Does Anybody Care About Baseball?
Major league baseball is set to begin games on April 7th. Of course, this is a little later than usual because of the work stoppage and negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement. I personally would not have cared if they ever came back to work. And I know that I’m not the only one who feels that way. Does anybody care about baseball anymore?
Exhibit One
Remember last season when baseball moved the All Star Game from Atlanta in objection to an election law that made it easier for Georgians to vote and validated a signature to vote. Is this really America’s favorite past-time, or is it the Democrat’s favorite past-time? Has baseball become a political organization?
This action turned a lot of people away from baseball. Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves for winning the World Series last season and rubbing it in the faces of Major League Baseball. I’m sure God had a little bit to do with that.
Exhibit Two
Some people say the recent work stoppage was because of the greed of the baseball owners. And some say it was because of the greed of the players. Let’s set the record straight. They’re both greedy and they both make a lot of money. More money in one year than some of us will see in a lifetime. And, more money in one game than some lower income families see in a year.
Much like we taxpayers fund our free spending government, fans (us) fund the baseball owners and baseball players. I wish we could stop funding the government. But, we can stop funding baseball. It’s always about money, and if we stop giving our money, baseball will fail.
Exhibit Three
Baseball is the slowest sport and is painful to watch. At least in golf, they don’t take three swings. And I absolutely hate the statistical shifts. You know when the entire defense moves to the left side of the field and leaves the entire right side open. I don’t remember seeing that in Ken Burns’ baseball series.
The season is entirely too long. 162 games so two teams can play one game to get into the postseason. Does that make any sense? I’ll generously give them 80 games.
Exhibit Four
I’m a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. And in today’s baseball structure, it’s almost impossible for a small market team to have success. When a small market team is successful, the team gets poached for players and must start over. That’s not fun.
