How much do the British know about baseball?

Do they know as little about baseball as Americans know about cricket?

I am a fan of Doctor Who and I noticed that Ace carries a baseball bat. Why?

Ok, those are my questions..Have a nice day!

Geek , I know that an innings in Baseball is three outs (could be three pitches (nearly said balls but they don't count do they!) I think I know more about baseball than the average American knows about Cricket, but then Baseball is the American version of our Girls School game of Rounders!!!!!!

Watch it! Calling baseball the same as rounders is fighting words!
As a Canadian living in a part of Spain where I am surrounded by ex-pat Brits I hear the 'rounders' slur a lot!
I understand both cricket and baseball, but I have been exposed to both - and I'm only half-English. I have one English friend here who knows quite a lot about baseball (more than the average American or Canadian would know about cricket) but he is an exception to the rule I think. I also have an Irish friend with whom I can have a good baseball conversation, but that's about it.
Babe Ruth is still about the only baseball player many of them have heard of, and a discussion of the finer points is pretty hard to come by.

Can I just say, as an Aussie, that we know pretty much all there is to know about most sports

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that Ace carries a baseball bat

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Probably because he values his hallowed, willowed cricket bat too much? I woldn't wreck a cricket bat bashing up Daleks when there was a baseball bat around.

Excuse me??

'an innings'??

where are you from, like I need to ask

One inning of baseball contains six outs.
remember there is a top and a bottom to every inning.
there are nine innings in a game unless the game is tied at which time there are extra innings until one team has more runs scored than the other.

no wonder we drive on the LH side of the road

in cricket there are four innings, two each
the "bottom of the second" would be what we call the fourth innings of the match

in baseball there are 18 innings, the 18th inning of the game is the bottom of the 9th (the team that batted second)

do baseball teams toss to see who bats first?
or does the home team always bat first (or second, as the case may be)?

dude...geo...still only 9 innings in baseball, not 18.
and it is the home team that bats second, always.
no one ever says 18 innings.
only 9 innings
only 9 innings
only 9 innings

the reason for home team batting second in every inning is for home field advantage
that way the home team always gets the last at bat.
if the home team is up during the bottom of the ninth
that part of the inning does not need to be played.

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How much do the British know about baseball?

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Next to nothing...........aw come on, who mentioned rounders?

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Do they know as little about baseball as Americans know about cricket?

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Probably more so!

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I am a fan of Doctor Who and I noticed that Ace carries a baseball bat. Why?

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This may help to explain that one. Personally I would have used a staircase to defeat the daleks........ but that's just me

Geek............I've tried, believe me, I've tried to understand baseball along with American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey et al.

I'd like an English team to enter the 'World Series'......... Where do we apply?

Is there a picks thread for baseball? I'm heading there right now!

131 for 2 and the bases are loaded!
(Of course, I'm English and I know very little about being succesfull at Cricket!........Bloody Aussies!!!!!!)

wez

I might just sit here and look smug, wez...

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Wez, you and I both know that we know more about American Sports than they know about British "Sports" - and I can give them a fair few that they've never heard of!
Hows about - what's the rules for Hood Skittles,. or Quoits (perhaps they'd know that one! they use horse shoes!)

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Hows about - what's the rules for Hood Skittles

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John...............I prefer to call it 'Northamptonshire Skittles'. I know Dad's got a trophy for it somewhere about the house. (Some competition in the 50's from the Boot at Shipton Bellinger). Honestly...........the old man's got trophy's from some weird and wonderful pub games stretching way back. He's recently given me a slate shove-'apenny board. I'm sure he wants me to take it on Antiques Roadshow.........but I'm holding on to it for a good few years yet!

(currently trying to source a bar-billiards table.........any ideas?)

Mad, keen Pool fan though John. Do you have any idea how many variation's to that game there is? Good game!

wez

All I know about Baseball is that Americans go crazy when a team wins what they call a "World Series" and that makes them champions of the World - how come when no other country is playing???

