Days before the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, I saw a very disturbing thing. A poll on the ESPN show Sportsnation asked viewers whether they thought they could hit a home run in a home run derby with a metal bat. The majority thought they could.
Honestly, at the time, I may have been one of those who thought that they could despite not having played competitive baseball since second grade where the daunting figures on the mound were not six-foot-plus pitchers, but four-foot pitching machines. This was all before mid-August when I finally decided to put my baseball talent to the test by going to hit baseballs at CHS field, which is about 100 feet shorter than a major league stadium.
When I arrived with two friends, we were definitely excited to start rocketing balls into the outfield and hopefully hit a few out of the park. However, our optimism soon became embarrassment as we were not only unable to hit any out of park, but we struggled to even hit many out of the infield. Heck, even shagging fly balls was tough. This experience was humbling, to say the least.
Last year the Observer printed a story debating whether lacrosse or baseball was the better sport and while I will try to remain neutral, I can say with complete certainty that the argument that baseball is not difficult and baseball players are not athletes is completely false. While there may be major league players who look like Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn or Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, these players still have the strength and coordination to make good contact with the ball and drive it into the outfield.
Not only is great athleticism needed, but as Shaquille O’Neal showed America in his new reality show Shaq Vs., tons of practice is necessary. Hitting a baseball may seem like an easy task, but until you try it you will never be able to appreciate what phenomenal athletes baseball’s best usually are, such as Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, who defeated Shaq in a home run derby on O’Neal’s show.
I am definitely embarrassed at how delusional I was in my belief that playing baseball would be easy.  There are plenty of major league players who have never hit a home run in their professional career; Tigers all-star third baseman Brandon Inge did not even hit one in this year’s home run derby, and the pitchers are trying to yield home runs.
So for anyone who wants a new perspective on the game of baseball, go out and try hitting some balls and you will learn why it really is so amazing to, as the Baseball Tonight commercial says, “watch Albert Pujols do everything.”