Contrary To Popular Belief: Baseball Isn’t the Most Boring Sport

Despite scorching heat during a majority of the season, long-running innings and uncomfortable seats, I’d trade nothing for the 162 days of baseball we get each year. 

One baseball game contains an unpredictable sequence of events, creating a constant air of enjoyment and anticipation. You never know what’s next —that’s what makes it so exciting. At any point, one run around the bases can change the game, a grand slam can be hit or a base can be stolen whenever a player pleases. 

This is why the claim baseball is boring drives me crazy. Staring at drying paint is boring. Watching a movie with no plot is dull and sitting in city traffic on a Friday night is tedious.

Personally, I love going to baseball games. The summer air, peanuts piling up on the stadium floor and the seventh-inning stretch tradition never fall short, making baseball games one of the best sports environments. Especially growing up in Chicago and as a Cubs fan, these experiences are unmatched.

The unique atmosphere of Wrigley Field makes game days like no other. The electric nature of Wrigleyville makes the neighborhood a flawless locale for baseball fans. Even the most anti-Cubs baseball lovers can’t deny — Wrigley is pretty great.

While I disagree with claims denouncing the sport, I’ve come to understand why some stand by it. Crowds complaining the games run too long seem to be the most common reason for this perspective. 

I’ve tried to draw conclusions as to why many share this outlook, but the length of the game makes it so great. If you truly love baseball, you love to sit and watch it all day. It’s no burden.

While the games may be long, the league has worked towards reducing their length. Major League Baseball notably added a 30-second timer for the period between batters in 2023, along with a 15-second pitch timer with an additional five seconds when an opponent is on base. Time is a factor of the game, and the MLB recognizes it. 

Conversely, football games — especially in college football —  have gotten increasingly longer over time, according to The New York Times. Games are constantly interrupted with timeouts, commercial breaks and penalty calls. A televised game of baseball has none of these, despite brief commercials in between innings and pitching changes.

Even though I love both sports, it’s infuriating how baseball is considered boring while football gets off scot-free.

Some disbelievers claim nothing happens during a ballgame, but I understand the game as a process. The first at-bat isn’t going to change the game — it’s nine innings for a reason. The athleticism and elite skill these professionals have make the win up for grabs at any moment.

Even more than this, baseball has lived on for centuries of American history. If only one sport could symbolize American culture, it’d be baseball. Characterizing the game as dull counters the overall impact it has had and continues to have on American culture.

As a dedicated sports fan, I have varying opinions across athletics — but few are less important than how baseball cannot and should not be understood as boring.