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Past and Present

By ScubaSteve, Section MLB
Posted on Tue Jul 29 2008 at 4:28 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing the live filming of "Costas Now". For those of you who have not seen the show it is hosted by Bob Costas and usually he has several panels on the show to discuss many different sports topics. Last nights show was all about "The State of Baseball."

Seeing guys like Gibson, Mays, and Aaron in person is truly humbling and extremely difficult to put into words. I'm 26 so I didn't see them play, but I have heard stories about them. I have seen the footage of Hank Aaron rounding the bases after breaking Ruth's record. I have seen the footage of Willie Mays making quite possibly the best catch ever. And I've seen footage of Gibson who as pointed out by Bob Costas held Aaron to a batting average of .215 and Mays to an average of .196.  I could watch that footage over and over again, but to be in the same room with these men listening to them talk about a game they love was absolutely amazing.

I'll let all of you watch the show for yourself instead of rehashing over every thing each panel said. If you love baseball this is one of those programs you have to watch.

I loved the show and loved hearing some of baseballs best talk about the current state of baseball, but there was something missing. I said to my sister that all I wanted to hear from Bob Costas or a panelist is that all of Major League Baseball's problems can be tied to one thing; MONEY.

Our generation has seemed to come to grips with the fact that baseball isn't just a game any more, it's a business. We're a capitalist society so for me to say that this is a surprise would be ignorant, but it is disappointing that a simple game can't be looked at that way any more.

When Alex Rodriguez's career is over he will have made over half a billion dollars playing baseball. That is absurd. If I were to make a list of professions or individuals who warranted making that much money A-Rod wouldn't come close. He wouldn't even be in the conversation. I'm not discounting Rodriguez's ability to generate more revenue for the New York Yankees which indeed he deserves a part of, but I am saying that there is something wrong where we as a society accept that he is making entirely too much money playing a sport.

Steroids, athletes getting in legal trouble, drug use - these can all be in some way tied to the fact that the players simply make too much money. In the case of steroids, can you really blame a guy for doing steroids when there was no testing or penalties for doing so? Let's look at this in its simplest form:

Player X does steroids. Players X's Home runs, RBI, batting average and other stats increase. Player X then becomes more popular which leads to more fans coming to see him play, which means more jersey's of his are sold, which means more revenue for the team, which means a bigger salary for Player X.

It's really that simple. And should the owners or the league mind if Player X is doing steroids? Of course not, because Player X getting more popular helps them make money as well. We always blame the players for the money they make, but very few of us point the finger at the owners, leagues, and the Players Union for allowing so much money to seep into the game.

Steroids will soon get to the point where it isn't such a big issue, but I guarantee you something else will come up in its place. There is way too much money involved for these players not to try and find a way to gain that extra edge.

I'm tired of hearing my father, Bob Costas, and other historians and journalists talk about an era of baseball we will never see again. I want to cry out, "REFORM!" but I know it will never happen and that will be one of our generations greatest tragedies. We will again see an All Star game possibly end in a tie because the era of players who had the feeling that it was an honor to play in that game no longer exists.

I know its just the All Star Game, but I think it's a microcosm of a larger problem within Major League Baseball. Let me put it to you this way, do you think any of our fathers or grandfathers ever referred to the All Star game as meaningless? I doubt it. You know who the All Star game was meaningless to 50 years ago? The players. Why? Because they didn't receive a single dime for playing in the game. The game of baseball meant something and that was enough for them. Their was no financial incentive to play and there was certainly no incentive to leave the game after one inning.

Our generation is at an interesting crossroads battling with our ideals. I say I want to see a guy play all nine innings in an All Star game, but in the back of my head I hear this voice say, "But the game means nothing and the player has too much to lose." I want to get to the point where we all realize that with that sort of thinking, with the thinking that these players have a responsibility not to play because there is too much invested in them, will destroy not only the All Star Game, but the game of baseball itself.