Here’s something I’ve been noticing more and more lately, mostly on ESPN.
So we see highlights of a baseball game. The scoring plays, maybe a great defensive effort, or a couple of whiffs by the winning pitcher.
But to wrap up the highlight package, we see the closer getting the final out of the game in the most meaningless manner, such as, but not limited to the following:
-A weak groundout or pop-up
-A lazy fly ball
-An obvious called third strike or some dope swinging at a pitch in the dirt.
But that’s not only what gets me. They show this even if the winning team is up by several runs and in no danger of losing. Ok, if it’s a one-run game and the bases are loaded, sure, show me what happens. But does anyone care if the last batter in a 10-1 game grounds out?
Baseball highlights have got to be the most boring highlights out there. I don’t even watch SportsCenter during the summer since it’s either baseball or boxing.
OTOH, it’s a hell of a lot better than actually watching baseball. If you’re going to be subjected to it, might as well get it over with in 30 seconds, rather than 6 hours.
Personally, I find some of the anchors on SportsCenter much more irritating than the highlights.
“That brings up my man Ty Cobb, as cool as the other side of the pillow. BOOM! Can I get a witness from the congregation! Nothin’ but yard! And Cobb is all smiles as he crosses the plate.”
Who in Vin Scully’s name taught these people how to announce?
And it is so hard to put up their complete stat window highlighting 10 players’ stats, instead of that wimpy little pop-up of the score and only two highlighted stats? It doesn’t take any longer. Baseball Tonight is so inconsistent with that.
I’m getting annoyed by the “Top Ten nominee” plug SportsCenter is throwing into various highlight packages these days. “Hey, this play is a Top Ten nominee! You’re gonna see this again at the end of the show!”
Irritating beyond belief: I’m watching a baseball game, right? So what’s on the screen? Some announcer b.s.ing with some celebrity or old-timer or his partner, or whoever. Meanwhile, in a little box in the corner, there MAY be a shot of the actual game going on! Or they cut back briefly to show the actual few seconds of the play. Excuse me, but I put this thing on to watch THE GAME, not you and your friends having a chat!!! I want to see what the pitcher, the catcher, the batter, the fielders are doing, not just the path of the ball to the plate! There are a lot of subtle differences that you have to see (or at least be told about) in order to truly appreciate baseball. I often turn the boob tube on for the picture, but have a radio on at the same time for the account of the game.
My sports highlight complain is when actually at a game. They show the highlights from today around the majors. Then they proceed to show clips from the other games, but they don’t tell you who did the play. Sometimes you don’t even get told which game the play was from. Complete waste of my time and actually I have designated that inning break as a time to visit the loo.
Yeah, I usually don’t like who’s on SportsCenter these days, either, but I fell off my couch when one of them busted out a Bubb Rubb reference by calling a home run “that’s it and that’s all”. That was even better than John Buccigross’s obscure R.E.M. references.
As for baseball, I think of it this way. I enjoy being around a baseball game. I enjoy going to baseball games. But I do not enjoy actually WATCHING said baseball game 100% all the way through. I think it says a lot that MLB.com has that service where they edit down a game so every pitch is a hit, out, or walk and the game can be seen in like 15-20 minutes.