Baseball and You
Like clockwork, another Major League Baseball season
opens to great fanfare and media speculation. Every team is scrutinized.
Statistics from previous seasons compared. Officially licensed apparel is
shipped to shopping malls and stadiums. Television commercials alert the world
to Opening Day of MLB. It IS a big deal to have baseball back every
spring. But to who?
Not me
Don’t get me wrong. Krüde has loved baseball since
the ripe age of three The sport, that is. Not so much the over saturation
of the game that has nearly ruined it for eternity.
When the almighty dollar makes or breaks a deal, you know
something is really wrong. All I see right now with baseball at any level is $.
Money for kids to buy the best
equipment. Money to pay players to be successful 30% of the time. Money to
spend on alcohol and junk food to watch a baseball game at home. Cash that most
people don’t have right now to spend.
I used to want to be a pro baseball player when I was a kid
in the late 1970s. Players such as Dave Parker and Nolan Ryan were
making a then unheard of salary of $1Million a season. I thought that
was more than enough $ back then to play a game I already played for fun. I
never thought of why a player could command such a number. Or who really pays
that salary. The fans ultimately cover the costs of those salaries with game
tickets, merch, stadium concessions etc… Cable tv was in its infancy. Network
tv wasn’t taking in massive ad dollars yet. Even today in year 2021, making
a million bucks a years is a sweet number. Just tell that to MLB players next
time you see them. Ask them why they think they really need a $300Million contract to play a kids
game. They don’t An they know it. .
Athletes aren’t role models or life coaches. They are people who were born with physical talents. They play a sport for cash. Calling them whores isn’t so far fetched. Remember this next time you think of buying certified game used cleats from some online auction house. Or go to a baseball stadium and plunk down $12 for a warm, flat domestic tap beer. Who is really winning in all of this? Easy answer: WHORES. Just try not to grab your ankles when they ask nicely…
Peanuts > Cracker Jack
KK
@kapn_krude