Nominalizing する Verbs


When using する verbs, is there a significant semantic/connotative difference
between using the bare noun compared to simply adding a nominalizer (の・こと)
after the する?

例：

「運転が好きです。」

「運転することが好きです。」

I'm tempted to say that the latter emphasizes the act of driving, such that
they'd be translated respectively to: "I like driving." "I like the act of
driving."

... Though I'd be hard pressed to explain even in English how these are
significantly different in meaning. Maybe they're effectively synonymous in
Japanese?




I have no prior research but, speaking from experience, I would say most of
the time your way of thinking is right, for some examples (like the one you
proposed) the difference from one sentence to the other is simply the level of
emphasis you want to impose. But I also believe that for other sentences such
as:

[code]

    野球が好きです
    
[/code]

and

[code]

    野球することが好きです
    
[/code]

you have a more distinct difference in meaning, the first sentence has the
meaning of "liking baseball", the sport itself, the second sentence carries
the meaning "I like to play baseball". But since I have not made a prior
research I would also like to hear from others.




I have no prior research but, speaking from experience, I would say most of
the time your way of thinking is right, for some examples (like the one you
proposed) the difference from one sentence to the other is simply the level of
emphasis you want to impose. But I also believe that for other sentences such
as:

[code]

    野球が好きです
    
[/code]

and

[code]

    野球することが好きです
    
[/code]

you have a more distinct difference in meaning, the first sentence has the
meaning of "liking baseball", the sport itself, the second sentence carries
the meaning "I like to play baseball". But since I have not made a prior
research I would also like to hear from others.

