basketball players slap as a technique to force a turnover on defense. baseball players (actually, player), slap at the ball to make a 40 foot ground ball turn into a double. Oh yeah, I'm not exactly sure slapping is a legal technique in baseball either, but that's just a vibe.
If you are seriously comparing A-Rod slapping the ball to basketball players slapping the ball, you have officially gone as low as you can go. Come on man.