I played baseball as a kid and got pretty good for a while until I got into bikes. Always liked playing the game. My mom absolutely loves baseball so when I visit her we watch. When I lived in miami I went to a bunch of marlins games including some of their first World Series games. Was pretty epic. Years later I found out my younger brother, who was with us at those games, was on acid at some of those games. I was impressed and had no idea. We had a good laugh. Baseball is very different. It’s pretty chill. The pitching is just insane these days. The placement is unreal. In 2005 I went to the local batting cages and my timing was so off I had to do a few rounds of softball lobs to hit. Then did the 40mph machine for a while and I felt so slow. Tried a few 70mph and what a laugh. Big whiffs. I have respect for the sport for sure. All sports really.
if you like tennis you should read David foster Wallace tennis pieces. “How Tracy Austin broke my heart” which is his review of the autobiography of the same name. Here’s a link to a pdf in this Reddit post:
he wrote several things on tennis that are great reads. His writings on sports are fantastic. He really breaks down so many aspects of whatever it is he’s writing about. Of course, a big part of infinite jest is set in a youth tennis camp. He captures athletes and sports in a very special way. Really gets into muscle memory and strategy and all that. But the thing about Tracy Austin’s book is incredible. He wrote a bunch of things for whatever the main tennis magazine was or is. Pete Sampras, Agassi etc.