Brian Scalabrine is Better at Basketball Than You

luckiestman

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MMA because the difference between a good pro and a guy that gets on a Bellator card is vast compared to the best and worst basketball player. A lot of these guys suck.

Any team sport? Soccer has to be the best chance because I have seen teams win down a man.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Maybe a punter in the NFL? If we're just comparing relative levels of disaster, I feel like with some practice and a lot of stretching I could somewhat consistently at least kick the ball 30-40 yards downfield. Probably wouldn't have good hang time, wouldn't be able to do the coffin-corner or anything like that, and certainly wouldn't even bother trying to tackle or run after anyone on returns - but that's still probably the position I'd be "best" at.
your punt would be blocked every time. that is if you managed to hang onto a snap.

the only thing i could do is be a RB in victory formation.
 

Kliq

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Field goal gunner would be the best. You are expected to fail 99% of the time anyway.
 

DourDoerr

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To go further down a rung, I play - well, played pre-COVID - in a weekly basketball game. Every once in a while, a guy who walked onto Duke during the Grant Hill days would show up. He didn't even sit on the bench though and he was used just as a practice player. He's only an inch or so taller than me, but he was a game-wrecker. Doesn't miss a shot and every move, pass, shot was super-efficient and fundamentally sound. I guess he comes for the banter and jogging.
 

Mr. Wednesday

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Curling. Not because I could do it; it just seems like a sport I could do without getting killed or maimed in the first 5 seconds of play.
You could probably be adequate sweeping without a ton of experience, but your team would get buried in a lot of ends because you wouldn't be able to reliably make your front end shots and you'd start every end in a hole. At a minimum, you need to be able to throw a guard reliably (say, at least 75% of the time), and I think the other team would need to respect your ability to throw a take-out reliably too.

I'd count myself for not being a disaster thrown in with a top-level curling team, because I could sweep semi-adequately (though probably not remotely at a pro level) and should be able to make lead shots at a high enough percentage to not be a complete disaster. But I'm a pretty decent curler on my day, I'm a passable skip at a semi-competitive level who is reasonably accurate and usually has consistent guard weight, if not always consistent draw weight. For the most part, the difference between me and them isn't the shots we can make, it's that they make them 3/4 of the time and I make them 1/4 of the time.
 

Mr. Wednesday

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Bowling and billiards seem like good choices where one could compete with pros. Of course, I suck at both.
I'm probably about a 90th percentile candlepin bowler. I've consistently carried a 105 average in a competitive men's league in a house that I think is faster-than-average. Marginal pros average around 115, the best of the best average 130. I clear 130 maybe once or twice a month when I'm bowling well, maybe I can get it to once a week when I'm on a real hot streak. My high triple is 393. I know of at least couple of bowlers who have averaged a higher triple than that.

Similarly to curling, the difference isn't the shots I can or can't make, it's how consistently I make them. In bowling, though, most of the pros throw harder than I do which helps them with carry. I top out around 30 mph, most pros are around 35.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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I dont think I could punt it more than 20 yards but I am curious why you think it would get blocked or someone would drop the snap?
A long snap is coming at you at between 36 and 39 mph. You have to catch the ball and then get a kick off in between 1.1 and 1.3 seconds. https://insider.afca.com/pocket-radar-speed-technique-timing/

If you bobble the ball or mistime your kick, you have 250 pound NFL defensive players lunging their entire body at you.

I wouldn't say all of us but I suspect if most of us were back there, we'd get our punts blocked every time or we'd kick the ball 5 yards or something like that. It's not easy.

edit: I'm assuming the thought exercise was that we'd be playing in a meaningful game that had stakes. If no one rushed, that would be one thing. But if it were a meaningful game, the other team would be all-out trying to block the punt and they'd probably succeed.
 

lexrageorge

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RE: Punting. The speed at which the lineman will reach you would astonish most people here.

