Major League Baseball has canceled part of its schedule because it and the Major League Baseball Player’s Association can’t come to an agreement to “play ball.”
I’m not sure what the holdup is and frankly, don’t care to dive into it. When both are making hundreds of millions of dollars playing a kids’ game, I tend not to pay attention to the details.
And you know why I don’t care? Because I no longer care about Major League Baseball. I was pissed back when they pulled this same crap and canceled the World Series in 1994. Up until then, baseball was one of my favorite sports. My dad and I would watch every Atlanta Braves game after dinner. Baseball was America’s greatest father-son bonding event.
Now, I don’t care how many games are lost to this latest work stoppage/lockout. Cancel the season for all I care. And you know why? I list the reasons below.
The 1984 Canceled World Series
This pissed me off so much I tuned out of baseball and tuned into what is now my primary sports focus, college football.
I mean, how could they cancel the World Series!? The multi-millionaires and millionaires could not agree to play what was once the greatest spectacle in American sports!?
The World Series had provided the game with some of its most memorable and incredible moments. Some are so legendary fans who may not have even born to see them know them like they know their own birthday: Reggie Jackson’s three home runs in one game against the Dodgers in 1977, the Miracle Mets of 1969, bill Mazeroski’s series-winning home run in 1960, Don Larson’s perfect game in 1956, Carlton Fisk moving his arms to the right as he tried to “steer” the ball fair against the Cincinnati Reds in 1975, Kirk Gibon’s incredible off-the-bench home run to propel the LA Dodgers to an upset of the Oakland A’s in 1988.
And it was canceled? Think the NFL would ever cancel the Super Bowl, hockey the Stanley Cup, European soccer the World Cup? Not a chance!
THIS DROVE ME CRAZY!
The Juiced Ball Era
To win back fans after the strike, the authorities did not apologize or anything but instead they juiced the ball. They knew that home runs would generate instant fan interest so they made hitting the ball out of the park as routine as a ground out to second.
I could see right through this but the fans either didn’t or did not care. They had their game back and it was exciting (for them) to throw decades-old records and achievements, well, over the fence, as balls soared out of stadiums and that was all that was important to them.
Shame to the fans but then an even worse thing was on the horizon.
THIS DROVE ME CRAZY!
The Steroids Era
I suppose I could have gotten over that but on this heels of this the Steroids Era took over the game. This was really an insult to the game and was the final straw for me. For years, baseball turned its head as the turnstiles turned with fans going to games anxious to see McGwire-Sosa, Bobby Bonds and even one-time skinny kids like Rafael Palmeiro suddenly turning into Babe Ruth.
Fans were again drawn by the long ball, regardless of what a mockery it made of the the once-sacred records and the game itself.
THIS DROVE ME CRAZY!
MLB 2022
And here we are now. Another work stoppage/lockout. Of course the fans will come back as if nothing happened and that’s the major underlying problem with Major League Baseball: the game and players know they can crap on the fans and who will still go to ballpark and cheer on their teams and favorite players.
Well, not me! This is not really difficult because I don’t have any favorite players these days.
In Conclusion
Okay, I’m through complaining For this column, anyway.
Signed,
Mr. Sorehead
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