I’ll bet racing a car requires more physical and mental stamina, and heat-tolerance, than being a baseball player. Baseball requires quick bursts of strength and speed, but there’s a lot of rest time in between. In baseball, you’re spending 95% of your time standing around (and you’re guaranteed half the game, minus at-bat and on-base, sitting in a shaded dugout with iced gatorade at the ready). I don’t see any big controversy over whether baseball players are athletes or not.