April 19, 200519 yr I'll go with catcher, and all personal biases aside, here's why: If you look at the positions up there, catcher really combines all of them together. - A catcher has to be the last line of defense to prevent a score and has projectiles sent at them in extremely high velocities (both types of goalies). However, while a catcher theoreticlally know what's coming, goalies don't have to account for foul tips (which always seem to hit where you don't have padding on) and their balls generally move straighter than what a catcher will have to handle. Also, goalies get to catch all these projectiles standing up for the most part. - A catcher has to know everything his defense and the other team can and will do, what his players are and aren't capable of, what the oppositions weaknesses are, and so forth. He also has to see things happening on the field and adjust the game to adapt to what is taking place. This is similar to what a QB and a PG do. The difference lies in that the PG doesn't take the physical toll the catcher and QB take, and his players can get by on pure skill at times. A QB does't have that luxury, and a catcher has it even less. - QBs take similar tolls as catcher's do, both not being everyplay but when they get nailed it hurts and quite a bit. The difference lies in that a QB can get hit by a 250 pound man at a moment's notice, the catcher can get hit by a 250 pound man at a moment's notice and he can get hit just as hard if not harder by a 95 MPH fastball. If I were to rank them, I'd say Catcher, QB, NHL Goalie, Soccer Goalie, and Point Guard, in that order.
April 19, 200519 yr I'll go with catcher, and all personal biases aside, here's why: If you look at the positions up there, catcher really combines all of them together. - A catcher has to be the last line of defense to prevent a score and has projectiles sent at them in extremely high velocities (both types of goalies). However, while a catcher theoreticlally know what's coming, goalies don't have to account for foul tips (which always seem to hit where you don't have padding on) and their balls generally move straighter than what a catcher will have to handle. Also, goalies get to catch all these projectiles standing up for the most part. - A catcher has to know everything his defense and the other team can and will do, what his players are and aren't capable of, what the oppositions weaknesses are, and so forth. He also has to see things happening on the field and adjust the game to adapt to what is taking place. This is similar to what a QB and a PG do. The difference lies in that the PG doesn't take the physical toll the catcher and QB take, and his players can get by on pure skill at times. A QB does't have that luxury, and a catcher has it even less. - QBs take similar tolls as catcher's do, both not being everyplay but when they get nailed it hurts and quite a bit. The difference lies in that a QB can get hit by a 250 pound man at a moment's notice, the catcher can get hit by a 250 pound man at a moment's notice and he can get hit just as hard if not harder by a 95 MPH fastball. If I were to rank them, I'd say Catcher, QB, NHL Goalie, Soccer Goalie, and Point Guard, in that order. 747913[/snapback] You make good points. And especially when you consider that the catcher has to also hit the ball, which many people consider the hardest act in sports, the two are very close, catcher and QB. I still think the extremely difficult nature of the decisionmaking for QBs, and the fact that even the best protected QBs get rocked to their core a good 50 times a season, is enough to put QB over the top for me.  Catchers really don't suffer nearly the level of physical violence that QBs do. Maybe 5-10 times a season they get railroaded at the plate, and I don't want to diminish the nads it takes to hold your position and take the hit, but the impact of those hits really don't come close to the impact of linebacker hitting the QB's blindside. Sure, catchers experience a tremendous amount of wear and tear over the season, but these are minor aches and pains compared to what the QB goes through. I bet Jay Feely couldn't get out of bed til Tuesday this year. And if you want to look at a concussion ratio, I'd bet the QBs have it over the catchers at about 50 to 1. I've never even heard of a catcher getting concussed, but it happens to at least one QB almost every week.
April 19, 200519 yr Hockey goalie or quarterback. No baseball position can compare to what a goalie has to go through.
April 19, 200519 yr One of you hockey goalie people explain yourselves... I don't get it. The goalie just has to stand up and drink from his thermos for 50+ minutes a game, leaving less than 10 minutes where he really needs to focus. Now, those 10 minutes are probably as hard as anything else, but otherwise it seems like a pretty cushy job.
