan played baseball after his father died, but he wasnt good enough for the MLB.
I think this list was made by a close-minded Basketball fan, only describing his point of view, this doesn´t show facts, only reasons why the writer likes basketball.
Bad list, doesnt agree with the site. And excuse me for my bad english.
baseball is the most exciting sports next to chess
10. Weather isn’t a big deal but basketball has a slight advantage.
9. Not really… When you’re down by 7 in baseball in the final minutes there is literally no hope. When you’re down by 10 in the final minutes in basketball you can still easily come back with a nice hot streak.
8. You can still play baseball with someone throwing the ball, but a full game of basketball is SO much easier to organize.
7. Nobody cares about the olympics? Really? I bet you’d be ecstatic if baseball was in the olympics again.
6. Yes cheerleaders are awesome.
5. It is the most exciting play in sports in general but I’d rather see a contested 3 go in than an alley oop off the fast break.
4. You know NOTHING about basketball, basketball is full of plays, and how many plays can you create while hitting a ball with a stick.. Pick and roll, pick and pop, triangle offense, zone defense, man to man defense, high post plays, low post plays, just to name a few. Same thing every time down the court? Have you ever watched more than 1 minute of a real game?
3. That was a stupid reason for basketball to be exciting, but Yankees-Boston is a joke. It’s heated, sure, but it’s the most stacked sucky team v.s. boston.
2. No. NCAA is where the future NBA stars come, where everybody comes from and college basketball is just as exciting as NBA in some ways.
1. Are you kidding me. I’d rather watch a real athlete have a 40 inch vertical dunking over someone 2 feet taller than them than a guy hitting a ball with a stick. Basketball require finesse and athletecism, do you see the fat guys that play baseball that run like a sloth? Baseball requires almost 0 athletecism whatsoever, and show me anybody who is out of shape who plays basketball. Anybody who has more than 10% body fat. Show me.
amen
Michael Jordan, in his prime, would have owned every single one of today’s NBA stars. I’ve seen those dunks 1,000 times, and they never get old. Thanks for the post.
Not another one of these… didn’t even read the top 10 reasons why you like basketball.
Why comment if you don’t read it? People have different interests. I think most of the political lists are boring, but I’m a huge basketball fan. Different lists for different people. What would you like a list about? We are always open to suggestions.
This list is just a persone saying why I like this and that thing sucks.. they are also 100% biased. I check this site daily to get a laugh or to get a 2 minute education on a certain subject. What do I care about some random on the internet who is telling me why he likes basketball and not baseball ? No facts in here.. just the list makers interests in basketball.
Then you probably want to skip the “Why Football is Better than Baseball” list we will publish before the Superbowl. 😉
Awesome. 😀
NOOOOOO! I made an essay on this and used this one only! I’M DOOMED!!!!!!
this guy has no idea what he is talking about