BASEBALL OR CRICKET?

There is a Little League Baseball League in Poland. Does anyone play cricket outside of Comonwealth embassy/media circles? Which sport --baseball or cricket-- would be perceived as more interesting (less boring) and less complicated to non-Anglos?

Baseball I would say :)

The Americans did play cricket a long time ago, but I think it was baseball that superceded it, but as P3 stated, it's a British / Commonwealth thing really. As far as I know, baseball is a more straight-forward kind of game.

Rounders, anyone?

both are complicated and boring to non-Anglos, which is why we don't bother playing or watching

Not a very good term with which to describe a lot of people, especially the predominantly German / Irish Americans, the predominantly Irish Irish, the Welsh (who are, believe it or not, Welsh), Indians, Caribbeans...

As an American who thinks of nearly nothing but Baseball, I would have to say baseball is easier to understand. I've a very smart fellow and I understand more Aramaic than I do cricket, and I've tried believe me. Many Indian and Pakistani chaps at my university played it and I learned a little but it's a very complicated game.

Though, to be sure, both are complicated and difficult to grasp and that is why both sports have limited appeal. We might not like soccer (football) here but it is not difficult to understand. A martian could sit down at a soccer/hockey/basketball game and by the end of the game, he could understand the basic rules. Not so with baseball/cricket/American Football and that is why those sports aren't as universal as the others.

Baseball has alot of rules, unless you have played it before, it could take awhile
to learn. The Japanese sure have took a liking to it...lol
There actually pretty good at it:)

There is a game that could be compared to baseball or cricket (Polish Baseball if you will) that used to be played in Poland. The name of the game is “Palant”, and the history of this game goes back to Zygmunt III Waza. It was popular in Poland until 19th century. There was a brief time of popularity of this game between WWI and WWII. Although there’s a negative connotation to the word “Palant” the game still survived in some parts of Poland. The best known is in Grabów, they even have a holiday named after this game and its celebrated day after “Śmingus Dyngus”.

boring game

I'm Polish born and raised there , but I much prefer baseball to soccer. While I appreciate, admire, and see merits of all sports, soccer (football), or pilka norzna, I'm very sorry, but it is way too boring for me. Not complex enough for me and extremely low scoring. There is very little offense.


Soccer is a not a rich man's sport. It does not require very much or expensive equipment or facilities to play it so it is also very popular with 3'd world Nations.
On the other hand, hockey or baseball or USA style football is a bit more resource intensive.

Cricket takes many days, weeks possibly to play a game (a match). A baseball game is played in what they/we call 9 innings. Which usually takes 2-3 hours.
Yes, baseball has rules, for sure more than soccer. But it is like a chess game. Where each opponent tries to outsmart the other several moves in advance... It is not shear brute strength , or speed, etc.. to enjoy or understand baseball one must put 'some' effort to understand it and appreciate it.

I strongly believe that Baseball has strong roots/origins in Poland's Palant. In year 1610 I believe, a group of Polish immigrants to USA, played the game in Jamestown in New England. The locals thoroughly enjoyed watching it, etc.. Possibly that is why the Little League Executives in Williamsport Pen. USA allowed a successful Polish businessman from USA to build a massive baseball facility in Kutno Poland. And every year, the European LL championship is played in Kutno Poland (just west of Warszawa). Poland won it about 3 years ago and the 12 yr old Polish boys participated in the LL World Series in USA that year and played against Japan, Mexico, etc...

I hope I did not offend anyone.

Cheers

Moja-Droga

Sri Lanka,India,Pakistan and the West Indies are huge lovers of cricket and non-anglos.

Not really, the fastest growing form of the game (Twenty/20) is shorter than the average baseball match.

I enjoy both sports although I have never played baseball.

IT`S FOOTBALL NOT SOCCER.

Here here.

Nah ! Its roots are in Rounders :) A Brit game.

more likely. i hate the term SOCCER.

As all right thinking people do. That's why it's called Footie :)

Sorry, never heard of it ...

what, rounders or footie?

Would that be footie = football

or Rounders. usually a school-yard game... often for girls.

great minds ....

Would that be footie = football

or Rounders. usually a school-yard game... often for girls.

Ha, ha .... good one... sorry, I was referring to (Twenty/20)....

There are several books on this baseball origins and the book I've read strongly mentions Paland and rounders,.... I'm sorry, Americans did not invent baseball, they just borrowed some great prior ancient ideas...

All sports seem to be based on very simple ideas, such as kicking a ball past your opponents and into a net or hitting a ball as far as possible and running before it gets back. But then to make it all the more interesting, as many rules as possible have to be added. If it's too simple, it's not interesting enough. If there is no cultural attachment to a particular game (such as the exclusively American sports in most of the rest of the world), then it helps if there isn't already a local equivalent to it (eg. cricket to baseball), and it also helps if the rules aren't too complicated and convoluted.

Shove ha'penny is quite a good game, and I like the idea of curling but wouldn't bother having a go at it myself.

Who cares where it came from? The Americans turned it into their (our) own game. It's why it's called "The National Pastime".

Anyone can play it, and every red blooded American boy has, at one time or other, envisioned himself up to bat at the bottom of the 9th inning with the bases loaded, down by 3 runs, the count 3-2 on him, and hitting the walk-off home run that wins the game.

And living in New Jersey, I take extra pride in the fact the the very first professional baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ. The same town that would one day give the world, none other than Old Blue Eyes himself, Mr. Frank Sinatra.

who cares. cricket is loads better than baseball. they even stop for tea. a real gentlemens game

...as many rules as possible have to be added....


Yes I suppose rules may have been added to make a 'sport'/game more interesting to play/watch.... Most sports originated long ago with very simple rules.
But having played and coached several sports, it's no secret that over the years/decades, players and coaches have tried to outsmart the opponent and bent the rules a tad to obtain an advantage. So 'rules' were added over time. And are still being added. Hence what seems like unnecessary complex rules, actually have real roots.

Ha, ha besides, if a game/sport is too simple,... why would anyone bother having coaches then ? Especially ones that get paid.. ? :)

ps. for kids under the age of 12, the most dangerous sport (most number of injuries and most severe (growth plates) are in Soccer or European football. After the age of 12 (puberty), the kids, mainly boys of course, get enough mass and speed that American full contact football generates severe injuries. Besides, 'heading' a soccer ball does not reduce young children's IQ's ....

We all know that... this side of the Atlantic.

edit: you meant football, right ?

what the fcuk is a soccer ball ? :)

Only a few Americans know baseball was essentially invented in Russia with the original name of "lapta" and brought to the US with Russian and Ukranian migrants.
Nowadays "lapta" is not really popular in Russia.

kman67,, no offense.

But I Love baseball also. In my opinion, best sport there is. And best past time also. Besides, they allow lots of Pints of beer drinking at Pro baseball games (not kids games).

I don't think a man can find a place to buy a cup of tea at a baseball game.

2 of my 3 kids got baseball scholarships in the warmer states of the US of A.

I'm just interested from an academic perspective.... besides, baseball is all about the STATS right ? , and one of them is ..'what is the origin of baseball '..

Did you know that the original USA professional ball games a batter needed 9 balls to get a walk? Not just 4 like it is now. Ha, ha ... Of course some may think a batter only needs two balls to walk....?
Or that in Baseball used to be that a batter TOLD the opposing pitcher where he wanted the ball to be thrown (outside inside high or low, etc.)
Many, many rules were changed/added to make the game what it is today.

My friend plays cricket on his town's team in Wales. They stop for beer.....