Comparison of baseball and cricket

Sportsmanship

Standards of sportsmanship differ. In cricket, the standard of sportsmanship has historically been considered so high that the phrase 'it's just not cricket' was coined in the 19th Century to describe unfair or underhanded behavior in any walk of life. In the last few decades though, cricket has become increasingly fast-paced and competitive, increasing the use of appealing and sledging, although players are still expected to abide by the umpires' rulings without argument, and for the most part they do. Even in the modern game fielders are known to signal to the umpire that a boundary was hit, despite what could have been a spectacular save (though it may well be that they will be found out by the TV umpire anyway) and also signal if they did not take a catch even if it appeared that they did. In addition to this, some cricket batsmen have been known to "walk" when they think they are out even if the umpire does not declare them out. This is considered a very high level of sportsmanship, as a batsman can easily take advantage of incorrect umpiring decisions but with the introduction of the decision review system this has become more difficult if the system is in use. The "Spirit of Cricket" was added as a preamble to the Laws in 2000, declaring that "Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this Spirit causes injury to the game itself".^[18][19]

In baseball, a player correcting an umpire's call to his own team's detriment is unheard of, at least at the professional level. Individual responsibility and vigilance are part of the game's tradition. It is the umpire's responsibility to make the right call, and matters of judgment are final. Similarly, when a runner misses a base or leaves too early on a caught fly ball, the umpire keeps silent, as it is the fielder's responsibility to know where the runners are and to make an appeal. When a fielder pretends not to know where the ball is (the "hidden ball trick"), the umpire keeps silent, as it is the runner's responsibility to know where the ball is.