Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 10:40     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Strictly from a mental standpoint, golf is probably number one. There is no floor. If you're a pitcher pitching poorly, someone will take you out. One hitter striking out three times in a game is commonplace and doesn't necessarily affect the outcome. In tennis, the best players in the world are still not winning much more than half of the points, games, or sets. A football player can miss a coverage or lose yards and offset that entirely on another play. One error is unlikely to lose a game. Conversely, one bad break even on a good swing over 72 holes of golf can lose you an entire tournament. The margins of error are much, much smaller than in really any other sport. You can't take a single shot off. Even when you are executing at the best of your ability success and victory are so far from guaranteed.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 10:21     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Baseball is interesting as you don't get the intense mental pressure added on to physical exhaustion like in soccer or hockey. However, the number of times you fail at batting or pitching in baseball is quite high and can really get to you. I imagine lots of kids wash out of baseball when they get frustrated at a streak of strike outs at bat.

I wouldn't call baseball mentally taxing. I have ADHD and quit baseball because it couldn't hold my attention with all the downtime and 99% of the signals to watch never occurred. Soccer had enough physical strain and mental challenge to keep my attention for 90+ minutes.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 10:05     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I've been watching my kid and others play baseball for about a decade now and geez it's just brutal. The individual moments of being up to bat in high pressure situations, umps with unpredicatable strike zones, fielding errors, injuries . . .
All sports are challenging, but I wonder if baseball is the hardest to master the mental aspect. Which team sport do you think is the most challenging in terms of the mental aspect?


Yes.


+1. There is really no other sport like it. Coming up to bat with 2 outs after your teammates have grinded to get runners in scoring position with the game on the line is heavy. Nowhere to hide. Same for the pitchers. Your success or failure is perfectly clear and impacts your entire dugout. No other sport like it.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2025 18:51     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
My kid hated baseball and I hated watching it - the youth version of it had become overrun by fathers who think too hard about it and are desperately trying to make it into a mentally tough game.

Worse than soccer.

Play rugby - tough in every way.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2025 17:36     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Definitely gymnastics
Anonymous
Post 07/04/2025 23:15     Subject: Re:Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
My sons have played soccer, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, tennis, football, and baseball.

Baseball is the LEAST mentally tough game of these sports. The idea that it’s the most is just laughable and reflects the perspective one someone who knows nothing about any other sport.

Exhibit A being whoever suggested that basketball, hockey, and soccer aren’t complex sports. They are involve quite a few more variables than baseball and a lot more strategy.

PP who said baseball players are the least fit is right.
Anonymous
Post 07/04/2025 22:55     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Anonymous wrote:I've been watching my kid and others play baseball for about a decade now and geez it's just brutal. The individual moments of being up to bat in high pressure situations, umps with unpredicatable strike zones, fielding errors, injuries . . .
All sports are challenging, but I wonder if baseball is the hardest to master the mental aspect. Which team sport do you think is the most challenging in terms of the mental aspect?


Yes.
Anonymous
Post 07/04/2025 22:16     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Anonymous wrote:Tennis


OMG, no!
Anonymous
Post 07/04/2025 22:15     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Anonymous wrote:Tennis and other racquet sports like squash are brutally stressful too. DS plays both sports recreationally but I’ve been amazed to see many of the more competitive junior players have individual mental coaches that help them out. These are 11/12 year old kids!!


Wut?
Anonymous
Post 07/03/2025 15:58     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Tennis
Anonymous
Post 07/03/2025 15:47     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Tennis and other racquet sports like squash are brutally stressful too. DS plays both sports recreationally but I’ve been amazed to see many of the more competitive junior players have individual mental coaches that help them out. These are 11/12 year old kids!!
Anonymous
Post 07/03/2025 13:51     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:When my son was 13-15 he was a junior umpire in baseball for 7-8 and the 9-10 year olds in Southern California. He usually umped behind home plate and both ages played kid pitch. He also was a junior ref for soccer and basketball.

It was interesting to go watch him ump/ref and watch the game as a truly impartial observer. I didn't care who won and spent time looking a the parents, coaches, players.

Baseball was mentally the toughest at those ages. All eyes are on you when are up at a bat. You get hit by a pitch and the next time up at bat with a lot of kids it effects them. You have crazy parents walking up to get close to the plate to yell instructions at their kid. Coaches grimace and groan when kids would miss a pop fly. Pitchers would melt down and some would even cry. My son had to encourage kids to keep playing and ignore some comments from coaches and parents.

