Originally Posted by highthief

Of course, where is getting the end result harder?

Yes, the specific act of hitting a really hard fastball is difficult, but in baseball, the end result is to score runs. And that is relatively easy to do, even at MLB level where typical scores are quite high (8-5, 7-6, 6-3, etc), never mind at the level most play at, where some truly mind boggling scores can be registered.

Achieving the end result at high level football (Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga) is much, much harder. It's not as simple as "hitting a ball into the net from 20 yards" - it's about beating defenders, and keepers, in addition to a fairly complicated ability to control and hit a moving ball accurately.

Even looking at individual play, a top hitter in the pros will hit 1/3 of the time. A top striker will not score 1/3 of the time he is in possession within 18 yards of the goal.

Looking at average players - the average person can get up off the couch and play a full nine innnings of baseball. The average person CANNOT get off the couch and go play 90 minutes of football. Like I said, I play both, and the physicality required to play all but a couple of position in baseball is minute compared to other sports. So when you say "60 year olds can run marathons", well, they play baseball too.

Still, comparing the two is a bit silly - they are very, very different.