Milloy: What swimming relays can teach us about the sport of baseball
Carleton Journalism student and competitive varsity swimmer Ella Milloy (shown above) recently covered the Canadian Futures Showcase for the Canadian Baseball Network. She discovered there are similarities between competitive swimming and baseball. Photo supplied
October 14, 2022
By Ella Milloy
Carleton University
Sometimes it helps to compare two unalike things to gain a better understanding of both.
Baseball and competitive swimming are two sports that are not often compared to one another. At first glance, it could be argued that the two do not share much in common. Analyzing them together more closely, however, can tell us a lot about teamwork and learning to trust the process.
It is likely a fair assumption that most people outside of the swimming world only pay attention to the sport during the summer Olympics, where household names like Michael Phelps and Penny Oleksiak make headlines for their otherworldly performances in the water.
As for myself, I followed swimming religiously growing up. I started swimming competitively at the age of six and competed for another 17 years. I swam with three different clubs in Alberta and British Columbia before joining McGill University’s varsity team in 2017.
From training up to 20 hours a week in the pool, to winning the 200-m backstroke at the RSEQ provincials in 2018 and finally retiring as a Carleton Raven in my fifth year of U SPORTS eligibility, swimming has always been an exciting and constant part of my daily life.
More recently, I had an opportunity to cover a few games at the Canadian Futures Showcase at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park in Ottawa. Without the commentary of a televised game, I was forced to pay closer attention to the details of the game, which inspired me to find similarities to my own sport.
Unlike with baseball, where games are held every day throughout the regular season, competitive swimming is limited in its ability to be a part of the daily lives of sport fans.
When swimming does capture the attention of audiences, some of the most exciting events to watch are the relays. Nothing beats the drama of the 4x100-m or 4x200-m freestyle and medley relays at the international level.
Think back to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. For those who remember, one of the most highly anticipated races was the men’s 4x100-m freestyle relay. France and the United States were set to go head-to-head. The French team were the favourites to win but had the challenging goal of keeping the United States at bay over the course of three hectic minutes.
Phelps, on his quest to win eight gold medals, led the relay off. In an American record time of 47.51 off the blocks, Phelps put the U.S. in the lead. France’s Amaury Leveaux touched just behind him in 47.91.
Forty-seven seconds. Forty-seven seconds is all Phelps could do in the water before leaving it up to his teammates to win the gold medal. He had to trust they could keep the lead he had created.
The fourth and final swimmer for France, former world record-holder Alain Bernard was almost a body-length ahead of American Jason Lezak. Up until the very last 50 meters of the relay, it looked like the U.S. would fall to France, leaving Phelps just short of his goal of winning eight golds.
Lezak, however, swam the fastest ever split in the event’s history up to that point, chasing down Bernard in a blazing time of 46.06. The U.S. narrowly out touched France for the gold by three-one hundredths of a second.
In this race, Phelps had to completely trust in the abilities of his teammates to help him and the rest of the American team reach their goals.
So how does this story compare to baseball?
Examining competitive swimming relays can help us to better understand the complexities of a baseball batting lineup.
As a competitive swimmer, the first thing I noticed was how each player is strategically placed in a lineup. The same happens in a relay.
Just like in baseball, where managers provide the head umpire with the starting line-up, a relay order is presented to meet officials prior to the race.
In swimming, the first and last swimmer (the anchor) are generally the two fastest athletes on the relay team. Where an athlete is placed is strategic and can give a team the greatest competitive advantage during a race if done well.
Baseball teams generally structure their lineups a little differently, with players who are good at getting on base, handling the bat and having strong all-around skills placed before power hitters and the remaining hitters.
The performance of hitters during games and of competitive swimmers in their individual events can affect where they are placed in the lineup. The better you consistently perform, the more of a role you play and the more your teammates can rely on you during high-pressure situations.
The next thing I picked up on was how a team sport quickly becomes an individual sport when a player makes an appearance at bat.
When a player is hitting, it is up to him to interpret the way the pitcher is throwing the ball. He is on his own at the plate. His decisions and playing performance will ultimately affect the ways his teammates are able to play offensively when it’s their turn at home plate.
In swimming, you are a team out of the water but as soon as the swimmer dives in, they are on their own to perform.
If the player hits a single, double or triple, whoever bats after him will be presented with an opportunity to record an RBI. On a great play, they might even hit a home run. If, however, the player strikes out in their at bat, the following player will need to adapt quickly in order to create or maintain momentum.
In the case of the American relay, Phelps presented the rest of his team with an opportunity. Although the lead was small, it was enough for the team to win the race if they could maintain it.
Had Phelps made a mistake or not tried his best in the first leg of the race (we’ll call it a strikeout), Lezak would likely have ran out of meters to catch up to Bernard. Lezak might have even considered it impossible to try and catch Bernard in the first place.
In both sports, every athlete is important to the success of the team. Learning to trust in the ability of your teammates and how each player works together under pressure is beneficial to both the individual players and the team when it comes time to perform.
As postseason baseball ramps up, I will be eagerly watching how each team sets up their lineups. Although swimming does not have the same amount of television airtime, it is my hope that this unlikely comparison will help you approach and think about the strategy of baseball in a different way.