I used to play baseball. I was pretty good too. I was a pitcher, a second baseman, a short stop, an outfielder; I played anywhere I was needed. I started my baseball career when I was little, beginning with tee ball. I played all the way through grade school and when I hit high school I switched sports to play golf. I think it was a better decision.
Each year I begin the season as a Cubs fan. I have always liked the Cubs for their history, their ball park, and just the quality of players they have year after year. And last year, marking the 100th anniversary of them not winning a championship, they had the best team they have seen in years. Possibly the best team they have ever had. So I gave them a choice; win the World Series (which should not that hard with the team they had on that bench) or loose me as a fan. I am no longer a Cubs fan.
But I still watch baseball. I still like to check the stats and see who is leading each division. I even buy the video games and play through an entire season thinking I am the manager leading my team to the World Series. But I have to play the video games because that is the only way that the Cubs will ever see a chance at a ring.
But the video that is above makes me wonder a few things. One, this video was the number one news story on Yahoo News the other day. (That is not saying much because yesterday the number one news story was about a family of raccoons that were living in a soda machine.) As you will see in this video some low end ball player is tossing a bat in circle and catching it. It is being called the “Hands Free Swing” and is all the rage on YouTube. But why? What is he doing that impresses anyone?
Outside of the fact that he is not in the big leagues, and that he seems to not even care what is going on at this practice, all he is doing is spinning the bat and catching it a few seconds later. Have you never twirled a golf club or spun a bottle or caught a baseball. Those are similar in theory. His name is Josh Womack and he currently plays for the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League. (Have you ever heard of the Golden Baseball League? Me either.)
He was selected a few years back in the draft by the Marlins and played a couple of seasons with them only to be thrown back in the minors. But he must have figured out how to hit a baseball because he is batting consistently over .300. But of course the league he is currently playing in is not the same as the show.
Can someone toss me a golf club. I want to spin it around and video tape it. Maybe I will be the next 15 minutes of fame on YouTube.
The impressive part isn't his baseball skills, it's the fact that he can spin it like that. I can't think that it's all that easy to do, especially when swinging it pretty much like how one would swing a bat normally (the biggest thing I did notice is that he doesn't step into the swing). I think the equivalent with a golf club would be getting it to spin vertically. I can't even think of a way to do that and catch the club at the end short of maybe rolling it over your wrist or forearm.
I agree this talent is somewhat useless, but as you have just proved to everyone, it is enough to get people talking. Now this guy is somewhat popular for a mediocre talent.
Just saying that you have also given in to the popularity of Josh, yet you wonder why he is so popular. And the cycle begins!
Just a quick question. Is your blog now a sports blog?