Hardest Thing to do in Sports?

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

I've heard it said that sinking a hole in one is the single hardest feat in all of sports. Thousands, if not more than a million, of people can hit a ball further than 300 feet, and millions more can sink a 3-pointer. People catch a football every day. Thousands of men and women have ran marathons, completed a triathlon, and have climbed the tallest mountains on Earth. College kids can dunk on King James. But how many can claim to have hit a hole in one? No, not on a mini-golf course. It's said to happen once in every twelve thousand tries. The odds aren't in your favor. But, is it the hardest feat in all of sports?

My answer is no. Today we saw a gem thrown by White Sox pitcher Mark Bueherle. He faced 27 of the world's finest baseball players and not a single one reached base. He threw only the 18th perfect game in the century long history of the game of baseball. A pitcher today starts 30 or 35 games a year if he's healthy, and all around the league, 4,860 regular season games are played. Only 18 (19 if you count the perfect game thrown by a relief pitcher after Babe Ruth was ejected on the first batter) such games have been thrown in a span of over one hundred years. That, to me, says it all. We average one perfect game thrown in every nine years, or rather, 43,740 regular season games. I'm no math scholar, but that number is slightly larger than 12k. If greats like Roger Clemens can't throw the perfect game, I have no hope. I'm not saying I could hit a hole in one, but a 102 year old lady did. Throwing a perfect game (at any level) is the single most difficult task in sports.

Thoughts?

 

[Slyfox696]

I've heard it said that sinking a hole in one is the single hardest feat in all of sports. Thousands, if not more than a million, of people can hit a ball further than 300 feet, and millions more can sink a 3-pointer. People catch a football every day. Thousands of men and women have ran marathons, completed a triathlon, and have climbed the tallest mountains on Earth. College kids can dunk on King James. But how many can claim to have hit a hole in one? No, not on a mini-golf course. It's said to happen once in every twelve thousand tries. The odds aren't in your favor. But, is it the hardest feat in all of sports?

My answer is no. Today we saw a gem thrown by White Sox pitcher Mark Bueherle. He faced 27 of the world's finest baseball players and not a single one reached base. He threw only the 18th perfect game in the century long history of the game of baseball. A pitcher today starts 30 or 35 games a year if he's healthy, and all around the league, 4,860 regular season games are played. Only 18 (19 if you count the perfect game thrown by a relief pitcher after Babe Ruth was ejected on the first batter) such games have been thrown in a span of over one hundred years. That, to me, says it all. We average one perfect game thrown in every nine years, or rather, 43,740 regular season games. I'm no math scholar, but that number is slightly larger than 12k. If greats like Roger Clemens can't throw the perfect game, I have no hope. I'm not saying I could hit a hole in one, but a 102 year old lady did. Throwing a perfect game (at any level) is the single most difficult task in sports.

Thoughts?

I agree with you that a Perfect Game is more difficult than a Hole in One. However, I disagree that a Perfect Game is the hardest thing in sports to do. Hell, it's not even the most difficult feat in baseball.

Unassisted Triple Play. In baseball history, there have only been 14 Unassisted Triple Plays in history. Fourteen. Take all those stats that you gave before, and now apply it to five less occurrences in baseball history. Furthermore, consider the circumstances of an Unassisted Triple Play.

First, if you're an outfielder, forget about it. It will never happen for you. So, by position, you are disqualified. Second, unless you are a middle infielder, your chances of turning one go down drastically (well, as drastic as you can for something so rare). Finally, it requires men to be on base in the right places, and a ball to be hit in the right spot. A pitcher, in theory, controls his own destiny with a perfect game. An infielder can only take advantage of an opportunity.

Sure, there are other possible impressive feats, but I'm going with the Unassisted Triple Play. And, on a side note, I probably am biased, because I have actually seen one in person. Back in 2003, in St. Louis, I watched Rafael Furcal turn one against the Cardinals. I was a HUGE Braves fan back then (have cooled off on baseball in general since), and I went with my cousin, who is a big Cardinals fan. And I was sitting in a throng of Cardinal fans. I can't remember who started the game, but I do remember that John Smoltz blew the save and cost the Braves the game. Anyway, the game was a pitcher's duel, and the Redbirds had men on second and first. The ball was hit at Furcal, who made a heck of a grab, stepped on second and then ran down the guy going back to first.

Here was my thought process, immediately after:

"Wow, his catch saved a run."
"Hey, we just got runners off the bases."
"Hey, we're out of the inning!"
"Holy shit! That was a triple play!"
"Holy fucking shit! THAT WAS AN UNASSISTED TRIPLE PLAY!"

