Baseball, in my opinion, is the greatest sport.  Sure, that is debatable (let’s go get a beer and talk) but I am prepared to at least make a case.  Here are my top ten reasons why baseball is the greatest sport:

10.  The Mendoza Line

Ok, so it isn’t the Mendoza line per se, but I love that things like this have names.  For the uninformed, the Mendoza line is the mythical line between batting above .200 and below .200, but that isn’t what is cool.  What is cool is that this label of mediocrity is actually attached to a person.  Other notable mentions are Tommy John (dude has his own SURGERY named after him!), the Golden Sombrero, and the ever present Can of Corn.

9.  Major League

Simply put, the best baseball movie ever.  Sure, there is room for Field of Dreams (Wanna have a catch?) and The Natural (Wonderboy!), but Major League has more real-world applications than all of the other baseball movies put together.  How many times have you been watching a game and heard the phrase “Juuuust a bit outside!”?  Probably a million. Snipes, Sheen and Berenger all deliver a tour de force performance.  Look close enough, and you will see the Janitor from Scrubs as one of the fans.  Now that is good film making.  Personal favorite:  The best line in the movie wasn’t even in the movie.  Remember the scene where Jake takes Vaughn (Sheen) and Hayes (Snipes) to the fancy restaurant, and Jake tries to console Vaughn about the home run he gave up that day by saying that “ball wouldn’t have been out of most parks”?  Vaughn replies “Name One” and Snipes says “Yellowstone”.  Wasn’t even in the movie, but it was in the trailer, and I remember it like it was yesterday.

8. The energy of a packed stadium - Yeah, you get this in other sports, but baseball has that timeless quality of fans just waiting for something to happen, instead of demanding it to happen.  A few years back, I was attending a Rangers/Yankees game (I live in Texas) and it was the first game back for Alex Rodriguez since he had been traded.  The stadium was jammed to the brim with people, all ready to curse A-Rod.  Of course, he hit a home run his first at bat, but the Rangers were able to fight back and win that game.  What I remember most about that game was the energy of the ballpark.  The hairs on my arms were standing by the 9th inning, and the crowd was absolutely jazzed at the fact that the Rangers might take down the Evil Empire, even if it was for one game.  Nothing better than having your 9 year old son look up at you and ask if he is allowed to chant “Yankees Suck” along with the rest of the crowd.

7.  Different Ball Park configurations - Very few sports can boast that each field/court has its own quirkiness.  I love the ivy at Wrigley, the hill and pole at Minute Maid, and the trash bag in Minnesota.  I love the way ballparks will put angles in to increase the chances of a triple.  I love how the umpires and managers have to meet before the game to talk about the rules for that ballpark.

6.  Managers in uniform - Yes, I know this is starting to sound like the George Carlin routine, but it truly is one of the real goofy things about baseball.  Not only is it part of the game, but baseball recently put in a rule that the manager has to wear his jersey, even if he is wearing a jacket or long sleeve shirt over it.  How great is that!! Ron Washington may look like a homeless bum, but at least he looks classy in his Rangers’ blue.

The top 5 is next! Stay tuned!

Tags: baseball quirks list top ten