Watching the world cup I was thinking about things in a sport that aren’t in any other sport I am aware of(or at least can remember right now). Not things that are fundamental to the nature of the game, like Ice is what makes hockey hockey, it doesn’t count. Incidental; thing that are unique.
Soccer. One player wears a totally different uniform.
Hockey. Substitutions while the play continues.
Any others?
Cricket: a draw and a tie are different results.
Things that are important to the game, or things that are just strange?
Just strange: Theoretically, there are two ways a baseball game can be infinite. First, you can have a tie at the end of the ninth inning, and each successive inning never ends in the home team being behind or ahead. Or, within an inning, the defending team never gets 3 outs.
Important to the game: Also in hockey: fights are a normal part of the game, and there are rules about how long the fight can go on that is enforced by the referees. The penalty system also reflects that fights are an accepted part of the game.
Does any sport besides baseball have theoretically-unlimited non-injury time outs?
One unique thing about baseball/softball (and possibly cricket, which shares many similarities with baseball) is that the offensive team has to AVOID touching the ball with their body, while in most other sports, touching the ball is the definition of being on the offense.
Indoor lacrosse has this as well. In fact, pretty much the entire team swaps out whenever control of the ball switches sides - you often see all of one team’s defending players (and the other team’s offense) stream back to the bench, minus the one guy with the ball, while their offensive players (and the other team’s defense yadda yadda) stream out. It can be kind of dizzying to watch in person.
In tennis, the offense can not touch the ball with their body. Anyone who gets hit with the ball loses the point.
Then again, both players are on both offense and defense at the same time(more or less).
Is tennis unique in net sports that the ball does not have to go over the net? Can volleyballs go around the net and count as well?
In volleyball, the libero wears a contrasting uniform to his or her teammates.
Both teams are on offense and defense at the same time in volleyball. That hasn’t always been true – the rule change for this was about 10 years ago.
No they can’t in volleyball. There are two antenna mounted on the net directly above the sidelines that the ball has to go between.
Soccer is hardly unique in this respect. In fact it’s probably more common than not for sports to have goalkeepers wearing different uniforms. For example, water polo goalies have to wear distinctive swimcaps.
As notfrommensa noted, the libero in volleyball wears a distinctive uniform. That may be the only non-goalkeeper position that does so.
Here’s one: basketball is the only sport where goaltending is against the rules.
Golf is the only(?) ball sport where the lowest score wins.
Bowling is the only sport where there is a single, perfect score that is not the target of the game (unlike 301 in darts.)
Tennis is the only sport where the field dimensions change depending on the number of players.
Jousting (by the rules stated in the movie “A Knight’s Tale”) is the only sport where points are awarded based on equipment damage or injury.
Various pool games (9 ball, 7 ball, 8 ball, etc.) can be won on the very first shot, or break. In some variations of 8 ball, not only can the game be won on the break, it can be lost on the break as well. In other pool games like straight pool or 3 ball billiards, the game can be won without the 2nd player ever getting a shot.
Capoeira is the only martial art that incorporates being shackled into the forms.
Theoretically, judo is nearly useless if the opponent is not wearing clothes.
NASCAR races are the only automobile races comprised solely of left turns.
Golf is the only sport where women have a different starting point than men.
Baseball is the only sport in the US with a monopoly exemption.
Off the top of the head, this is also true of luge (as in the recent Olympics, where starting points were a hot subject after a competitor’s death) and some bicycle races.
But the player who is serving (starting on the offense) will be holding the ball before they hit it.
Darts is played from 501 at the top level and has the perfect game of a nine-dart checkout: 180, 180 then a few choices to finish up the remaining 141.
Snooker has the perfect score of 147 that is not necessary to win the game.
Speaking of bowling, are there any other sports where progressive changes to the condition of the playing surface are a desired outcome to keep up the difficulty level for the competitors?
It seems to me that in every other sport where the surface conditions can change through use (baseball and clay court tennis get their surfaces brushed, hockey has the Zamboni – there are others, I’m sure), there is a point made of trying to restore the surface to an “ideal” condition at multiple points throughout the contest.
I think cricket would qualify. The characteristics of the playing surface, the “wicket”, are important in that game. They might not exactly encourage change in the condition of the wicket, but there does seem to be the philosophy that you start with as good a surface as possible and then let nature and the game take its course.