Personal anecdote: I was on a business trip once to Sophia Antipolis, which is just north of Nice in France. Got to my hotel, and had some time to wander the grounds, as it was a nice December day on the Mediterranean. Walked by some tennis courts, and there was a women practicing there. I noticed that she possessed superior foot work and power by a wide margin over anyone than I've seen walking by my local tennis courts. I don't play tennis at all, so I didn't think too much of it at the time, other than thinking "wow, she's really good".

That evening I was waiting at the bar for one of my coworkers to show up so we could grab dinner. A man sitting next to me asked me "Why are so many people here speaking English?". He looked like he was in his early 20's. I explained to him that the hotel is in the middle of an international business park and so there are a lot of people here from the US and UK on business. He asked me what I do, and after I explained I asked him the same. And he explained that he just graduated college and became a professional tennis player. Apparently, most pros train in southern France (and similar places) in December as there is a break in the tournament schedule, and the hotel was a major training and practice center for the pros. I wished him well. Unfortunately, I never got his name so I have no idea where he is in the hierarchy of pro tennis players, but I thought it was pretty cool that he got to live his dream for at least a little while.
 

JimD

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On ESPN radio this morning Mike Greenberg has been making me laugh so hard. They are working on the premise that Greenberg would buy the Dodgers and insert himself into the starting lineup on an every day basis. The question is: how many games would this cost the Dodgers and could they still win the WS with him playing everyday (and presumably playing most of every game and not being announced in the starting lineup and then immediately being removed...actually PLAYING like a starting regular).

They tried to figure out what position they could put him at. I guess DH wasn't an option being the Dodgers, but they really couldn't find one. He thought about first base and said basically, come on, I might not be able to handle hot smashes down the line but I can stand there and take throws from the infielders on grounders. And the other guys were like, no way - they throw 90 miles and hour across the diamond...no chance Mike.
This probably belongs in the 'ESPN is Pathetic' thread, but how the hell has Mike Greenberg not only survived but thrived all these years? That segment would be terrible coming from your town's Wacky Morning DJ, but add in aging metrosexual 'Greeny' insisting that he could actually play a passable 1B in the majors and it becomes 10x worse.
 

luckiestman

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This probably belongs in the 'ESPN is Pathetic' thread, but how the hell has Mike Greenberg not only survived but thrived all these years? That segment would be terrible coming from your town's Wacky Morning DJ, but add in aging metrosexual 'Greeny' insisting that he could actually play a passable 1B in the majors and it becomes 10x worse.
I’m going to disagree. This is at least somewhat interesting and a celebration of the greatness of professional athletes. Greenie has to play the fool but it seems like a good segment. Your larger point that ESPN sucks is not something I would disagree with.
 

Kliq

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Isn't part of the humor in that Greenberg is a crappy athlete? Like if they asked Jalen Rose or Trent Dilfer that same question it wouldn't be as fun because those guys were professional athletes at one point in time. Greenberg has the athleticism of the average ESPN listener, so he was the subject for the conversation.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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This probably belongs in the 'ESPN is Pathetic' thread, but how the hell has Mike Greenberg not only survived but thrived all these years? That segment would be terrible coming from your town's Wacky Morning DJ, but add in aging metrosexual 'Greeny' insisting that he could actually play a passable 1B in the majors and it becomes 10x worse.
You'd probably enjoy it if they put Greeny out at first base during a real game as the first throw would probably hit him and hit him hard.

I told a story in the John Bagley thread about playing IM softball in grad school and having a SS that played Div 1. The first time he really threw it to me in a game, I put my mitt up and I didn't catch it because I never really saw it. I was just fortunate enough that he hit my mitt.

It was terrifying.
 

BaseballJones

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I spent three weeks with a team in the Alaska Baseball League (roughly equivalent to the Cape Cod League) in 2011, and Aaron Judge was in the league that summer. I played catch with some of the players and holy cow they threw hard. Just playing catch, the ball came at me faster than I'd ever experienced before. It took all my concentration to handle every one of their throws. It really was terrifying.

Cool article on Judge that season...

https://www.adn.com/sports/2017/05/23/before-he-was-a-star-for-the-yankees-aaron-judge-cost-the-glacier-pilots-a-lot-of-baseballs/
 

Bleedred

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You'd probably enjoy it if they put Greeny out at first base during a real game as the first throw would probably hit him and hit him hard.

