September 11, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Jed Lowrie (8) throws to first in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL season has officially begun. Its return to the TVs and mind sets of sports fans around the country could bring with it inapplicable parallels between it and baseball, which is in its final month before the postseason begins.
As Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle explored over the weekend, baseball has a decidedly different aesthetic around it. Namely, that it's harder for a baseball team's September fortunes to be impacted as heavily by the efforts of a specific player (whereas in football how an elite quarterback can sometimes be the difference-maker).
Astros infielder Jed Lowrie expanded upon that concept while speaking with Drellich. Simply put, Lowrie says, sticking to the 'gameplan' doesn't necessarily work in baseball: "You have to be prepared, you have to be ready to go out there and have a good game plan and execute that game plan but … it's so much different in baseball," he told Drellich. "In football, if you execute your game plan, it worked. In basketball, you take a shot, if you've executed your plan, your shot goes in."
The central concern with baseball, Lowrie says, is that your 'best' effort can still turn out in the other team's favor: "You can make a good pitch in baseball and it can get hit. You can take a good swing in baseball and it can be an out.
It's an interesting way to look at the many differences between football and baseball, especially with the pennant race heating up and the Astros looking to cling to their now-uncomfortably small lead in the AL West.
(h/t Houston Chronicle)
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