I never saw kids that age getting the equivalent of the "yips" in soccer or basketball. To watch a catcher all season play so well then all of a sudden lose it and not be able to make a throw at the end of the season was tough.

There were for sure crazy basketball and soccer parents, but wow some of the comments he got as an ump from grandparents and parents were absolutely brutal. And maybe it was just a fluke but he didn't have coaches of 8 year olds in other sports argue with him about a rule that he knew was correct (ex. yes it is a hit by pitch of the ball bounces and hits the player, there is no rule in little league (unless it is a local rule) about how many times a pitcher can hit a batter, a runner can avoid getting tagged as long as they are within three feet of basepath). It was crazy to see coaches of 7-8 year olds try to intimidate a 13 year old junior ump behind the plate to get him to change a correct call or try to get him to go another inning when he was calling the game because of darkness.


My baseball playing son was an ump as a summer job when he was 16 and it was eye popping. He did not enjoy it and said he’ll never do it as a job again. The worst was when he had to step between two coaches - grown men - who were about to come to blows about funny business with a line up for 8 year olds.

Only bright side - he wrote his college essay about breaking up that fight and now he’s off to play baseball in college!


This is a league problem. Our LL has mostly 13-16 year old umpires and a zero tolerance policy for anyone abusing umps or coaches possibly fighting.

If coaches fight, immediately removed as coaches for good and prevented from even watching games for a suspension period.

If parents abuse umps, umps eject and then they must leave the field and not return…game won’t continue until the parent leaves. Usually can’t return for at least a couple more games.
Anonymous
Post 07/03/2025 13:43     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Anonymous wrote:When my son was 13-15 he was a junior umpire in baseball for 7-8 and the 9-10 year olds in Southern California. He usually umped behind home plate and both ages played kid pitch. He also was a junior ref for soccer and basketball.

It was interesting to go watch him ump/ref and watch the game as a truly impartial observer. I didn't care who won and spent time looking a the parents, coaches, players.

Baseball was mentally the toughest at those ages. All eyes are on you when are up at a bat. You get hit by a pitch and the next time up at bat with a lot of kids it effects them. You have crazy parents walking up to get close to the plate to yell instructions at their kid. Coaches grimace and groan when kids would miss a pop fly. Pitchers would melt down and some would even cry. My son had to encourage kids to keep playing and ignore some comments from coaches and parents.

I never saw kids that age getting the equivalent of the "yips" in soccer or basketball. To watch a catcher all season play so well then all of a sudden lose it and not be able to make a throw at the end of the season was tough.

There were for sure crazy basketball and soccer parents, but wow some of the comments he got as an ump from grandparents and parents were absolutely brutal. And maybe it was just a fluke but he didn't have coaches of 8 year olds in other sports argue with him about a rule that he knew was correct (ex. yes it is a hit by pitch of the ball bounces and hits the player, there is no rule in little league (unless it is a local rule) about how many times a pitcher can hit a batter, a runner can avoid getting tagged as long as they are within three feet of basepath). It was crazy to see coaches of 7-8 year olds try to intimidate a 13 year old junior ump behind the plate to get him to change a correct call or try to get him to go another inning when he was calling the game because of darkness.


My baseball playing son was an ump as a summer job when he was 16 and it was eye popping. He did not enjoy it and said he’ll never do it as a job again. The worst was when he had to step between two coaches - grown men - who were about to come to blows about funny business with a line up for 8 year olds.

Only bright side - he wrote his college essay about breaking up that fight and now he’s off to play baseball in college!
Anonymous
Post 07/02/2025 16:26     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
Anonymous wrote:My DD did competitive gymnastics for many years. That was mentally brutal, IMO. The kids are competing both solo and as a team/gym. A bad score could take you out of contention for a solo medal and also hurt your gym's chances of winning a team medal. It was also pretty brutal as far as injuries go.

If I had to do it over, I'd probably not allow the completive route. She's 23 and has back and knee problems. It's hard to swallow as a parent.


Is she also very short? That’s the physical reality of gymnastics…it stunts your growth.
Anonymous
Post 07/02/2025 15:47     Subject: Is baseball the toughest sport mentally?
My DD did competitive gymnastics for many years. That was mentally brutal, IMO. The kids are competing both solo and as a team/gym. A bad score could take you out of contention for a solo medal and also hurt your gym's chances of winning a team medal. It was also pretty brutal as far as injuries go.

If I had to do it over, I'd probably not allow the completive route. She's 23 and has back and knee problems. It's hard to swallow as a parent.