re: Harder professional sports job - MLB catcher or NHL goalie

Bot have pretty tough jobs, but I think a hockey goalie's job is much harder. I'm guessing they all must have great vision to see pucks flying at them. I would think their careers might be short if their eyesight goes bad early. Some of them are super athletic guys that move like gymnast in the net. What's great about being one of the best NHL goalies is the best ones are Rock Stars. They can get hot a take their team to a Stanley Cup championship.

The best catchers aren't rock stars unless they are great at hitting as well as on defense. The only time they really get noticed is when they make a great play to stop a bad pitch, or when they let a ball through that shouldn't have gotten through. Throwing guys out like Yadier Molina & Ivan Rodriguez. will get you some attention too, Both of those guys were rock star catchers in my mind.

I've never played goalie in hockey, but I did catch some I know the catcher is the hottest guy on the field in both Louisiana and Texas. He's also one of the most likely to get small injuries like bruises skint places or cuts from bats, balls and cleats. They call a catcher's armor "The Tools of Ignorance", but in my case they were the tools of "He ain't so fast anymore. From Little league thru Pony League I was a pretty good outfielder. By the time I reached American Legion ball I played 1st base, another thankless job, and catcher. I mostly caught because I still had a strong arm. They could usually find someone else that didn't mind having balls thrown at them all game long at first.

I don't know how kids playing hockey become goal keepers, but I doubt it's because their legs broke down.