Why Baseball is Still the Best Sport

Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

A recent Harris Poll shows that the NFL is the most popular sport in America for the 30th straight year in a row. In this poll, the NFL won by an overwhelming margin. The MLB came in second with 14%. I decided to go through the comments and saw a lot of people bashing on baseball. That inspired me to write this article, to stand up for the greatest sport we love, baseball. It may not be the most popular, but it is still the best, and here is why.

1. The History

Baseball has been around the longest. It has the richest history of any sport. Baseball has been around since the 19th century, in the 1800’s. It’s changed a lot since then, but ever since it started professionally, it’s stayed relatively the same. Only something as amazing as baseball can stand the test of time. 100 years ago, people were going to games at the ballpark. Father and son have bonded over baseball since before the first World War. For something to be around for over 100 years and still be wildly popular and successful, it has to be something truly unique and special. And baseball meets those requirements. No other sport has as much history as the great sport of baseball.

2. There’s Always A Fighting Chance

I respect all sports. I’m not looking for a fight. To each his own. But no sport gives a team a fighting chance until the very end as much as baseball does. Baseball doesn’t have a clock. You don’t run out of time. You can’t run a clock down when you’re up to secure the win. In baseball, if you want the win, you have to fight for it until the last out. The game ends based on a player’s action. The only limit you have is the limit of the player batting. You can hit a homerun in the bottom of the 9th, you can get a rally going, and you can always make a comeback. There is no easy way out. A pitcher can’t relax if their team is up. You have to earn every out you get. And you don’t win unless you get those outs. You can’t be certain who will win until the last out is called. In baseball, you always have a chance to win. Even if the game is almost over. There is always a fighting chance.

3. Baseball Players Are The Most Accessible

In other sports, it’s extremely difficult to get close to your favorite players. In baseball, you just have to show up early and go by the dugout. Just look at the picture above. It shows Oakland A’s fan favorite Coco Crisp signing autographs for fans. In most ballparks, you can get there early and just get close. There are a lot more fans with signed gear in baseball than in other sports. You can get your baseball signed by one of your favorite players and proudly hold on to it forever. It’s a lot harder to get someone in the NBA or NFL to sign something for you than in the MLB. It can be done but it’s a lot easier in baseball and it happens a lot more often. In baseball, you have the best chance of meeting the athletes than any other sport.

4. Baseball Has The Most Games In A Year

In other sports, the sport lasts about 6 or 7 months including preseason and playoffs. Baseball lasts 8. You get the preseason in spring training. Spring training starts in late February. It goes until the season starts in April. So you get a month or so of baseball games. There is always a game on, and your team has a day off a week, so you get 5 or 6 games a week for a month. Then you get an entire season of baseball. From April to September you get 162 games of baseball. Baseball almost every day. You don’t have to wait a week for a game. The most you have to wait is a day or two. There is the All-Star break which is a week long with no games except the All-Star game, but even then you have the Homerun Derby as well. Then the Postseason lasts another month. That’s 8 months of games on a regular basis. The most out of any sports.

Closing Thoughts

Baseball is the best sport there is. It is the American sport. It is so deeply intertwined in our history as a country. I’m not looking for a fight. I’m not trying to offend the other sports out there. I love other sports like football, but I believe baseball is the best. I simply had to stand up for baseball and all it’s fans. So this is me defending the sport that we baseball fans believe is the best. In our view, baseball is the best sport ever created in history of mankind.