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Which pro sport has the best athletes?

ohio herd

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Okay in lieu of March Madness I pose this question. I limit it to the Pro ranks. Football, Basketball or Baseball. I will take football for 800 Alex.

Which pro sport has the best athletes?
 
Pro Baseball . I think their athletes could cross pollinate across the other sports better than the other athletes could cross pollinate.
 
How about soccer. Those guys run constantly with almost no rest. And they play without pads. Never thought I would suggest such a thing, but watching my grandchildren play the sport has give me a better appreciation for the athleticism it requires.
 
I look at it as what athlete could play multiple sports with a degree of success. That's a tough question. Many Pro athletes were very good at multiple sports while growing up and in HS. Hockey and Soccer require a different set of skills - speed, excellent foot work and endurance. Football - strength and agility, basketball - hand/eye coordination and quickness. Baseball - hand/eye, speed.

I'd go with curling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
How about soccer. Those guys run constantly with almost no rest. And they play without pads. Never thought I would suggest such a thing, but watching my grandchildren play the sport has give me a better appreciation for the athleticism it requires.


Its been said that a midfielder in soccer runs 6-7 miles every game with very little stoppage over 90 minutes. Having daughters who have played, one at the college level - I believe it.
 
Soccer is a good sport. My youngest son was the first in my family to play soccer and not football. They ran all game long, not easy to do. I still would not put them above football- NFL
 
I'm a huge proponent of multi-sport athletes and cross-training. I just believe there is so much to be gained from challenging yourself in different ways and in different disciplines. And I love the @ohio herd's question. But to answer it, you have to first decided how you define the word athlete.

Strength, agility, speed, power, endurance, flexibility.
Mental toughness, physical toughness, focus, determination, desire.
Technique, muscle-memory, practice, film-study, sport-specific intelligence, hand-eye coordination.

* There are obviously more attributes we could identify. This it just a list to make a point.

After that, you must consider the different athletes within each sport. Is a first-baseman the same as a catcher or center-fielder? What about a pitcher? Point guard vs power-forward. And football? Most players on the field don't even touch the ball during a game, so ball-skills are relative. OG vs CB vs QB vs K?

And how do you compare an Olympic hurdler to a Rush End to a power-hitter? Lionel Messi to LaBron James to Sidney Crosby? The skill-sets are just so different. It's impossible to answer.

And yet, here's my answer: OLB

Runner ups - CB, WR, PF

Again, we can argue about what exactly constitutes an athlete. Outside Linebackers certainly don't need the endurance of a soccer player or the hand-eye coordination of shortstop. But I think OLBs - in general, obviously - have the best blend of the things I value most in an athlete.

JMO.
 
Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. Football has difficult positions, but it also has positions that can be described as “be fat and in the way”. Pro basketball is a game for thugs and requires no real skills.

Baseball, football, huge gap, basketball.
 
Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. Football has difficult positions, but it also has positions that can be described as “be fat and in the way”. Pro basketball is a game for thugs and requires no real skills.

Baseball, football, huge gap, basketball.
Wow, wow, wow. So that explains a lot. Sam's view of the basketball team is not personal toward Dan or our player's...its just a warped world view. I do agree that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do is sports, but that doesn't necessarily translate to athleticism. And have you seen the freakish size and speed of the "fat" guys in football at the college/pro level.
 
I played baseball and basketball growing up. I have a hard time taking baseball seriously. I hit .416 my senior year, played shortstop, was the 2nd best pitcher on the team, and the only people more "athletic" than me were a few guys on the bench who could pinch-run when needed. They had no skill, they were just fast.

On the basketball team, I was Austin Loop. I could shoot, a lot of our offense involved running me off screens, but I wasn't athletic enough to guard anybody or could take anyone off the dribble.

Just knowing where I stood on each team, I have a hard-time saying baseball players are more athletic. To me, possessing a skill like hitting a baseball, shooting a basketball, accurately throwing a football, etc. is more of an art than athleticism IMO.


@JudgeDD has the best response. OLB/TEs in football or the ridiculous freaks in basketball like LeBron James/Russell Westbrook are the best athletes.
 