Seriously, it took me a few seconds for it all to register. It was kind of funny, because I was sitting with all these Cardinal fans, who had been excited about scoring opportunity, but now were starting to settle back down in their seat. Then it finally hit me that I had just witnessed an Unassisted Triple Play, and I leaped out of my seat and started going nuts screaming "UNASSISTED TRIPLE PLAY!". The people around me, for some reason, weren't as happy with the history they just saw. Oh well, poor losers. Well, they were winners later, but losers at that point.

Anyways, Unassisted Triple Play. Tough.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm going against the unassisted triple play and the hole in one for one simple reason: they can happen by sheer luck. A woman in her 60s was golfing for the first time. First ball she ever hit goes straight into the cup. she had next to no skill and aside from that, hit all of one par that day with everything else being over par. The very first shot she ever hit was pure luck. Yes of course most of the time there's more skill, but there's a huge amount of luck involved. For the UTP, it also has a lot of luck involved. For one thing, the situation has to be perfect. Second, the person that records it has no bearing on where the ball goes. Literally, the ball has to come straight at them for this to work. While it's rarer, it doesn't take more skill.

However, the perfect game takes not just one time of being lucky, but a whole days' worth. You have 27 batters, which is 9 x 3. That's three times the same hitters see you. That's three times they'll be able to analyze what you've got that day and be able to adjust to it. You have to mix your stuff up so much or just have unhittable stuff. All it takes is one bad pitch and the effort can end. You can be perfect for 26 hitters and with two strikes lose it. That would be a nightmare. It's a whole day of work, and it's so rare that we've gone decades between them before. The UTP is rarer, but it's also far more based on luck than skill, while the perfect game is mostly skill with luck mixed in.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I think that we may be confusing difficulty with rarity. Putting out 27 batters in a row for a perfect game is nothing more than the odds holding true 27 times in a row. Now, KB, as a fellow poker player, you know that that doesn't happen. Someone always draws at least one flush out on you over the course of a day. The odds of a pitcher putting out an individual batter are around 75%. A perfect game is an example of the odds never failing to produce the favored result.

An unassissted triple play is another example of rarity over difficulty. It takes a series of coincidences all coming together at the right time. It usually happens on a hit and run with two men on. The batter hits a line drive to the shortstop who steps on second and tags the runner who was on first who conveniently is now standing on second.

Thus, I would argue that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. The best hitters of all time FAIL 65% of the time. In today's game, a player who fails 70% of the time consistently over a period of years gets upwards of ten million dollars a year.

I was tempted to name hitting a golf ball as the hardest thing to do, as I am a new golfer, but after seeing my rapid improvement over six months, I can't pick that action.

USA Today did a study on the hardest things to do in sports, and if I can find it, I will post it, but it said hitting a baseball, and the basic reason was that using a round object to hit something moving 90 mph in three dimensions two feet from your body, having no idea where it will be in less than a quarter of a second tests reflexes, speed, muscle memory, strength, and hand eye coordination all at once, and no other act in sports does that.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

However, the perfect game takes not just one time of being lucky, but a whole days' worth. You have 27 batters, which is 9 x 3. That's three times the same hitters see you. That's three times they'll be able to analyze what you've got that day and be able to adjust to it. You have to mix your stuff up so much or just have unhittable stuff. All it takes is one bad pitch and the effort can end. You can be perfect for 26 hitters and with two strikes lose it. That would be a nightmare. It's a whole day of work, and it's so rare that we've gone decades between them before.

Exactly why the feat is so hard to accomplish. You have to be at your absolute best. A fourth of the pitchers who have thrown a perfect game are in the hall of fame, and Randy Johnson is well on his way. Most others are former all-stars and only one was a really anomaly. And as Klunder said, you one mistake can take away the entire thing. As we saw today, the ball landed less than an inch from the line and Wise nearly dropped a ball that he saved from being a home run. Everyone on the team needs to be playing at a high level, and it involves a lot less luck than skill. It isn't luck when someone makes a diving catch. It's talent, and it's skill.

I never thought about the unassisted triple play. I can't argue against the difficulty of it. To make an unassisted triple play at a Major League level is something that very few can claim. Although, believe it or not, I can claim to have accomplished one at a lower level. I was in 5th grade. During practice, we were skirmishing. There were runners on first and second; I was at short. I jumped to catch a line drive over my head and subsequently tag the runner from second who was already past me. Then, I simply stepped on third to get the other runner who was on his way back to the bag. It involved complete and total luck, but is one of the shining moments of my sports career.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

I think that we may be confusing difficulty with rarity. Putting out 27 batters in a row for a perfect game is nothing more than the odds holding true 27 times in a row. Now, KB, as a fellow poker player, you know that that doesn't happen. Someone always draws at least one flush out on you over the course of a day. The odds of a pitcher putting out an individual batter are around 75%. A perfect game is an example of the odds never failing to produce the favored result.

