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By Noah Camras
Contributing Sports Writer
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One of the greatest debates that arises seemingly every couple of months asks a simple question: What's the most difficult thing to do in sports?
One of the most popular answers? Hitting a baseball at the Major League level.
Anyone who's played baseball will argue that hitting at the MLB level is as difficult a task as any in sports. That's why the common adage says hitters who fail seven out of 10 times make the Hall of Fame.
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While those who have played baseball will argue how difficult it is, many people who haven't fail to understand the intricacies that go into hitting. It's a big reason why this debate consistently circulates.
Last week, Bleacher Report asked NFL stars Micah Parsons and C.J. Stroud how they think they could fare as a hitter. "If you played in 162 MLB games, five at-bats every game, how many hits do you think you could get?"
Parsons said he could hit for a .200 average, which was quickly shut down by Stroud. But Parsons continued to believe that in those 810 at-bats, he could get 162 hits.
When the interviewer told him Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts hit .307 last year in a season in which he finished second in National League Most Valuable Player voting, Parsons responded, "That's what I'm saying. I think I could be about .180 to .200."
Stroud called it "delusion at its finest."
In 800 at-bats, Parsons said he could get at least 100. Stroud said he could get 20, but "probably like 10 lucky ones." Stroud definitely has a better understanding of the difficulties that come with hitting a baseball.
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Longtime analyst Chris Rose brought up this interview on his podcast, the Chris Rose Rotation, with Dodgers star pitcher Tyler Glasnow. He asked Glasnow how many hits he thought Parsons could get.
Glasnow first said he'd want to see if Parsons ever played baseball, but Rose quickly interrupted and said he had not. That made it easy for Glasnow to give an answer.
"If he had 500 at-bats, five hits, maybe," Glasnow said. "I think once he steps in and sees like a big league (pitch), he'd be like, 'Oh never mind.'"
Five hits in 500 at-bats would give Parsons an average of .010, which is nowhere near the .180 to .200 he thinks he could hit. It would also give him by far the worst average among qualified hitters in MLB this season.
As of Monday, the qualified player with the worst batting average at the MLB level is Mitch Garver, who's hitting .176.
Parsons is great at a lot of things, and he excels at football. The three-year pro is a three-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro, and the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year winner. He's also finished top-three in Defensive Player of the Year voting in each of his first three years in the league.
Unfortunately, many of the skills that make him one of the NFL's best pass rushers don't exactly translate to hitting a 100-mph pitch with movement. But I guess we won't know for sure unless he tries.
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