Baseball

Well, I think today may be the last straw for me and Major League Baseball. I've stuck through a lot of things (strikes, favorite players leaving the Dodgers for crazy salaries, etc.) but in watching Manny Ramirez's at bat in the 6th inning today at Coors Field, I have finally had enough (I think). Ask any Little League baseball player what is the fundamental rule of umpire interactions and they will (should) all say you don't argue strikes with the umpire. It is a traditional rule of baseball enforced with an iron fist by the home plate umpire. Manny comes in as a pinch hitter, first pitch is a called strike, which he argues with the umpire about, gets ejected and leaves the game. Who does this guy think he is?

So, to back up a bit, Manny has been with the Dodgers for a bit over 2 years and initially had some success (hitting homers mostly) until it became official that he was using banned substances and was suspended for 50 games. More importantly, he exemplifies the mentality of so many of baseballs' mega stars that think the world revolves around them. They demand (and get) egregious salaries as if they were the only person on the team. Baseball, unlike many other sports really requires the entire team to win games. A great pitcher only pitches every 5th game, a great hitter only hits 1 out of every 9 at bats in the game and usually sees 4 or 5 plate appearances in a game. A great fielder can only field balls that are hit (or thrown) in his general vicinity. Conversely, while basketball is a team sport, a truly great player can carry the team much more significantly than a great baseball player can. The same can be said about a great quarterback (he does need other players but since he touches the ball every single offensive play, he has a much higher contribution to the winning success of the team). My point is, no matter how many home runs you hit, if your pitching stinks, you'll still most games or if your defense boots plays, you'll still lose most games.

Also important to note, in all top level professional sports, everyone that dresses out is the best of the best. There are no bad players in any major league level professional sport, they are all tremendous, the pick of the pick. It just happens that some manage to shine at a higher level than others.

Somehow though we have managed to elevate some of these players into the stratosphere and I do mean "we" as the public fan base. Like all things, these teams come down to money and if a player has celebrity qualities, he will draw the crowds which translates into revenue. Where things go astray is some of these players actually begin to believe that the world does revolve around them and begin to show that in their play. As in Manny Ramirez. He left Boston because of this attitude and I'm sure the behind the scenes reason he was traded from the Dodgers today was the same (cutting his $45M salary probably wasn't a bad side effect either). I used to blame the agents for much of this activity, but I think they are like blood sucking trial lawyers, they just go where the money is and do what they can to enhance their fees. They didn't create these messes, they just enhanced the messes being created all over the place.

I've been waiting for years for a new round of Cal Ripkens and Tony Gwynns to come to the game but I don't see them. People who play because they are talented and they truly love the sport and the franchises. I've boycotted just about everything to do with MLB at least as far as my wallet is concerned over the last few years. I went to the game today because I really love the game and the Dodgers but Manny's episode was too much, I'm throwing in the towel on baseball.

While I'm at it, isn't the purpose of the "commissioner" to regulate the game? In other words, promote what is good and punish/prevent what is bad? Why is it after all of these years and all of the "dirt" coming out and even several Congressional inquiries does Bud Selig still waffle on the thought of across the board drug testing? Why doesn't baseball suspend players for the rest of the year for first positive and for life for a second positive? It is a simple rule, we all know it is bad for the game and yet, it nearly take a federal grand jury to punish anyone at the MLB level.

Since I'm really throwing the towel at baseball, what the hell is up with unions? Since when do people who have multimillon dollar contracts need union representation? Send Donald Fehr and his whole bunch of cronies out to lunch permanently. I could see the value of unions 75 years ago when players were not much more than slaves and property, but lets face it, that ain't the face of today's player. Any occupation who's minimum wage is $400,000/year (2009 minimum) does not need union representation.

So I'm officially through with MLB until it cleans up its act, boots the prima donnas and becomes the national pastime with honor and dignity again. Somebody send me a message when that happens, I'll be busy rooting for Norway in the national curling finals.