The percentage chance of the "odds holding true 27 times in a row" is such a ridiculously small number than my calculator won't give me an appropriate number. I'm not going to deal with negative exponents and the "number" e.

Thus, I would argue that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. The best hitters of all time FAIL 65% of the time. In today's game, a player who fails 70% of the time consistently over a period of years gets upwards of ten million dollars a year.

Sure, it's hard for the average person to do. I know that I couldn't hit a 90 mile per hour fastball, but it happens 100 times a day. The world's best can hit it every day, where as if I were to bat against someone of similar skill to me, I could hit off of him. It's foolish to say that hitting a 90+ m.p.h. pitch is easy to do, but it is a feat accomplished daily, whereas the perfect game has happened 18 times in 140 years.

 

[TwistofRKO]

I agree with you that a Perfect Game is more difficult than a Hole in One. However, I disagree that a Perfect Game is the hardest thing in sports to do. Hell, it's not even the most difficult feat in baseball.

Unassisted Triple Play. In baseball history, there have only been 14 Unassisted Triple Plays in history. Fourteen. Take all those stats that you gave before, and now apply it to five less occurrences in baseball history. Furthermore, consider the circumstances of an Unassisted Triple Play.

First, if you're an outfielder, forget about it. It will never happen for you. So, by position, you are disqualified. Second, unless you are a middle infielder, your chances of turning one go down drastically (well, as drastic as you can for something so rare). Finally, it requires men to be on base in the right places, and a ball to be hit in the right spot. A pitcher, in theory, controls his own destiny with a perfect game. An infielder can only take advantage of an opportunity.

Sure, there are other possible impressive feats, but I'm going with the Unassisted Triple Play. And, on a side note, I probably am biased, because I have actually seen one in person. Back in 2003, in St. Louis, I watched Rafael Furcal turn one against the Cardinals. I was a HUGE Braves fan back then (have cooled off on baseball in general since), and I went with my cousin, who is a big Cardinals fan. And I was sitting in a throng of Cardinal fans. I can't remember who started the game, but I do remember that John Smoltz blew the save and cost the Braves the game. Anyway, the game was a pitcher's duel, and the Redbirds had men on second and first. The ball was hit at Furcal, who made a heck of a grab, stepped on second and then ran down the guy going back to first.

Here was my thought process, immediately after:

"Wow, his catch saved a run."
"Hey, we just got runners off the bases."
"Hey, we're out of the inning!"
"Holy shit! That was a triple play!"
"Holy fucking shit! THAT WAS AN UNASSISTED TRIPLE PLAY!"

Seriously, it took me a few seconds for it all to register. It was kind of funny, because I was sitting with all these Cardinal fans, who had been excited about scoring opportunity, but now were starting to settle back down in their seat. Then it finally hit me that I had just witnessed an Unassisted Triple Play, and I leaped out of my seat and started going nuts screaming "UNASSISTED TRIPLE PLAY!". The people around me, for some reason, weren't as happy with the history they just saw. Oh well, poor losers. Well, they were winners later, but losers at that point.

Anyways, Unassisted Triple Play. Tough.

At the same time, only one position can perform the perfect game.

Looking at Buerhle's PG, he struck out only 6 guys, meaning the ball was put into the hands of the defense 21 times. Most teams take the odds of reaching base 1x if you can put the ball in play 21 times.

I'm not necessarily supporting either side, I just wasn't along on that point.

With the Unassisted Triple Play? I've seen 3 of the last 4 occurrences live, Randy Valverde vs the Yankees, '98 or '99, the instance you recalled, Braves @ Cardinals, Sunday night Baseball, and last April my favorite Chipper Jones lined to Troy Tulowitzki on Colorado and the occurrence happened. It is a special feat, but I've also seen it happen in games I've been a part of, twice.

What I'm going with is the game winning/tying drive in football. It's in the hands of the QB. The entire rest of the game the pressure should be divided evenly among the entire team, but roughly a minute left to drive the length of the field needing a TD to win? I can't think of a tougher scenario.

 

[jokeboy624]

A perfect game isn't just achieved by a pitcher though, unless he gets 27 strike-outs, which as far as I know has never happened. Looking to your Buerhle example, he nearly lost it until an outfielder, who's name escapes me at the moment, pulled it back over the wall. There is a tremendous amount of luck involved with a Perfect Game.

I'm going to agree with FTS on this and say that hitting a baseball is the hardest individual feat in sports. I mean you're hitting a round object with a round bat, that doesn't give you a lot of contact surface to work with. The ball is moving at you at upwards of 90 mph. There are several ways to screw that up.

 

[TwistofRKO]

But that's just as much scenario based. You aren't flipping an unassisted triple play unless a number of things fall before the chance even occurs.