April 19, 200519 yr One of you hockey goalie people explain yourselves... I don't get it. The goalie just has to stand up and drink from his thermos for 50+ minutes a game, leaving less than 10 minutes where he really needs to focus. Now, those 10 minutes are probably as hard as anything else, but otherwise it seems like a pretty cushy job. 748150[/snapback] A hockey puck is what, 4 inches in diameter? It travels at 80+ mph sometimes, and there are guys pushing and hitting right in front of your face. That's how I see it.
April 19, 200519 yr One of you hockey goalie people explain yourselves... I don't get it.? The goalie just has to stand up and drink from his thermos for 50+ minutes a game, leaving less than 10 minutes where he really needs to focus.? Now, those 10 minutes are probably as hard as anything else, but otherwise it seems like a pretty cushy job. 748150[/snapback] A hockey puck is what, 4 inches in diameter? It travels at 80+ mph sometimes, and there are guys pushing and hitting right in front of your face. That's how I see it. 748190[/snapback] I don't know. If it's just that, I would think hitting a baseball is just about as hard as that.
April 19, 200519 yr Good point, but the alertness level doesn't need to be there in such long spurts with hitting a baseball. You can get 3, 4 rebounds in a less than 5 second stretch. I might be talking out of my ass here.
April 20, 200519 yr Good point, but the alertness level doesn't need to be there in such long spurts with hitting a baseball. You can get 3, 4 rebounds in a less than 5 second stretch. I might be talking out of my ass here. 748206[/snapback] On the same token, pucks usually don't drop a foot or two from where you see them or change speeds randomly. There's just so many different ways a baseball can go, pucks usually stick to straight lines.
April 20, 200519 yr Good point, but the alertness level doesn't need to be there in such long spurts with hitting a baseball.? You can get 3, 4 rebounds in a less than 5 second stretch. I might be talking out of my ass here. 748206[/snapback] On the same token, pucks usually don't drop a foot or two from where you see them or change speeds randomly. There's just so many different ways a baseball can go, pucks usually stick to straight lines. 748540[/snapback] Deflections? Screens?
April 20, 200519 yr Aside from the physical and mental demands placed upon the position, QB's have more pressure on them than any other position in sports. Catchers arguably have as much mental work (I'd disagree) and face as much physical pain (probably, though it's debatable). Â The pressure from everyone around the game (teammates, coaches, fans, parents in high school, media at the D1 and NFL level) puts QB over the top for me. How often do you hear "that damn catcher blew the game" as opposed to "that damn QB blew the game."Â Hockey and soccer goalie is comparable pressure wise, but the mental work is greater for a QB and makes me go with them as the toughest position in sports.
April 20, 200519 yr I think there are other football positions tougher than QB...decision making may be tough, but much depends on reading coverages before the play begins. I say Cornerback is the toughest position. You're out on an island often times, and your man can not have a catch the entire game, but one screw up or one blown coverage, and you get booed. Same goes for an offensive tackle. He can keep that DE from getting a sack for 60 plays, but that 1 play he gets a sack, and everyone talks about how that DE was such a disruption to the offense, and how great he was.
April 21, 200519 yr Hockey and soccer goalie is comparable pressure wise You can't honestly say with a straight face that anyone on here has more pressure than a soccer goalie. Goalies get killed for messing up, that's not going to happen to a QB.
April 22, 200519 yr Hockey and soccer goalie is comparable pressure wise You can't honestly say with a straight face that anyone on here has more pressure than a soccer goalie. Goalies get killed for messing up, that's not going to happen to a QB. 750036[/snapback]  Meh, maybe not, but Neil O'Donnell got it pretty bad in Pittsburgh after Super Bowl XXX.  Depends on the league/level I guess, though I still maintain that a QB is the toughest position to play, and I could argue that a QB at least as much pressure, but I don't want to turn this thread into one with two people arguing relentlessly like so many others on this board turn into. After World Cup '94 when the Colombian Andres Escobar scored on his own goalie vs the U.S. and Colombia lost the game as a result, he did get shot and killed a few months later, though he wasn't a goalie. Alot of fanatics out there, and you've got a good point about the pressure on the soccer goalie.
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