What's the most difficult position to play well in pro sports? I'm defining "difficult" here to mean "greatest physical and mental demands." It's either a timeless debate with no right answer or a question that will bore you to tears. If you feel the latter, stop reading now - you've been warned.
I've thought about this quite a lot and argued the point with some of my friends, and I've narrowed the field to two candidates.
MLB batter: I remember reading one time that a batter facing a 90 mph pitch has approximately 0.2 seconds to react before the ball reaches home plate. That's 0.2 seconds to analyze the location of the pitch, read the ball's spin to evaluate if it'll break as it reaches the plate, decide whether or not to swing and modulate your swing to pull the pitch, slap it the other way, hit a grounder or sky a fly ball, depending on the circumstances.
Point-two seconds! To get an idea of how lightning-fast these batters have to see, process and act, blink twice right now. The time it took you to blink is approximately the time that major-league batters have to perform every task in the preceding paragraph. Oakland A's players who faced Justin Verlander's 100 mph fastball in the ALCS said that they were swinging as the ball left his hand; it was the only way they had a chance to get a hit.
Beyond the physical demands, batters have to be aware of a half-dozen other details when they step into the box: where the fielders are positioned; what kind of pitches the pitcher throws and in which situations; how that pitcher has attacked his weaknesses and avoided his strengths at the plate in the past; where he should try to place the ball in order to best advance the runners; and probably more, of which I have no comprehension. I don't even like baseball, and I've never played it, but I have a lot of respect for what those batters are able to accomplish.
But as tough a challenge as squaring off against a major league pitcher undoubtedly is, in my opinion, nothing tops the difficulty of being an ...
NFL quarterback: here's a walkthrough of the average pass play, coming from a layman. Before ever stepping to the line, the quarterback has to know the responsibilities of every player on offense: who's protecting, who's running the pass routes and what the pass routes are, the timing of his receivers' routes, and which players are his primary options. He has to remember each of those details throughout the play.
Then, the quarterback has to read the defense and, along with the center, adjust the protection (or even the play) accordingly. Is the defense showing blitz? Then he might have to audible to a preset "hot route" for one of his receivers or quickly dump the pass off to a check-down option, like a running back.
Are the cornerbacks playing tight coverage on the outside or playing 10 yards off the receiver? The corners' positions will affect the timing of the routes and potential audibles. Are the safeties up on the line of scrimmage, taking away the intermediate pass or threatening a blitz, or back, to prevent the deep ball? Is the defense showing man or zone coverage, and if it's zone, where are the "soft spots" in the zone and safe throwing lanes for the quarterback?
After taking the snap, the QB immediately has to read the defense to recognize who's blitzing versus who's dropping into pass coverage, recognize how the defense will affect his receivers' routes and find the open man accordingly. Any misread of the defensive alignment can result in a sack or an interception. And even if the quarterback makes every pre-snap and post-snap read perfectly, he still has to thread a pass over linemen and linebackers and around the secondary to make the completion. Very, very few individuals have the physical ability to throw a tight spiral 25 yards on a deep-out pattern before the defensive back breaks up the play.
Imagine having to coordinate and manage this situation while facing 300-pound defensive linemen who run 4.5-second 40's and would like nothing better than to piledrive you into the turf. Oh, and don't for a second drop your eyes from downfield and look at the rush -- as soon as you do, both you and the play's chances for success are screwed.
The intelligence and physical ability guys like Donovan McNabb, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady display when they lead their teams on Sundays boggles my mind. Hell, I can't even manage the passing cones on Madden. So the next time you feel like piling on Eli Manning for that bad interception, remember this column and cut him some slack. After all, he has the hardest job in sports.
-Matthew Mertens is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major.
