Baseball fat guys

Discussion in 'Other Sports' started by Craig the Aussie, Sep 19, 2003.

  1. Craig the Aussie

    Craig the Aussie New Member

    May 21, 2002
    Sydney, Australia
    Not meaning to have a go at the sport, but I just watched my first ever game of baseball (well about 4 innings as it was on the screen in the pub while I was having a liquid lunch)

    Fair dinkum, never seen such a bunch of fat blokes.

    Great arms when throwing, and heaps of power swinging the bat, but the guts and butts on them were huge !!

    Gotta love a sport for the fat bloke - I may be in for a chance yet !! There was a bloke called Alvarez who had a bigger gut than my old man.
     
  2. Khansingh

    Khansingh New Member

    Jan 8, 2002
    The Luton Palace
    That's quite true, but I think you'll find that the best players are almost unerringly great athletes. Anyway, compared to a lot of football players, baseball players "look like regular, fit folks," to quote Tom Boswell.
     
  3. Craig the Aussie

    Craig the Aussie New Member

    May 21, 2002
    Sydney, Australia
    True.

    If you put a baseball, basketball and NFL football team in street clothes, then the baseball guys would blend into a room of "normal" people best.
     
  4. AvidSinger

    AvidSinger New Member

    Sep 6, 2002
    Massachusetts
    Except Randy Johnson......
     
  5. Scoey

    Scoey Member

    Oct 1, 1999
    Portland
    Maybe the best field players -- that is, every player excluding DH's, catchers, and pitchers. You think David Wells is a great athlete? Or Edgar Martinez?

    It's actually something I've always like about baseball. One of it's only redeeming qualities, IMHO, is that you don't have to be a freak of nature to excel. You don't have to have exceptional athleticism to be good. You have to actually have baseball skills. Guys end up on NBA and NFL rosters all the time that have nothing to offer other than a passing familiary with the game and otherworldly athleticism. Not in baseball.

    I think it was David Wells who said "I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player." Beautiful.
     
  6. Khansingh

    Khansingh New Member

    Jan 8, 2002
    The Luton Palace
    Actually, I think it was John Kruk. But thanks for mentioning David Welles. Chronic back injuries, gout, etc. Meanwhile, his teammate Roger Clemens is ending his career on his terms in a condition that would allow him to continue. Whereas Welles, that sloppy b*tch, is probably going to have his career shortened by injury.
     
  7. BenReilly

    BenReilly New Member

    Apr 8, 2002
    Who was playing?

    The majority of baseball players are exceptional athletes (you won't find any chubby non-1b infielders or centerfielders), but there are some chubby players. It's still the exception and numerous studies have demonstrated that it is a major liability for the player.
     
  8. Craig the Aussie

    Craig the Aussie New Member

    May 21, 2002
    Sydney, Australia
    Re: Re: Baseball fat guys

    One team had blue caps with a white 'LA' on it. The other team had grey shirts and black caps.
     
  9. Don Boppero 3000

    Don Boppero 3000 DNALMQNLGLLMX!

    Jan 15, 2001
    The Fullerton Hotel Chicago
    Club:
    Club América
    Nat'l Team:
    Mexico
    See a game in person and you'll see some fat people.
     
  10. Smiley321

    Smiley321 Member

    Apr 21, 2002
    Concord, Ca
    You guys are funny, armchair athletes who couldn't carry the jocks straps for these guys.

    If you ever had to compete with any of these athletes, they'd make you look like a woman in any sport you choose. All of them were studs in every sport they played in high school, and then they excelled thru the minors where everyone else is one of those studs, too. You bozos can't seem to appreciate what it takes to be a professional athlete.

    By the way, an aussie, Damian Moss, was sent down to the minors recently for being in lousy shape. Unfortunately, he is one of the many who aren't so gifted that they can still perform with alot of extra poundage.
     
  11. SoccerApe

    SoccerApe New Member

    these so called athletes are fat bozos on steroids
     
  12. jamison

    jamison Member

    Sep 25, 2000
    NYC
    Just an aside for the English blokes: Hungary once played England in a friendly during the dawn of the magical magyars era. An Englishman looked over at Ferenc Puskas and quipped "Look at that little fat chap. We're going to murder this lot". Hungary won 5-3 (iirc), in Wembley.

    There are a decent amount of chubby brothers playing baseball, but as a previous poster mentioned they are generally confined to two positions (three in the AL). First base, Pitching and DH (AL only). Only rarely do you get chubby outfield players, like a Kirby Puckett or Tony Gwynn.

    My favorite first base chubby bubba was Steve Balboni, the only man to ever have a first base coach dangle food over the bag as incentive to get down the line. In his early career he just wasn't huge, he just wasn't skinny. By the time he made it to the Yankees in the late 80s he was chubb rock. John Kruk is the fattest 1B I can remember, but there have been many from Rusty Staub & Boog Powell on down the line. They only have to run 90 feet at a time, and while they are tremendous hand/eye atheletes when it comes to hitting, they aren't in very good shape. Yes, they can hit a ball a ton, but try to get Mo Vaughn to beat you up a flight a stairs. Nearly impossible.

    Pitchers are also notorious on the girth offenders list, as they really only need one arm and the leg muscles to push off. Guys like Fernando Valenzuela, David Wells and Wilson Alvarez has been known to take multiple runs at the snack bar. My favorite was a Red Sox pitcher named Rich Garces. Never met a dessert he didn't like.
     
  13. russ

    russ Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Canton,NY
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Re: Re: Baseball fat guys

    Dodgers-Giants,perhaps?
     
  14. hobbes

    hobbes Member

    Jul 26, 1999
    regina, saskatchewan
    I love that Kruk quote, execpt he wasn't talking about his physical shape, but the fact he was smoking. Some woman tore a strip off of him for smoking and being a professional athlete. He said "Lady I'm not an athlete, I'm a ball player." Classic.

    cheers,
    hobbes
     
  15. Cascarino's Pizzeria

    Apr 29, 2001
    New Jersey, USA
    My current fave freak of nature is Billy Wagner on Houston. He's around 5'10" tall and 170 pounds and only throws the ball 100-101 MPH on the radar gun. I had a decent arm in HS and I could maybe only hit 80 MPH. I knew a guy who threw 90 and to the avg. overweight company softball player or fantasy baseball fan, 90 is blazing. I can't imagine what a 100 MPH heater looks like (and sounds like) a few inches from one's chin.
     
  16. Scoey

    Scoey Member

    Oct 1, 1999
    Portland
    And therein lies the beauty of baseball. I rag on it because it's boring, slow, uncreative, etc. But jesus -- you have to be in awe of 1) anybody that can throw a ball that hard; 2) anybody with enough sack to stand in there and hit against him; and 3) anybody that can even make contact with a ball moving that fast. Baseball players aren't amazing athletes, and I find the game generally dull. But I saw highlights of Wagner facing Bonds yesterday, and it was fascinating stuff.
     

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