How do I get into baseball?

[Lark]

I seen the sport in movies and stuff but how do I get into it, anyone know of a book which outlines the rules, teams etc. and where or what is there in the way of merchandise?

 

[KDude]

Best way to learn the rules is play it. If you watched enough, you'd get the basic idea though. In America, you could buy merchandise almost anywhere, but not sure about Ireland.

I'm surprised it's not a more popular sport in the UK though. I think it borrows a lot from cricket.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I'd recommend a primer such as Baseball For Dummies or The Complete Idiot's Guide To Baseball, and also Ken Burns' documentary Baseball for a sense of the history. I don't know how available these are where you live, but Amazon UK might have them.

MLB.com and the Wikipedia entry on Major League Baseball will give you a good sense of the professional league in the USA. It's a good time to start paying attention, as the season starts the first week of April!

 

[Lark]

I bought a book called baseball for dummies, when I visit the states in May I'm going to go see a game, eat a hot dog, eat some popcorn and possible see what a cracker jack is or a corn dog.

I heard about a sports shop here in northern ireland which has sold upwards of a thousand baseball bats but never sold a single baseball, I wonder what that's about?

 

[1487610420]

I bought a book called baseball for dummies, when I visit the states in May I'm going to go see a game, eat a hot dog, eat some popcorn and possible see what a cracker jack is or a corn dog.

Is this part of a ritual to summon baseball knowledge?

Oh wait, Te doms, nvm.

 

[KDude]

Yeah, let this be the one area where you don't think about rituals or book knowledge.

There has to be some baseball in Ireland? If you played, you'll pick up the rules in no time. It's not a very fun sport to observe anyways (imho).

 

[violet_crown]

You could see about streaming American sports news stations like ESPN.

 

[lowtech redneck]

I bought a book called baseball for dummies, when I visit the states in May I'm going to go see a game, eat a hot dog, eat some popcorn and possible see what a cracker jack is or a corn dog.

I wouldn't expect much from the crackerjacks, they're pretty much just there for tradition, as far as I can tell....corndogs, on the other hand, taste great (I can't believe you don't have them in Northern Ireland).

Try to find a batting cage somewhere, and somebody to play catch with, to get a general 'feel' for the mechanics of the game.

I have to do something right now, but before I go, I recommend the movie Eight Men Out as a means of gaining insight into some elements of baseball history and its role in American culture, including the role of class in early baseball.

 

[Lark]

I wouldn't expect much from the crackerjacks, they're pretty much just there for tradition, as far as I can tell....corndogs, on the other hand, taste great (I can't believe you don't have them in Northern Ireland).

Try to find a batting cage somewhere, and somebody to play catch with, to get a general 'feel' for the mechanics of the game.

I have to do something right now, but before I go, I recommend the movie Eight Men Out as a means of gaining insight into some elements of baseball history and its role in American culture, including the role of class in early baseball.

I think the game is similar to rounders is here but rounders here has never been a game beyond kids on the street or in the neighbourhood and now not even that, cricket is nothing like and not half as entertaining, I'll admit that its also a game of the upper class and british, its even too classy and too british for a lot of the uber brits among the unionists and loyalists.

I just think of baseball as 100% American, I suppose that American football is the same but I watched it once or twice and it seemed slow and stop compared to rugby.

 

[Sniffles]

Get drunk, and shave those damn sideburns.

 

[Ginkgo]

Learn the rules and do not gamble small sums of money. Gambling only serves to make you care more about the outcomes and what determines said outcomes.

/not sleazy

 

[Giggly]

Play it, don't read about it.

You could watch people play to start.

I heard about a sports shop here in northern ireland which has sold upwards of a thousand baseball bats but never sold a single baseball, I wonder what that's about?

Hooligans.

 

[RaptorWizard]

The sport moves so slowly and just overall sucks pretty dang badly.

Basketball and soccer on the other hand are great sports - you just have to like a state of constant flux.

Clearly change makes for better developments and flat out fun.

 

[lowtech redneck]

I think the game is similar to rounders

I just think of baseball as 100% American

Baseball is often considered to have derived from regional variations of Rounders among English and Irish immigrants (the pre 1845 origins of baseball is surprisingly murky). The first known codification of a rule set distinct from other types of games is in 1845, presumably based on New York variants of Rounders-style games: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_baseball#Alexander_Cartwright

It was originally, and no other country has a national culture that essentially evolved alongside baseball, but in terms of popularity its actually a bigger deal in Japan right now.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

The sport moves so slowly and just overall sucks pretty dang badly.

Basketball and soccer on the other hand are great sports - you just have to like a state of constant flux.

Clearly change makes for better developments and flat out fun.

It's all a matter of opinion. I like baseball, but I'd rather sit in the waiting room at the DMV than watch the NBA. It's kind of silly to say that a sport that has been wildly successful for over 100 years "overall sucks pretty dang badly".

 

[Ginkgo]

Baseball is popular for the same reason other sports are popular to watch: you can think of strategies, possibilities, and gauge probabilities. There's always a bit of favoritism in terms of who you want to win, and that's fine. It makes the game more exciting. But baseball changes just as much as any other sport - the changes are just nuanced.

So [MENTION=15371]RaptorWizard[/MENTION], do you enjoy Michael Bay movies?

 

[Lark]

Play it, don't read about it.

You could watch people play to start.



Hooligans.

Paramilitaries.

 

[Giggly]

The sport moves so slowly and just overall sucks pretty dang badly.

Basketball and soccer on the other hand are great sports - you just have to like a state of constant flux.

Clearly change makes for better developments and flat out fun.

I prefer watching fast moving sports too but there's something about baseball that keeps my interest... maybe the anticipation with bursts of action and I enjoy the pitchers. My top two favorites are basketball and baseball. Not all that into football actually. I like extreme sports and tennis too but of course those are fast moving.

 

[Winds of Thor]

It's all a matter of opinion. I like baseball, but I'd rather sit in the waiting room at the DMV than watch the NBA. It's kind of silly to say that a sport that has been wildly successful for over 100 years "overall sucks pretty dang badly".

Baseball is slow on the eyes. There's a whole lot of strategy involved in baseball played by really talented teams and the delays or slow periods have a lot to do with teams controlling the pace, and asserting efforts to dominate the other team. And there's lots of ways they do this.

I used to think it was just a slow game. And then a design engineer in my office (INTJ), who considers baseball next to kin (especially the Red Sox-his grandfather was a groundskeeper at Fenway Park), shed some light on how the game is played and explained that it is deeply strategic, actually.

 

[ceecee]

I can't even understand thinking baseball is boring. The World Baseball Classic is going on right now, you might want to try finding games on tv or online. http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/index.jsp I love hockey and fast sports (I'd rather have a root canal than watch the NBA) but baseball is like the ultimate in nail biting strategy, statistics, percentages, probability....it's so exciting. It helps that my team has power hitting and the Triple Crown winner, Cy Young award winner, Home Run Derby winner..etc. There is NOTHING like seeing a Miguel Cabrera home run in person. Nothing. It's amazing. I second the Ken Burns Baseball series recommendation. It's lovely and there was a good amount I learned from it and I've been around baseball my whole life.

Apparently, they play baseball in Ireland.
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/13/so-they-apparently-play-baseball-in-ireland/