MLB: Who Do They Think They Are?

I have been around baseball for 20 years which isn't saying much since I am only 24 years old. I have seen my fair share of games. I grew up with players like Andre Dawson, Eddie Murray, Wade Boggs (who by the way can drink with the best of em), Don Mattingly, Rick Sutcliffe, and the list goes on.   

In baseball's past, we tend to look at the greats of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Roger Maris, and who can forget the great Lou Gehrig. These are people we know and love. If none of you reading this knows who Babe Ruth is don't worry; just pop in the movie "Sandlot" and you'll get the idea.

Through different era's of time both have something in common: the love of the game. 

Sure, you may differ on some, but really when you look at it all of them played the game the way it should have been played.  Who can forget the great Kirk Gibson with his World Series walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley, where he could barely walk to the plate let alone swing a bat? That's dedication!

The word "dedication" seems to loom the baseball world and some dedication is not even a vocabulary word in their word banks. This is where the point of my story comes in. 

What has happened to baseball? Where did America's past time go?

My picture above says it all. Who in the right mind signs a contract worth 180 million dollars? Who needs that kind of money and what for? Yes I know, the Yankees can afford it but there is no need to spend that kind of money for someone who hasn't really done anything.

I just dont understand why players all of a sudden get greedy with their money and always want more, more, more.  How the business has become a me, me, me, world.  There is no such thing as a team player in the major leagues anymore in this day in age.  It's all about me.

People will argue that assumption but let me put it to you this way.  If you were offered 5 million dollars more to play for the Yankees than you were to stay in Chicago, would you stay or take the money?  That's the ultimate question.  A true team player could care less about the money and want to stay because he has an obligation to the team.  What happened to that obligation?

Nobody sees it that way because everyone is always wanting more.  They use the excuse, "Oh it's good for my family." Bull.  Instead of buying that 72" flat screen you now can afford a 150' projector screen for your in home theatre or that lovely Bidet you saw on MTV Cribs.

It's absolutely ridiculous what these players get paid. The Yankees are at the top of the payroll and the Marlins are dead last. (Oh and by the way the Marlins have won more World Series in 11 years then the Cubs have in 100). Tell me thats fair if they were to ever cross paths. 

Bob Costas is probably one of the best baseball analyst of our time right now and if you disagree than I suggest reading his book "Fair Ball."  The way he presents his opinion for what baseball used to be to what it is now is nothing more than the truth.  It truly paints the perfect picture of how baseball should be.

The players will never truly understand the importance of fans nor will they hardly stop to sign an autograph. The players don't understand that its the fans paying their contracts and the fans buying their memorabilia and it's the fans who come to support them.  None of really care that much.

I bleed baseball and will for as long as I can. I love baseball so much that I currently play in two leagues with the greatest group of guys; the Pirates.  We have won three straight championships and we celebrate as if it was the World Series.  We don't get paid but we pay to play.  We don't get rings or t-shirts, we get money to play in tournaments or new equipment for the team.

We treasure the game the way its suppose to be.  We dont take our talents for granted nor do we cry over who is the teams best.  We play together and have the time of our lives. 

Something that has truly been forgotten.