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After that, you must consider the different athletes within each sport. Is a first-baseman the same as a catcher?
Coaching little league for many years, we always put the fat kid at catcher, and the worst player in either left field or right field, depending on who we had pitching.
 
Strength, agility, speed, power, endurance, flexibility.
Mental toughness, physical toughness, focus, determination, desire.
Technique, muscle-memory, practice, film-study, sport-specific intelligence, hand-eye coordination.

* There are obviously more attributes we could identify. This it just a list to make a point.


Based on these attributes - the best athletes are decathletes. They are hands down the best. My next pick would be pole vaulters (speed, strength, flexibility, coordination - and more than a little bit nuts).
 
The question posed was what sport has the best athletes, not which has the best skilled. Golf, for example is a skill sport that can be successfully achieved by those who are not great athletes. Baseball has its share of athletes certainly, but hitting the baseball is largely a skill. Babe Ruth was overweight but pretty good at hitting a baseball.

I agree with Judge’s approach on this. Either way, you need to differentiate between athleticism and skill.

And Sam...I’m not sure what to make of your statement but it explains a lot.
 
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Several years ago Sports Illustrated had an article where they compared sports to determine the best conditioned athletes. The article listed Olympic wrestlers as the best conditioned, boxers as the next best and said the only way a golfer could get into decent physical condition was if they sprinted between shots and swam the water hazards.
 
The original poster said:

I limit it to the Pro ranks.

Which pro sport has the best athletes?

You do understand the word “pro” right?

While college football and baseball are just lower skilled versions off the same game, the wonderful sport of college basketball and the NBA street-thug gang member version are so different as to be unrecognizable from one another.
 
If you think the hardest thing in sports to do is hit a baseball, you've never tried to one-time a crossing pass while on skates (probably skating backwards) into the slot.

Too many pros and cons for each sport to have a definitive answer... Professional triathletes are pretty damn impressive... But if we are just picking from the 5 most popular pro sports, an just based solely on athleticism (not skills/coordination), I would go - Hockey, soccer, basketball, football, baseball.
 
The original poster said:



You do understand the word “pro” right?

While college football and baseball are just lower skilled versions off the same game, the wonderful sport of college basketball and the NBA street-thug gang member version are so different as to be unrecognizable from one another.
WTF are you talking about?

While the NBA certainly has many problems, name me 2 players you'd label a "thug". The NBA has the most mild-mannered and well spoken stars in sports.
 
I played baseball and basketball growing up. I have a hard time taking baseball seriously. I hit .416 my senior year, played shortstop, was the 2nd best pitcher on the team, and the only people more "athletic" than me were a few guys on the bench who could pinch-run when needed. They had no skill, they were just fast.

On the basketball team, I was Austin Loop. I could shoot, a lot of our offense involved running me off screens, but I wasn't athletic enough to guard anybody or could take anyone off the dribble.

Just knowing where I stood on each team, I have a hard-time saying baseball players are more athletic. To me, possessing a skill like hitting a baseball, shooting a basketball, accurately throwing a football, etc. is more of an art than athleticism IMO.


@JudgeDD has the best response. OLB/TEs in football or the ridiculous freaks in basketball like LeBron James/Russell Westbrook are the best athletes.
What level of high school did you play baseball? I have seen small rural high schools that couldn't beat a decent 12 year old all star team. High school ball is also way different tha the MLB level.

I could take the majority of the NFL, like almost all of them and they stand no shot at hitting MLB pitching and they couldn't throw or field well enough either. Not a chance.

Same for the NBA.

You can big old dude or a guy that can run fast and start football in high schoola and do well. Not baseball.

basketball players are athletic but, being tall and can jump will get you some spots on the team.

MLB baseball players are all pretty well rounded athletes at that level. Not saying they are NBA or NFL quality but they could cross over decently in spots.

I still say it is is MLB baseball players.
 
Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. Football has difficult positions, but it also has positions that can be described as “be fat and in the way”. Pro basketball is a game for thugs and requires no real skills.

