I like sports, except baseball. I can’t sit through a whole game – nothing happens! I hate baseball.

How many times have you heard people say these things? How many times have you heard yourself say these things?

Sadly, baseball has become the sport to make fun of and complain about, even though it is one of the preeminent sports in America. Even among sports fans and Daily editors, baseball often gets attacked more than an Oregon football player’s girlfriend.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not starting a club for Underappreciated Sports in America (although the USA is currently accepting donations if you’re interested). Baseball’s reception in America is not at all like soccer’s. Baseball is still America’s Pastime, and it remains one of the most popular sports in the nation – if you don’t believe me, check out the ticket prices at Yankee Stadium and look how many fans still show up.

Despite the general popularity, though, baseball still doesn’t get the reputation it deserves from many people my age. College students in particular seem to enjoy bashing baseball in favor of more glamorous sports like the National LeBron Association. And there’s nothing wrong with liking the NLBA (commonly referred to as the NBA by the few people who recognize the other 29 teams in LeBron’s league), but this shouldn’t detract from people’s view of baseball.

This past weekend was a prime example of what makes baseball great.

For starters (no pun intended), there was Ubaldo Jimenez. A young, up-and-coming pitcher for a young, up-and-coming team reached the pinnacle of pitching success (or at least one of its peaks) when he no-hit the Atlanta Braves, who have averaged over eight hits in the rest of their games this season. Jimenez switched to pitching entirely from the stretch – usually reserved for scenarios with men on base – when he ran into early trouble with his control. This change, mixed with a fastball that averaged 97 miles per hour and the necessary outstanding defensive play by Dexter Fowler, shut down the Braves’ bats and helped Jimenez’s name and skills become well-known around the country.

That same night, the Mets and Cardinals played a marathon game – in fact, the game lasted over three times as long as Robert K. Cheruiyot’s Boston Marathon victory. New York and St. Louis played 20 innings on Saturday, but that number alone doesn’t tell the whole story.

For 18 innings – the length of two full games – two teams featuring offensive stars like Albert Pujols, David Wright, Matt Holliday and Jason Bay were held scoreless. No runs in 18 innings. That’s like a football game going four overtimes with no points. What made it more ridiculous is that once the Mets finally touched home in the top of the 19th inning, the Cardinals turned around and tied it in the bottom of the inning. After 18 failed attempts at scoring, each team succeeded on its 19th try. The Mets ended up winning in the 20th against outfielder Joe Mather, who was making his pitching debut to save the rest of the Cardinal pitching staff, but the craziness in the box score is enough to make Ron Artest feel uncomfortable.

The Cardinals went an astounding 1-18 with runners in scoring position, stranding 22 runners on base. Jose Reyes, Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur, three of the Mets’ first five hitters, combined to go 0-21 in a victory. New York’s staff had to use 88 pitches against the Cardinals’ first two hitters alone.

In addition to these two games, there’s intrigue all over Major League Baseball. The Boston Red Sox, one of the favorites to win the World Series, added an elite pitcher in John Lackey and elite defenders in Mike Cameron, Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutaro. So of course, the Sox sit at 4-9, worse than the Royals, Nationals, Pirates and Blue Jays. It’s like the Saints adding Darrelle Revis and Dwight Freeney and then losing to the Lions. In one game, Tim Lincecum got nearly as many hits (three) and RBIs (three) as Mark Teixeira has all year (five, six). Scott Podsednik and Martin Prado lead their respective leagues in hitting, and Casey Janssen has more wins than the Baltimore Orioles.

Baseball is extremely unpredictable, and that’s what makes it great. The day after being no-hit, the Braves won. The day after going 20 innings, the Mets and Cardinals lasted the usual nine and left only 13 runners on base combined. The Red Sox will probably rebound and be in playoff contention by June, and I’m guessing Tim Lincecum won’t outhit Mark Teixeira.

But who knows?

Jacob Jaffe is starting a petition against the NLBA. E-mail him to sign it at [email protected].