If anything can be argued for it, it's one of the more rare things in sports. It's all reaction.

Hitting a major league fastball? I could see that. But it's something you can pick up. There are tons of people who play baseball just for fun and pick up hitting an average thrown baseball, and as a player I'm a strong advocate in arguing for baseball, but simply putting it into play isn't the hardest thing to do. Hitting it well consistently? That may be true.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I'm going to go with basketball and say one of the hardest things to do is record a quadruple-double. There have been only 20 times where a player has recorded 10 or more steals and around 100 times where a player has had 10 or more blocks in a game.

There have been five occurences where a player has had double digit points, rebounds, assists, and steals or blocks and Hakeem Olajuwon had two of them. It's hard to get a triple double and most who get them are point guards like Jason Kidd and Magic Johnson. You mainly have to be a center or a power forward to get a quadruple-double because a shooting guard or a point guard is highly unlikely to get ten rebounds. It's been 15 years since we seen one and it may be a long time before we see it again.

 

[The Todd]

Taking six wickets in an over in cricket. Why? As far as I know it has never been done whilst being entirely possible. There have been hat-tricks (three in a row), four wicket overs but a wicket with every ball hasn't been done. It is incredibly hard to take a wicket in cricket. It has to be well bowled or the batsmen has to play the wrong shot or both.

I have never played baseball, just the softball version, so I don't really know about the ones listed but each one has been achieved. A six wicket over hasn't.

Another one, though this is getting very far fetched now, is a basketball game where the winner wins something-0.

 

[TwistofRKO]

I'm going to go with basketball and say one of the hardest things to do is record a quadruple-double. There have been only 20 times where a player has recorded 10 or more steals and around 100 times where a player has had 10 or more blocks in a game.

There have been five occurences where a player has had double digit points, rebounds, assists, and steals or blocks and Hakeem Olajuwon had two of them. It's hard to get a triple double and most who get them are point guards like Jason Kidd and Magic Johnson. You mainly have to be a center or a power forward to get a quadruple-double because a shooting guard or a point guard is highly unlikely to get ten rebounds. It's been 15 years since we seen one and it may be a long time before we see it again.

But this is getting up there.

Nobody has ever hit 5 HRs in one game, this is getting to that point where we know it's difficult, but you can just keep stretching it without really answering anything.

To that, I can say throwing 500 yards in one game for a QB is even tougher. It's only happened twice, and the last occurrence happened 19 years ago.

I hope it's not coming off rude, I would think everyone would know that.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

Another one, though this is getting very far fetched now, is a basketball game where the winner wins something-0.

Let's be realistic now. I could go and say that the hardest thing is sports to do is score 1,704 runs in a single baseball game, or throw for 640 touchdowns in a season, but we know that those will never happen. A hole in one, perfect game, and quadruple double can all be done. Shutting out an opponent in a basketball game simply... can't.

 

[HEEL Blazy]

Idk if this includes Nascar or not as some people here like it and I see it in the sports section here so I'll take you all consider it a sport but I'll go with leading every single lap in a race. As far as I know its been done like two or three times. Jeff Burton was the last in 2000. Cale Yarborough was the last before that doing it in 1978. Only other I can find is Johnny Beauchamp who did it in 1959.

When Cale did it the race was 500 laps and at Bristol not an easy track to do it on for sure.

Jeff Burton did it at NH in a 300 lap race. Only bad thing was it had RP's so that is mainly the reason.

Johnny Beauchamp did in a 100 lap race at Lakewood Speedway which Nascar doesn't use anymore but it was a 1 mile dirt track.

Many people might think Nascar is easy but its not but leading every single lap is not easy to do.

 

[CH David]

There is one feat that I am surprised I haven't seen yet, I think it escapes most people's thoughts.

What about striking out 20+ batters in a game? It is hard enough to get 10 strikeouts in a game, Mark Buehrle had 6 in his Perfect Game, and 20 is just ridiculous. There are only three pitchers to record 20+ strikeouts in a 9 innings, which were Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Kerry Wood. Randy Johnson's came during the first 9 innings of an 11 inning game. Tom Cheney accomplished 27 strikeouts, but it took him 16 innings to do, and 13 of his strikeouts came after the 9th inning. Striking out 20 people is an amazing accomplishment, and many men have possible potential, but they have to have a lot of luck going their way for this to occur, and I mean a lot of luck.

 

[gd]

I would have to go with hitting a baseball as the hardest thing to do in sports, against a major league pitcher that is. Realistically, none of us here would be able to even tough a major league pithcer's stuff. Even the best players in the game have a hard time. If you get out 70% of the time, you're still having a great season. Hitting that little ball is hard as shit, especially if it's coming at you 90 MPH and breaking 6 inches at the last second.