Baseball, football, huge gap, basketball.
Getting put out 3 out of 10 times (70%) and being called a success in baseball shows exactly how hard that feat is.
 
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What level of high school did you play baseball? I have seen small rural high schools that couldn't be a decent 12 year old all start team.
WV AA. I faced a few guys who got drafted by MLB teams (Braves & Angels), a few kids who went to wvu, and a bunch who went to WVSU, UC, etc.

The best basketball player I played against was probably Cookie Miller, who went to Nebraska. I looked much more out of place trying to guard Cookie Miller than I ever did at the plate vs guys who got drafted by MLB teams.
 
Okay in lieu of March Madness I pose this question. I limit it to the Pro ranks. Football, Basketball or Baseball. I will take football for 800 Alex.

Which pro sport has the best athletes?

====Pro Basketball, closely followed by Major League Baseball


HerdZilla22
 
Athleticism
Basketball
Football
Baseball

Skill/Difficulty
Baseball
Basketball
Football

Hardest for an athlete to go from to another

Baseball
Football
Basketball


I’ve played ‘em all, basketball at an advanced level. Coached ‘em all too.
I love baseball but the overall athleticism is less than basketball and football. Baseball has some skills that are hard to master, that’s why I rated it so high in the last two lists.
 
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Athleticism
Basketball
Football
Baseball

Skill/Difficulty
Baseball
Basketball
Football

Hardest for an athlete to go from to another

Baseball
Football
Basketball
tball pros

I’ve played ‘em all, basketball at an advanced level. Coached ‘em all too.
I love baseball but the overall athleticism is less than basketball and football. Baseball has some skills that are hard to master, that’s why I rated it so high in the last two lists.[/QUOTE

AGREE 100%.....Played & co
ached all three.......Baseball is difficult, especially trying to hit a 97 mph fastball followed by a 86 mph hook. Basketball pro athletes in my opinion and can you imagine what Lebron could do at the TE position for the Cleveland Browns?

Football
...easiest in my thoughts. If you do not mind getting hit or delivering a hit...most guys can play football...really better is you can run forever like Forrest Gump or as fast as Usain Bolt.

HerdZilla22 in Charlotte [Home to QB, Teddy Bridgewater & the Carolina Panthers].
 
I hope to god you’re being factious with this post.
Absolutely not. I stand behind my statement.

I would gladly take the top athletes from all sports at the highest level and have a skills competition and put my statement to the test. We could take parts of each sport and test them. Fine with me.
 
The competition isn't even close. For the major sports, the best pure athletes are NBA players.

Does that mean Shaq could be a great shortstop? Of course not. Likewise, Pedro Martinez wouldn't be a great center in basketball or football.

Overall, NBA players are the best overall athletes. Great athletes don't translate to necessarily doing well in baseball since it is skill-heavy. Same with hockey, where skill (skating) is essential. Some of the best athletes in the world wouldn't be able to skate if they had never done it before, but all of the best athletes in the world can do some very fundamental things: jump, run, change direction quickly. Those three things are extremely important in most positions in the NBA yet are only important in some positions in the NFL and MLB.

You can be a great catcher, pitcher, first baseman, etc. without being able to run, jump, or change direction quickly. Outside of a center in a traditional NBA system, you have no chance of seeing the floor if you can't run, jump, and change direction quickly.

The NFL has those attributes in some positions, but you can be a hell of a lineman without being able to jump, change direction quickly, or run fast in football.
 
The competition isn't even close. For the major sports, the best pure athletes are NBA players.

Does that mean Shaq could be a great shortstop? Of course not. Likewise, Pedro Martinez wouldn't be a great center in basketball or football.

Overall, NBA players are the best overall athletes. Great athletes don't translate to necessarily doing well in baseball since it is skill-heavy. Same with hockey, where skill (skating) is essential. Some of the best athletes in the world wouldn't be able to skate if they had never done it before, but all of the best athletes in the world can do some very fundamental things: jump, run, change direction quickly. Those three things are extremely important in most positions in the NBA yet are only important in some positions in the NFL and MLB.