Also know it's as boring and painful to watch as Norm Abraham building his umpteenth cupboard and going on about biscuits!

Anybody else here who has played Stoolball? I have also played both softball (not slow pitch, and the ball is not all that soft-nor is it a 'girls' game) and cricket. Like I said before, I'm Canadian (not an Aussie), though I do admit that you Aussies are good at pretty much whatever sport you attempt. The European equivalent is the Dutch, who play both baseball and cricket to a pretty high standard.

As to the 'World' series, the way I understand it (I believe I read this in "Baseball As I Have Known It" by Fred Lieb, but I could be wrong) the moniker originally came about because the series was once sponsored by the newspaper, "The New York World" (which I don't think exists any longer). If the NY Times had coughed up it would have been The Times Series.
Nothing to do with being champions of the world at all.

I know as much about cricket as I do about baseball... practically nothing! Hockey's my sport!

In my opinion (uh oh!) the term World series has a new connotation nowadays. After all, we now have players from (to name a few) Cuba, Domincian Republic, Chile, Puerto Rico, Japan, Korea, etc.

One example is the Texas Rangers. They have pitchers from Japan, Korea, I think Mexico. Then too, one of the catchers is from Puerto Rico.

Baseball is becoming international owing to the scouts traveling around the world. So I guess the original naming of the World Series is slowly changing. I would venture to guess there aren't too many Americans out there that could tell you what the origin of the term is.

Now I'm terribly emotional -- soon as the home team starts to lose, I change the channel! Can't stand to see them do bad. And considering they ended up in last place I didn't get to see a whole lot of them

Just been watching the game between San Francisco and Anaheim, and I am afraid I cannot respect a game that allows ALL players to wear those wimpy catching gloves- they make it too easy!

In cricket, the only player allowed to wear gloves like that is the wicket-keeper (equivalent to catcher). A cricket ball is the same size and hardness as a baseball; let's see baseball without gloves!

dude...do you know how much that would hurt?

in cricket the ball doesn't go a long way
sure it can be hit hard, but it doesn't go 300 feet picking up speed before a catch is made.
besides in cricket there is a way to catch the ball
they cradle it, I've seen it...very good technique.

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in cricket the ball doesn't go a long way

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LA...................you've gotta remember that all boundaries aren't as short as Cow Corner at Canterbury (with a bloody great oak tree in the way!!!!!)

Admittedly, the fielders do tend to 'cradle' the ball, fantastic technique etc. (without a great big glove!) er.............we also tend not to slide into the popping crease either, well only with the bat, but we wouldn't dream of getting our white/green/pastel blue/ uniform dirty!

It's "just not Cricket!"

wez

PS.....................look up "The Ashes" on Google......... and if any American bookies have picked up on this, put some money down on England. For once we are losing to Presidential X1's..............we always do that when we intend to take the bales back!

(loads of injuries, out of form players etc.................trust me I'm a er morris dancer!)

Maybe you could use a tennis ball instead

Of course it hurts! And a cricket ball usually has a flatter and faster trajectory than a flyball. A speed of 120+ mph would not be uncommon, and that can be within 10 feet from the bat! I suppose we are just tougher than you.. hehe

As one of our commentators is wont to say "..hit like a tracer bullet.." would be a fairly accurate description.

I would also argue about longest hit distances- balls are regularly belted out of cricket stadia around the world...

wez, a local bookie here has the following odds.. (all prices for $1).

England to win 5-0... $500
Australia to win 5-0.. $3.75
England to win the Ashes.. $9
Australia to retain the Ashes.. $1.10
Drawn series $11.
Leading run scorer. Marcus Trescothick is on the 9th line of betting.. $13
Wicket takers. Gough and Caddick are equal 6th line..$13

need I go on?

If I give you my bank account number, I will save you the anguish of losing your dough to a bookie...

I know that baseball players wear padded pants. Is this the sort of thing you were looking for?

That's American football, Islingtonian.