I told a story in the John Bagley thread about playing IM softball in grad school and having a SS that played Div 1. The first time he really threw it to me in a game, I put my mitt up and I didn't catch it because I never really saw it. I was just fortunate enough that he hit my mitt.

It was terrifying.
I went to law school with former Patriots Defensive End Garin Veris. Really a very nice guy and it was always a kick to see him drive into the law school parking lot in his stretch Mercedes just before class. Anyway, Veris had lost some weight from his playing days, but he was still a physical monster. He played in the intramural slow pitch law school softball league and I was the third basemen on my team playing against him. I played even with the bag in his first at-bat (huge mistake) and he went on to absolutely fucking crush a pitch down the third base line. It was by me before I could even react and if it had been hit at me I really think I might be dead or at least permanently injured. For his next at-bat, I played 3 feet behind the infield dirt, on the outfield grass. I think he hit his next one 500 feet and took a leisurely HR stroll around the bases.
 

BaseballJones

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Plus, we got that answer:
View attachment 40443
Uh, Michael Jordan was an elite baseball player. He fared far better in the minors than any of us would have. He wasn't a major-league caliber player, but the guy was GREAT at baseball.

And let's remember: he hadn't played ANY baseball since high school - so like a 13-14 year absence from the game, thrown immediately into the mix against actual MLB prospects. No, he wouldn't have gotten that opportunity if his name wasn't Michael Jordan, but still...to be put in that context right away and to still hit over .200 is actually pretty remarkable.
 

BaseballJones

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Maybe you could re-read the post and the one quoted within it.
Oh...I didn't think you were suggesting that Jordan was good at baseball. I thought you were saying, we know the answer when athletes try other sports: they suck at it. And I was just trying to say actually he was really good at it, especially given that he had no training in it, but it just goes to show how good those guys really are.

Which may be what you were actually trying to say too.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Not sure how many people watched the Last Dance, but I'm just catching up on it and watched the baseball episode the other night. I was in college when MJ was playing baseball so for some reason never put together that he basically came back to basketball because of the strike in '95. Who knows what's true, but more than one commenter said he'd have made the pros if he had kept at it. Jordan basically only had one AA season after 13 years of not playing at all and he still hit .200+.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I mean a 31-yr old singles hitter and poor defense......what’s not to love?

Sure I credit him for the work he put in and the bus he bought for Franconia and the team but there may not have been a worse player in the league that year.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I mean a 31-yr old singles hitter and poor defense......what’s not to love?

Sure I credit him for the work he put in and the bus he bought for Franconia and the team but there may not have been a worse player in the league that year.
Do you actually follow minor league baseball? He was bad, but he was far from worst. Our very own Walt McKeel hit .183/.227/.250 that year in 177 PA.
 

lexrageorge

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Not sure how many people watched the Last Dance, but I'm just catching up on it and watched the baseball episode the other night. I was in college when MJ was playing baseball so for some reason never put together that he basically came back to basketball because of the strike in '95. Who knows what's true, but more than one commenter said he'd have made the pros if he had kept at it. Jordan basically only had one AA season after 13 years of not playing at all and he still hit .200+.
I know we discussed this a bit in the Last Dance thread. Yes, what he accomplished by breaking 0.200 in AA was quite remarkable. Translating that small sample into MLB success, a league where even the best AA hitters wash out regularly, is a much different leap of faith altogether.
 

joe dokes

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Came to read about Scal.

Learned about how to sweep in Curling.
Making sure one's stones are in the house is not to be taken for granted.

(I'd fall down and get impaled, and then they'd name the new break-away broom after me posthumously).
 

Cesar Crespo

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I know we discussed this a bit in the Last Dance thread. Yes, what he accomplished by breaking 0.200 in AA was quite remarkable. Translating that small sample into MLB success, a league where even the best AA hitters wash out regularly, is a much different leap of faith altogether.
And he did that at age 31. He had about as much a chance as Tim Tebow, less even.

