http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7747553.stm

http://www.supersport.co.za/cricket/columns.aspx?id=5733&headline=Havana%20day%20to%20remember%20in%20Cuba..

If he had have had a forward defence he’d have been an awsome player…..

Now I have to gather my thoughts and comment – thats could take a few hours!!!

Cricket has learned a great deal from baseball – mostly on fielding – and in Twenty 20, some hitting techniques.

If someone played both sports from a young enough age, they could be pro in both. Whether anyone could/would switch as an adult is an interesting idea. As yet, no one has really been a top gun in both although there are records of cricketers 100 years ago, playing both professionally.

For the record I hit speeds around 100 mph at times in between throwing some dross. They said that I was ‘old’ as a 25 year old to try out and the fact I’d never played the game before made the whole things kinda weird, when they had lads of 17 who could throw more accurately than me and had played the game from aged 8 or 9. But then they wondered how good could I be with coaching?

It’s all in the past now, but I wonder how it would have gone if I had have stayed and tried out for the month into the season. Within 2 years I have retired from pro cricket due to lack of opportunity and a very average first class record.

Today I coach fast bowling (and throwing) so something stuck from those days of learning advanced biomechanics of the throw!

Another element to consider in the difference between the two is that in baseball the batter will get 3 to 5 “at-bats” per game and three swings-and-misses(strikes) per at-bat versus one “at-bat” for a cricketer in a limited overs game and two “at-bats” in a test match. There is a different psychology for the baseball player who goes up to the plate for his first at-bat knowing he can “swing for the fences” three times and miss on each swing resulting in an out but he has the mindset of knowing he gets 3 or 4 more chances to bat in the game. This of course contrasts to the cricket batsman who takes the crease and on the first ball he sees if he swings and misses one time and the ball hits the stumps his one at-bat is over in a one-day/T20 match and his 1 of 2 at-bats is over in a test. The aspect of batting in cricket where one mistake ends your innings versus baseball batting in which the batter is allowed to make several mistakes during the course of game would be a big adjustment for the baseball player. Sammy Sosa’s ability to knock the ball out of the ground in a cricket practice session is one thing but to put him in a match situation with the pressure of his team chasing a target and one swing and miss ends his “at-bat” and his team’s chance of winning is quite another thing when Sosa is used to being able to swing and miss something like 15 times in a single three hour baseball game. As a lifelong baseball fan and a cricket fan of 4 years I would be very interested to see the likes of Ponting batting in a match situation where he has the luxury of 5 at-bats to work with versus an Alex Rodriguez in a cricket match situation where he has only on at-bat and he has to psychologically adjust to one mistake and he’s out.

The Chappell brothers developed a love of baseball from their grandfather Vic Richardson, who also played test cricket for Australia. I recall Ian Chappell saying that baseball was especially good for fielding, catching & throwing, & of course, hand & eye co-ordination speed & reflexes.

Link,

Interesting selections, but I have no idea to their accuracy of position! Fun though. Also fascinating to hear comments from those who have tried baseball out via the machines.

I played baseball at primary school in PNG. There were quite a few American kids at the school also. It was great fun, but that was oh so very long ago.

I then had a go at pitching. Was a machine that recorded your speed. I did get a few fast balls 80mph, and every pitch was in the middle of the catchers glove (was an outline of a glove to aim at). Was quite impressed with my round arm pitch until a 16yr old managed to throw the ball at 87mph. I guess the technique is instilled into them at a young age to use your glove and to throw a particular way?

The other interesting point was catching the ball. I used my glove where I could (was on a social softball game), but a few catches were with my open hard. The players were shocked, but it was a reaction from years of playing cricket I guess?

I personally believe that a pitcher’s job in baseball is helped tremendously by the sheer number of undisciplined hitters throughout the major leagues.

My own experience in the batting cage, having never played baseball myself, leads me to conclude that it just takes time to adjust to the speed. Initially it is difficult at 70 mph, a couple of dozen balls later I found myself making regular contact, and occasionally driving the ball hard.

Of course, 90 mph is another thing entirely, and if the pitcher has command sufficient to move the breaking pitches around, and throw them for strikes . . . .

Nobody has ever equated, to anybody’s satisfaction, the number of homers a player might hit in a game to a cricket batsman scoring a century. The great Willie Mays – I was lucky enough to see him and Bradman, although, naturally, not on the same ground – once hit four homers in a major league game. What kind of cricket score would that equal?

The mound as I understand it is closer than the crease, which may make up for any ‘full toss’ advantage. As an aside the similarity’s between Spinners and Knuckleballers has always intruiged me.

Sosa is an interesting one. The Dominican’s have a phenominal representation in the majors for their size. Imagine this talent playing for the West Indies!!

The Waugh and Chappell brothers plus Ponting/Border would’ve made phenominal pivots, perhaps best as lead off batters. Here’s my baseball lineup of Australian Cricketers. I’ve limited it to approx the last 20 years

1. Ricky Ponting (SS)
2. Mark Waugh (Third Base)
3. Simon O’Donnell (Left Field)
4. Andrew Symonds (Centre Field)
5. Steve Waugh (2nd Base)
6. Adam Gilchrist (Catcher)
7. Alan Border (1st Base)
8. Craig McDermott (Centre Field)
9. Brett Lee (Pitcher)