You can be a great catcher, pitcher, first baseman, etc. without being able to run, jump, or change direction quickly. Outside of a center in a traditional NBA system, you have no chance of seeing the floor if you can't run, jump, and change direction quickly.

The NFL has those attributes in some positions, but you can be a hell of a lineman without being able to jump, change direction quickly, or run fast in football.
Let's do my skills competition. Where we take aspects of all three major sports and some other events and I win.

I stand behind big league ball players in the overall scoring aspect.

After the swimming event the NBA is eliminated and 80% of the NFL is.
 
Absolutely not. I stand behind my statement.

I would gladly take the top athletes from all sports at the highest level and have a skills competition and put my statement to the test. We could take parts of each sport and test them. Fine with me.
A skills competition does not equal athleticism. If that’s the case, then we can enter females into this thing since size & speed aren’t going to be a factor in an ATHLETIC debate.


And when it comes to skills, I agree with you. The skillset needed for baseball is most transferable to other sports. But baseball isn’t 1-on-1 competition, therefore size & athleticism aren’t as important.
 
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A skills competition does not equal athleticism. If that’s the case, then we can enter females into this thing since size & speed aren’t going to be a factor in an ATHLETIC debate.
Running is a skills competition. That is timed. But, it is going to more than a 40. Running events, throwing events, some strength test, some hand eye coordinations stuff, some jumping.

It is multtiple events. How else do you measure it? Women can compete. But, to the same standards.

I have been around all these sports, boys. I am talking at the highest levels and overall acorss the spectrum of events, I am taking the big league ball players.
 
Let's do my skills competition. Where we take aspects of all three major sports and some other events and I win.

I stand behind big league ball players in the overall scoring aspect.

After the swimming event the NBA is eliminated and 80% of the NFL is.

Things like bowling, golfing, hitting a baseball, shooting a basketball, ice skating, and throwing a football are skills that require little athleticism. Yes, hand-eye coordination is important, but that doesn't take much athleticism.

Things like running, jumping, changing direction quickly, and strength are far more athletic than skill oriented. Those requirements are far more necessary to being successful in basketball than in baseball (or any other major sport) as a whole.
 
Things like bowling, golfing, hitting a baseball, shooting a basketball, ice skating, and throwing a football are skills that require little athleticism. Yes, hand-eye coordination is important, but that doesn't take much athleticism.

Things like running, jumping, changing direction quickly, and strength are far more athletic than skill oriented. Those requirements are far more necessary to being successful in basketball than in baseball (or any other major sport) as a whole.

Ok I take the NFL linemen and they are pretty be eliminated from my skills competition. The big ass tall guys(the big bodies I am talking) from the NBA are going to be eliminated. Sorry, they are great athletes. But, one dimensional for the most part.

So that narrows it down. Well rounded in the scoring events is going to be the MLB guys.

Multiple events people. This is not just a verticle leap or bench press competition or a 40 yard dash.
 
I have been around all these sports, boys. I am talking at the highest levels and overall acorss the spectrum of events, I am taking the big league ball players.

Stop. I played two of those sports at the D1 level. I coached one of those sports at the D1 level for seven years. In baseball, I played with future pros in high school and college. In football, I played with and against future pros both in high school and college as well as coaching numerous future pros. In basketball, I played against future NBA players while in high school.

This isn't even a close argument. A bad athlete can be a very good MLB catcher, a very good MLB first baseman, a very good MLB pitcher, and a very good MLB designated hitter. Almost half of a starting lineup in MLB can be bad athletes.

Don't believe me? I can list very bad athletes at all of those positions in MLB.

An average athlete can be a very good MLB third baseman, a very good MLB corner outfielder.

That means 2/3 of an MLB starting lineup can be average to bad athletes.

Basketball? A bad athlete who happens to be very tall can be decent as a center in a particular system. Other than that, you can't be a bad athlete and be a very good NBA player, let alone even an average NBA player.

Name me bad athletes in the NBA, outside of centers, who were very good NBA players.
 
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So that narrows it down. Well rounded in the scoring events is going to be the MLB guys.

