America's #1 Online Cigar Auction
first, best, biggest!

Last post 21 years ago by tailgater. 9 replies replies.
Baseball Problems
Jump to Bottom | Previous Topic | Next Topic
treblig6 Offline
#1 Posted: Wed, May 22 2002, 7:46 AM EST
Joined: 05-01-2002
Posts: 20
As a true baseball fan, I hate to see what is happening to the game. MLB has problems, and most of them start with the fans perception. Attendance is down league wide, salaries are up, and there's no such thing as team loyalty. The game has issues too, fans show up to see franchise players hit bombs, and they end up going 0-1 with 3 walks...there is no way around this...maybe what the fan needs from the game has changed. What keeps me interested are the few players in MLB that respect the game and play it the way it should be played...i.e. rickey henderson, mark grace to name a few and forgive me for saying it, but Alex Rod. also falls into this category. There are still some good stories in baseball, just look around. The respect for the game will not allow it to become another NBA. We need the sport....look at what it does for kids....if baseball continues the decline, we'll be spending all our time at the soccer fields>
RICKAMAVEN Offline
#2 Posted: Wed, May 22 2002, 8:42 AM EST
Joined: 10-01-2000
Posts: 33,248
when you and i were kids, we played baseball after school. it didn't matter how many guys showed up, we had a game that lasted until pitch dark. i remember "it's foul, it's fair, it's a do over." kids today don't play baseball. they play soccor and basketball. i don't know why. no baseball fields they can ride a bike to, maybe. i think the real reason is the soccor and basketball are so well organized at schools, baseball doesn't have a chance.
barryneedleman Offline
#3 Posted: Wed, May 22 2002, 9:18 AM EST
Joined: 08-23-2000
Posts: 1,689
Rick, being a kid was different when I was young (in ancient times the 50's & 60's). You are right, we would ride our bikes or walk to the schoolyard and have a pick-up game of baseball that would last until we couldn't see anymore. There were always other kids around. Now we don't let our kids go anywhere unsupervised, the schoolyards close after school because they don't want the liability. Many of our kids stay home and play video games - and we wonder why our kids are so much overweight. OK, I have rambled on enough on this thread jack. Barry
Charlie Offline
#4 Posted: Wed, May 22 2002, 10:03 AM EST
Joined: 06-16-2002
Posts: 39,751
I am a true baseball fan and I am not happy with the state of the game today! Selig is the worst Commissioner we have ever had, and the players do not even honor or respect the game the way they should. Yes, there are those that do and will always be a group that will carry that tradition: Curt Schilling, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Lance Berkmann, Mark Grace, Brian Giles, Kevin Appier, Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green, Luis Gonzalez, Derek Jeter, Pedro Martinez just to name a few! I am sorry if I overlooked someones favorite player, but the list would indeed be short! Baseball needs to retrench and come up with a long term player/owner agreement and end the bickering. Schilling said "it is disgraceful to think that players averaging 2.5 million per year would think of striking"! It is and that is one of the reasons the great Mark McGwire retired from the game, he did not want to endure another strike or the threat of one! They need to get back in touch with the fans and get back to baseball the way it used to be!!!! Charlie
Charlie Offline
#5 Posted: Wed, May 22 2002, 10:06 AM EST
Joined: 06-16-2002
Posts: 39,751
Every sport has its "warts" and ugly side, it just seems that baseball's is far bigger than the other sports and the need for a commish that will do something is really great! They need to make a commissioner out of George Will, Bob Costas, George Mitchell or George H. Bush and get rid of this joke that is masquerading as the man in charge! Charlie
RICKAMAVEN Offline
#6 Posted: Wed, May 22 2002, 11:02 PM EST
Joined: 10-01-2000
Posts: 33,248
char5353: i still cringe at "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT, THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT." i cried real tears that day and proud to have done so. i have several tee shirts with the replica of the daily news wednesday, october 5, 1955 'WHO'S A BUM" and a picture of "the bum" caracter below that. i truly loved the game than.
cwilhelmi Offline
#7 Posted: Thu, May 23 2002, 3:08 PM EST
Joined: 07-24-2001
Posts: 2,739
There's a great article about Curt Schilling in the new Maxim (I'm showing my age now!!) where he talks about Selig. His quote goes something like this, "How big of a moron do you have to be in order to announce contraction two days after one of the best World Series ever?" And then he said, “Selig has his head so far up his a$$ it's amazing, he wants to contract the Twins and the Expos only four years after adding new teams to the league!” I have long been a Twins fan, and if they end up being contracted I will never go to another game. Selig can kiss my a$$!!
DrMaddVibe Offline
#8 Posted: Thu, May 23 2002, 5:32 PM EST
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,537
Rick, you'd be proud to know that my grandfather moved with the team! My Dad's first Dodger game was in LA, and my first game was in LA too! It's about tradition! I've been all over the world and consider myself a Dodger fan through and through. I root for the Angels and the Tigers as well, but now I live in Tampa where I go to see other teams play. God knows how many times I've travelled to Atlanta to see the Dodgers! One of these days they'll be back! The best game I ever saw was when Gibbby pounded that ball out of the park with 2 strikes and 2 outs! The classic situation where the cream rises to the top. I had a chance when I lived in Detroit to talk to him and I let him know how much that game meant to me. He signed an autograph and I have it in my office along with Gordie Howe's,Sid Abel's and Ted Lindsey's personalized note! Go Dodgers and Go Wings!
Todog Offline
#9 Posted: Fri, May 24 2002, 12:01 PM EST
Joined: 05-05-2001
Posts: 804
Ricky Henderson? He is the most selfish ballplayer around who is interested only in padding his stats! There is an "i" in team with Ricky!
tailgater Offline
#10 Posted: Sat, May 25 2002, 7:08 PM EST
Joined: 06-01-2000
Posts: 26,185
All professional athletes are on a moral decline. Baseball is simply ahead of the curve. They're the biggest primadonas who can no longer play with "pain" no matter how minor. Their contracts are no longer simply about the most zeros, but also centered on PERKS (like $15 Million a year ain't enough perk). They are threatening to strike despite their enormous wealth and the most powerful union this side of the UAW. (don't get me going on unions...) The few players who truly love the game are obligated to follow the union rules. As for kids playing pickup games after school and all day in the summer, times have changed. Little league is wide spread. Neighborhoods have gone the way of the milkman. Ball fields are few and far between and the once vacant lot is a new quickie-mart. The few parents who don't put their kids into a summer program don't feel safe letting them out of their sight. And let's not forget that in years gone by, the radio was the chief source of live action. Baseball is a GREAT radio game. And more games were in the daytime so kids could listen. Today, the games go too late for me to watch. Times have changed, yes. But the MLB seems to pride itself in changing for the worse in every category...
Users browsing this topic
Guest
Back to Top