Ted Williams, Kobe Bryant and nemesis Bruce Bowen, and Johnny Vander Meer. Willams/Vander Meer (AP); Bryant (John McDonough/SI)
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By SI.com staff
Hitting a baseball or golf ball (in a straight line) are often cited as the most difficult things to do in sports, but it seemed to us that plenty of people on the planet can do them -- even well enough to be successful in the major leagues or as professional golfers. Likewise for returning a tennis serve, finishing a triathlon, competing in a downhill ski event or myriad other activities..
So when it came time to ponder ultimate difficulty, we tried to pick things that even elite athletes in a variety of sports find almost impossible to achieve. Ranking these 10 feats by degree of difficulty ultimately proved impossible, for obvious reasons.
"Every sport has its own particular skill set that is required at a high level," says hockey legend Mark Messier. "Hockey is very tough because you have to match two skills. One is the stick skills and two is obviously the skating. There's only one other sport where you have to do that and that's polo -- riding the horse and mastering the mallet. I have to give hockey players a lot of credit because there is lot to mastering both those skills. I also think stopping a penalty shot is tough. Fortunately, I've never had to do that, but I've blocked a few shots... reluctantly (laughs)."
So here are our 10, in no particular order, accompanied by the thoughts of a notable expert on each sport. Agree? Disagree? Have something you think belongs? Weigh in here.
Hit .400
Last to do it: Ted Williams (.406, 1941)
Why it's so hard: "I don't think anybody's going to do it," says Braves third baseman Chipper Jones. "It was easier when you had starters going 300-350 innings. You could plan on seeing a guy 4-5 times during the course of a game and make your adjustments. Now, you're probably only going to see a pitcher for two or three at-bats. Then you've got the specialty pitchers. Most people bring in lefty specialists, who turn me around [to bat righty]. Then I get the closer in the ninth. So, by no means do I think I'm gonna be the guy. Ichiro [Suzuki], who gets 60 to 75 infield hits a year because of his legs and has the ability to get well over 200 hits in a season, might be able to do it. He shrinks the field on you because he is so fast. And once you field the ball cleanly, you still got to bust it to make the throw. It would be a guy like him, with his kind of game. But then again, I don't know if he walks enough. When he goes 0-for, he goes 0-for-4 or 0-for-5, whereas I go 0-for-2 or 0-for-3. The simple fact of the matter is nobody has done it in a very, very long time. And you're talking about maybe the greatest hitter that ever stepped on the field who did it last."
-- as told to John Donovan
SI VAULT: Farewell, Teddy Ballgame (07.15.02)
Shut down Kobe Bryant
Last to do it: Bruce Bowen ... for awhile
Why it's so hard: "He's so precise with his moves," says Spurs forward Robert Horry, who has won seven NBA championships, including three with the Lakers from 2000-02. "A lot of guys are wild, but he takes the right angles and uses them to the best of his ability. The thing about it is he has a great shot fake, so you don't know when to stay down, and if you do stay down, he jumps over you. If you don't stay down, he can get up on you and get a foul called. He has a variety of aspects in his game that makes him so effective. I call it the efficiency of movement. He's cut down a lot on just running around and calling for the ball. He's saving his energy for the right moments. He's not overextending himself. His talent has always been there -- he probably should have won the MVP two years ago when he scored 81 points in a game -- but now the people around him have gotten better and when the people around you get better, you have a lot more confidence in those guys. He's using them more, so now you don't know if he's going to shoot or pass."
-- as told to Arash Markazi
SI VAULT: Kobe's Killer Instinct (06.02.08)
Throw consecutive major league no-hitters
Last to do it: Johnny Vander Meer, June 5-11, 1938
Why it's so hard: "The reason why it is nearly impossible is there's no rhyme nor reason to the game of baseball," says YES broadcaster Al Leiter, who won 162 games over 19 seasons and threw a no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies on May 11, 1996 as a Florida Marlin. "You can have an impeccable game plan and fantastic routine and it doesn't matter: You can be perfect in your execution and still give up a hit. I gave up a hit pretty early in the next game [after my no-hitter] and the irony is I am certain it was a swinging bunt or a huge swing that rolled in front of the third baseman. I think in other sports if a play is done right with players who are prepared properly, you will see results more times than not. In baseball, no. How many times do you watch a game where there's a 2-0 fastball right down the middle to a guy getting paid a lot of money and he pops it up or misses it? Or you throw an unbelievable slider three inches off the ground and Vladimir Guerrero hits a double to right-center? They say Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak is the hardest streak in any sport, but I would argue that throwing back-to-back no-hitters is harder. As a pitcher you are so left out there for uncertainty. As a hitter, you are in control with your execution. How many years have we played baseball? Multiply that by how many games we've played and once upon a time a guy threw back to back no-hitters."
-- as told to Richard Deitsch
SI VAULT: Bright Night in Brooklyn (08.07.63)
Win back-to-back Super Bowls in the salary cap era
Last to do it: New England Patriots (2004, 2005)
Why it's so hard: "First of all, it was hard before the salary cap, too," says CBS NFL Insider Charley Casserly, who served as GM of the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans during his 24-years as an NFL executive. "The difference now is the continuity factor. In this system, it's hard to have quality depth because players who are good at the end of four years, you either have to sign for a lot of money or you lose them. At a couple of positions, you might have some veteran players, but then you have other positions where you will be backed up by rookies. When you have injuries, you are not going to be as strong. Plus, the schedules are pretty balanced and two games will be affected by your record the previous year. You don't have the super teams anymore, but the tradeoff is great balance in the league and therefore the teams that win the Super Bowl are really winning more of a tournament. A play here or there can knock you out of the playoffs. Now, if you want another of the toughest things in the NFL, how about Don Shula's coaching career victory record (347)? I'm not sure anyone will get remotely close because he started so young and he was great."
-- as told to Richard Deitsch
SI VAULT: One Really Sick Performance (02.16.05)
Set a pole vault world-record
Last to do it: Yelena Isinbayeva (16-5 ¼ indoors in 2005)
Why it's so hard: "Pole vaulting is a very unnatural act," says Jenn Stuczynski, the holder of the American women's record of 16 feet 3/4 inches. (The only woman who has jumped higher is Isinbayeva, the defending Olympic champion). "To run full speed into something is not something you typically do. And this is a sport where you have to run full speed toward something while carrying a pole. A lot of people don't know that pole is made to bend only one way. It's kind of like golf where you have a sweet spot on the club. So it's something very technical, and then you have to invert your body upside down. To go upside down over a box is scary, and you get scared because there are a lot of things that can happen. It's a dangerous event and to watch it live is different than television. People see it and tell me, 'I can't believe someone can do that.' I can tell you that once you are in the air, motor patterns take over. It may seem like the pole vault takes long time, but it's very fast. There's no time to think, like in golf."
-- as told to Richard Deitsch
SI VAULT: Soaring Ambitions (03.08.99)
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