Multiple events people. This is not just a verticle leap or bench press competition or a 40 yard dash.


But throwing a baseball or football is not an athletic feat. It's a skill.

There are petite sorority girls who can throw perfect spirals which Olympic track athletes can't do. Does that mean the petite sorority girl is more athletic? Of course not. It's because the things you are mentioning are skills and not athletic actions.
 
Stop. I played two of those sports at the D1 level. I coached one of those sports at the D1 level for seven years. In baseball, I played with future pros in high school and college. In football, I played with and against future pros both in high school and college as well as coaching numerous future pros. In basketball, I played against future NBA players while in high school.

This isn't even a close argument. A bad athlete can be a very good MLB catcher, a very good MLB first baseman, a very good MLB pitcher, and a very good MLB designated hitter. Almost half of a starting lineup in MLB can be bad athletes.

Don't believe me? I can list very bad athletes at all of those positions in MLB.

An average athlete can be a very good MLB third baseman, a very good MLB corner outfielder.

That means 2/3 of an MLB starting lineup can be average to bad athletes.

Basketball? A bad athlete who happens to be very tall can be decent as a center in a particular system. Other than that, you can't be a bad athlete and be a very good NBA player, let alone even an average NBA player.

Name me bad athletes in the NBA, outside of centers, who were very good NBA players.
Ok but we are not playing a basketball game in my competition. We could take some baseball players and they could make some free throws, They could even hit some three pointers. Now take an NBA guy and can he hit anything past a 75 mph fastball ? Can he throw it to second base from home plate? Can he field a grounder?

There are ways to measure this. You get so many points for each event. We will take some aspects from across sports and have a skills competition.

Baseball wins. The catcher might not because that a certain skill withiin baseball and his damn knees might be shot anyway.
 
Ok but we are not playing a basketball game in my competition. We could take some baseball players and they could make some free throws, They could even hit some three pointers. Now take an NBA guy and can he hit anything past a 75 mph fastball ? Can he throw it to second base from home plate? Can he field a grounder?

There are ways to measure this. You get so many points for each event. We will take some aspects from across sports and have a skills competition.

Baseball wins. The catcher might not because that a certain skill withiin baseball and his damn knees might be shot anyway.

Read your last post. Notice how you keep saying "skills" and "skills competition"? That's because those things you want to do are SKILLS. Skills take repetition and practice. Raw athleticism doesn't take that same repetition. Running fast, jumping high and quick, changing direction, etc. are not skills. Those are raw athletic traits.

If you want to simply look at skills in each sport, then there is a good chance that a bowler or golfer will win a free throw competition. Does that mean they are more athletic than an NBA swingman? Exactly.
 
Good conversation. And, again, it comes down to defining what an athlete is.

Physical and mental attributes aside, the next thing that has to be determined is how to measure what an athlete is. Is the best athlete the one who displays the best combinations of speed, strength, agility, power, etc? Or is the best athlete the one who could more readily play multiple sports?

I agree with @riflearm2 that there is a difference between pure athleticism and sport-specific skills. Bowlers perfect a specific skill which few athletes from other disciplines can perform at a high level. Same with golfers. But I'm not ready to concede the best athlete title to either. With no clear rubric, we are trying to answer different questions.

I lean toward the best combination of attributes making the best athlete. And I disagree with Rifle's choice of basketball because I put more weight in the strength element of athleticism, where football factors larger. And again, not just any football player. Punters suck.

I stick with OLBs.
 
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Read your last post. Notice how you keep saying "skills" and "skills competition"? That's because those things you want to do are SKILLS. Skills take repetition and practice. Raw athleticism doesn't take that same repetition. Running fast, jumping high and quick, changing direction, etc. are not skills. Those are raw athletic traits.

If you want to simply look at skills in each sport, then there is a good chance that a bowler or golfer will win a free throw competition. Does that mean they are more athletic than an NBA swingman? Exactly.
Ok an athletic skills competition. Name the events.

We need to measure some strength, power, endurance,speed, coordination, flexibility, agility, and balance.
 
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