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Defending my Generation – Matt Waters

One has to admire Bob Costas. Not only is he one of the foremost recognizable personalities from the world of sports journalism, he is without a doubt the most technically sound and proficient studio host to ever lay eyes on a teleprompter. There is however, one definite opinion held by Costas and many other writers of his ilk that gnaws at me to no end.  This opinion being that today’s ball players couldn’t hold a candle to the athletes they grew up watching on summer’s eternal diamond. As if trashing the players that my generation admires weren’t enough, Bob often goes off on prolonged [but controlled] rants with regards to how today’s younger fans lack the seeming moral ambiguity to follow their teams players with pride and respect. They feel this nasty cycle is facilitated by the ” evils” of free agency and later T.V. start times. The greatest measure of lunacy often rises from complaints about how ” their” hallowed bench marks are being sullied by players who are the product of 1990’s baseball, where in more concise words a crappy pitcher serves up an endless stream of hanging breaking balls to average players who only hit 35 homers a year because of the diluted competition around them or my personal favorite, smaller ball parks. That one always cracks me up. Smaller ballparks today? Do these geezers ever make a cross check on the old dimensions down the right field line at Yankee Stadium? How about the Little League poke at the Old Polo Grounds [250 feet!]? And if there was ever an original band- box, Ebbets Field just might take the trophy hands down. The fact is, if today’s power hitters, who are more than apt to go line to line with their homers ever set eyes on those shallow outfield corners, the numbers they would reap would be absolutely monumental. A modern athlete such as the greatest Baseball player who ever lived [my new personal nick name for A-Rod] can tailor his swing to deliver opposite field taters. Put A-Rod in the Polo Grounds, and he probably would have hit 100 homers, with 60 of them most likely coming on opposite field  ” blasts” to a right field that my 50 year old dad could go yard on.

Funny how while they always seem to mention expansion caused a diluted talent pool to circulate through M.L.B. rosters, they never happen to give hitters credit for dealing with the cast of thousands they’ll see staring them down from the opposing pitcher’s mound through the course of a full schedule. The advent of lefty specialists, bullpen stoppers and closers, combined with the increased emphasis on pitch counts used almost for the precise purpose of keeping hurlers fresh all 162 games April to September has made hitter’s lives increasingly more difficult.

  In this column, I take a stand for today’s baseball players who are far too often taking hits from old suspenders clad Sports Writers with absolutely no one standing up for them. And who really can? The younger analysts today can hardly make an argument for or against anything. What they usually do is dig in for one side and defend it to the death, facts be damned. That isn’t a legitimate discussion but a macho test of wills often waged between the guy who is absolutely wrong versus the guy who might be right, where the winner is never determined and the loser is always the confused and irritated viewers at home, wondering what the hell they did to deserve being yelled at.

  I’ve put up with Rafael Palmiero’s name being sullied through the mud long enough. I want these guys to have taken their last shot at what they perceive to be an A.D.D. generation.

And, if you allow me a minor tangent here, how does no one else ever get annoyed by this? In these guy’s sick minds, you, the younger fan reading this, will not watch games in the future. Oh, hardly. You’ll simply catch the highlights and sum up the previous night’s action in a discussion with you’re friends by repeatedly saying ” Boo Yah!” in the murmuring tone of an autistic savant.

Screw that.

My generation does have heroes. My generation thinks its ball players are pretty damn good, and we’re tired of being put down.  The whole situation that crystallizes my point of view perfectly is the controversy surrounding Raffy Palmiero’s remarkable achievement of reaching the 3,000 hit, 500-homer plateau. Many a old school baseball scribe has pointed to the fact Raffy was never the preeminent first basemen in baseball, or that he only went to four All Star Games, or even the mere notion that it was just an awfully quiet 3000 hits and 500 homers. Let me break this down:

1.    Palmiero was never the dominant first basemen in Baseball
Well, this kills two birds with one stone. First of all, the fact that a first ballot Hall of Famer like Rafael can fail to be the most recognizable first sacker in baseball only solidifies the fact that the baseball world and this generation of fans have been blessed with an embarrassment of riches. There is no doubt in my mind that had this professional no nonsense ball player played in a different era that didn’t have such a multitude talent to overshadow his consistent day in and day out effort, that there would be shrines built in his name in the land of baseball lore. Raffy is really the victim of his own era. Free agency cost him the chance of staying localized in one area and building his legend. The wealth of other perhaps more exciting players kept him from ever being in the National Lime Light. And the fact the sports media didn’t do a good enough job paying attention to his numerous M.V.P. caliber seasons certainly doesn’t help. Why is it Palmiero’s fault that the very media that grips about his legacy never bothered to cover him while he was building it? Some of these so-called experts would probably be shocked to see the numbers Palmiero has amassed in single seasons. There is no doubt in my mind that they don’t know any better. Instead of punching a no on his Hall of fame ticket, some of the voters should plead ignorance.

2.    Raffy only went to four All Star Games and 3. Gee that sure was a quiet 500 homers and 3000 hits

Now, this is the kind of stuff that makes me want to punch say… Skip Bayless right in the face. These two issues are completely intertwined. Since when did any player in the 50’s get knocked for being stoic? Hell, back in the 50’s it contributed to the Legend of Joe DiMaggio. Now a day, it gets these syndicated chipmunks wondering how Palmeiro will be remembered. What is wrong with Raffy being remembered in the quiet, hard working and consistent vein of say an Al Kaline? Go ahead; try suggesting that to Bob Costas. You’d be lucky to get out of there alive. You see, here’s where these grizzled vets of the printed word are being downright immature. They feel that THEY’RE memories and THEY’RE heroes are worth much more than our memories and our heroes. To them, Al Kaline is better than Raffy Palmiero just for the simple fact that they grew up watching Kaline. Way to be objective fellas.

 So, where does solid year in and year out production with no complaints, qualms, or legal issues get you with today’s society on the All Star Ballot? The answer is absolutely nowhere. And yes, this is where today’s society certainly pales to a by gone era. But why should Raffy be penalized just because he did his job day in and day out with all the tact of an experienced assassin? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do to make these guys happy? Because God forbid you had an opinion on anything. After all, they’re just stupid baseball players. If they were really smart, they’d be… sportswriters.

What am I missing?

The issue of course, extends far past one player, no matter how under rated he may be. These people have the nerve, the utter gall, to insinuate that when a player today reaches a hallowed bench mark such as 500 homers today it hardly means the same as if it were happening in [you guessed it] their youth.

Maybe the simple fact is that it’s not the players who fail to measure up in today’s game, but the people who cover them.  

By mw2828

Matt Waters is a screenwriter currently living in New York. He has been writing about sports since age seventeen, about the time when it became painfully apparent that his athletic dreams would go unfulfilled, due to terrible luck and an obscene lack of talent. His favorite movie is “The Thin Red Line”. His favorite band is “Modest Mouse”. His favorite sport is baseball! With an exclamation point.

4 replies on “Defending my Generation – Matt Waters”

i agree i like it.  although i have great respect for players of back in the day, current players are better all around athletes.  for the most part atleast.  skip bayless wrote a column on espn.com earlier this week saying basically what you were complaining about.  he also included that he thinks raffy is not a first ballot hall of famer, if even a hall of famer at all.  its a damn shame.  good article though.

Wow Wow, Raffy you’re a true scum bag. I’m sorry I ever defended you.

You’re mustache sucks.

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