Sexiest Ball Sport

To me, a guy who's drenched with sweat and testosterone, while ripe, is not at his peak. I'll be plucking him after he showers, you know? (Our bathroom is a virtual miasma until Mr. Maryn's running stuff has dried enough to be put in the hamper. I'd rather pee in the yard than inhale in there.)

Of course the nationality of the target audience is a huge factor that means cricket and rugby are ruled out by my American ignorance, so I'll say baseball. Unlike football and basketball, its players have all sorts of different body types (something for everyone!), are of mixed races and ethnicities (really, something for everyone!), span ages from recent high school graduates to early 40s (I swear, there's something for everyone!), all in a sport which doesn't leave every active player sopping with perspiration. And the standard uniform is snug, with no padding except for the catcher, so you know what you're getting.

Although I agree there's something inherently sexy about a man or woman who's good at billiards or pool. Why is that?

Maryn, Red Sox fan

Ugh, overweight athletes. Even when there's powerful muscle under there, a gelatinous gut on the bounce is not a pretty thing. It's even more common in sports like football, where body mass alone helps you do push the opponent out of the way.

Years ago David Letterman poked repeated fun at overweight baseball pitcher Terry Forster. After months of this, Forster appeared as a guest on the show, explained how dead it was in the bullpen or dugout on a night he wouldn't be pitching, but that vendors would deliver hot dogs, burgers, even beer in Coke cups. Then he did a barbecue demo. Ribs, I think.

Roger Clemens has thickened up over the years, but he's still got that arm--and makes so much that he doesn't need to do Zest soap commercials clad only in a towel...

Maryn, wondering what Cal Schiraldi's* doing today

* Schiraldi and Clemens were tapped from the same college team to join the same major league team

This gentleman pitches in the Japanese leagues, where major league US players sometimes finish out their careers. We must remember Japan is the birthplace of sumo, but geez louise, look at this guy. No wonder he's got a three-digit number.



Maryn, feeling suddenly quite trim!

Ah, September, GMTA. I have a very rough draft of an erotica story starring a triple-A ball player and his landlady...

The ending, where he goes to the bigs, reads phony, though.

Maryn, whose family contains no athleticism whatsoever