Maybe Jordan would have got a cup of coffee in the MLB in September when rosters used to expand because he's Michael Jordan, not because he actually deserved it.

What he did is definitely remarkable but when you compare him to actual AA players, it was bad.



It was kinda like me saying people on here could beat Muggsy. It was very poorly worded, but there are far more division 1 college players that could beat him one on one vs Scal. If any of us played him though, we'd get smoked. Jordan is a lot better baseball player than most (Schilling is a member here) of us could ever dream of. Compare him to minor league baseball players and he's a bum.
 

lexrageorge

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In the 1980's, I used to follow the minor league players in the Red Sox system much more closely. One of the more hyped up amateur drafts for the Red Sox during that period was the 1982 draft in which the Red Sox had 3 first round picks and 2 seconds as a result of the loss of free agents Frank Tanana, Joe Rudi, and Bill Campbell (all of whom were washed up by then anyway). The major league team was at a bit of a crossroads; Lynn and Fisk were gone, as were most of their starts from the powerhouse teams of the late 1970's. The Sox had some relatively barren drafts in the late 1970's, and many of their better prospects had already moved up to the big league club or were close.

Their first pick was the player for whom this board is named. Their 2nd pick was Bob Parkins, a pitcher that washed out in A ball. Their 3rd pick was a highly touted college slugger Jeff Ledbetter, a former Yankees and Expos draftee that went unsigned. The 4th pick was Kevin Romine. It was still a productive draft for the team, as it did produce Mike Greenwell (3rd round) and Jeff Sellers (8th). The point of this post, however, is not the draftees that washed out. Instead, it is the team's 6th round pick and third baseman Sam Nattile, a player Greenwell called the best hitter of that draft class.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=nattil001sam

He slugged to a 0.844 OPS in his AA year, no small feat given the spacious dimensions of New Britain's home ballpark, Beehive Field. His career stopped at that point as he never recovered from a huge drop off in his first and only season in AAA. Most AA players do not sniff the majors; those that do nearly always hit better than 0.200, unless your name is Marc Sullivan.
 

Cesar Crespo

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In the 1980's, I used to follow the minor league players in the Red Sox system much more closely. One of the more hyped up amateur drafts for the Red Sox during that period was the 1982 draft in which the Red Sox had 3 first round picks and 2 seconds as a result of the loss of free agents Frank Tanana, Joe Rudi, and Bill Campbell (all of whom were washed up by then anyway). The major league team was at a bit of a crossroads; Lynn and Fisk were gone, as were most of their starts from the powerhouse teams of the late 1970's. The Sox had some relatively barren drafts in the late 1970's, and many of their better prospects had already moved up to the big league club or were close.

Their first pick was the player for whom this board is named. Their 2nd pick was Bob Parkins, a pitcher that washed out in A ball. Their 3rd pick was a highly touted college slugger Jeff Ledbetter, a former Yankees and Expos draftee that went unsigned. The 4th pick was Kevin Romine. It was still a productive draft for the team, as it did produce Mike Greenwell (3rd round) and Jeff Sellers (8th). The point of this post, however, is not the draftees that washed out. Instead, it is the team's 6th round pick and third baseman Sam Nattile, a player Greenwell called the best hitter of that draft class.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=nattil001sam

He slugged to a 0.844 OPS in his AA year, no small feat given the spacious dimensions of New Britain's home ballpark, Beehive Field. His career stopped at that point as he never recovered from a huge drop off in his first and only season in AAA. Most AA players do not sniff the majors; those that do nearly always hit better than 0.200, unless your name is Marc Sullivan.

Right. Neither of these guys were ever considered legit prospects.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=chiang001chi

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=head--001mil

This is the only guy I can think of in recent Redsox history who was absolutely awful in AA to be a pretty good baseball player. And now that I look him up, he actually wasn't totally awful in AA, especially adjusted for age. He was terrible in AAA. Granted he was extremely young for the league. He also had the defense thing going for him.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=iglesi001jos