Don't Hate the Game

Jason Michael Barker

Hey, you there! Tear yourself away from the umpteen articles declaring that baseball is now dead because the Rangers doled out the most ridiculous contract in the history of professional sports. The Internet's great, isn't it? Five years ago you might have read two or three such articles in places like your local paper, USA Today and Baseball Weekly.

Today, you can go online and read every idiot from that guy at the LA Times ("Baseball is dying a slow painful death") and striking Seattle Times columnist Laura Vescey ("A-Rod has no soul") to the normally intelligent Tom Boswell of the Washington Post ("Mike Sweeney and Deivi Cruz are just as good as Rodriguez! And cheaper!"), who seems to have no concept of park effects or positional value.

I'd provide a link or two, but frankly the articles are so disturbing I don't think children under the age of 18 should be allowed to read them without parental permission. After all, this is a family website.

But these articles are just the beginning! Go on any baseball message board, chat room or newsgroup and you'll find fans by the millions (OK, perhaps thousands) declaring that this time baseball has just gone too far, that the product is a sham and ticket holders are being ripped off, and they won't be attending games this year.

No, really, I won't go to the ballpark this season. I mean it this time. I know I said the same thing after the strike, but this is different. I'm really taking a stand this year! You won't see me at a baseball game this season, that's for damn sure. OK, maybe just once. When A-Rod comes to town. But that's only so I can boo him, throw things at him and curse his family.

Two points.

First, it's December. Baseball doesn't start for a few months. Sure people are upset now, but come spring the fans will flock to the ballpark as usual and we'll all revel in the exploits of Pedro Martinez, Mark McGwire and Alex Rodriguez, the greatest player in the game today.

Second, if you really feel that strongly about these issues, I invite you to stay home. Don't spend your money at the ballpark, don't buy team merchandise, don't watch games on television, don't even turn on the radio when you know there's a game on. Boycott, in your own little way, until your heart's content. More power to you, Joe and Jane Q. Public, for voting with your feet.

You know what? You won't be missed.

There are plenty of fans who can't wait to fill the seats you'll be leaving vacant next year. Teams know this, which is why they can raise ticket prices -- if people weren't willing to pay, they wouldn't raise the prices. Fans value tickets at a certain level, and so far that level seems to be less than where ticket prices currently stand. If Larry in Kansas City is willing to pay $25 for a seat behind the third base dugout, then by golly that ticket is worth $25.

Sound familiar? Of course it does, since this is the same reason salaries keep going up as well. If I hear one more time that no one player is worth $252M, I might, well, get mildly agitated. Obviously someone with the Texas Rangers thinks Alex Rodriguez is worth $252M to the Rangers, or they wouldn't have given him that money in the first place.

Another common element among both the articles and the fan comments is the idea that the so-called small market teams can't possibly compete with the likes of the Yankees, Dodgers and Cubs.

Wait, you're saying, Dodgers and Cubs? Yeah, Dodgers and Cubs. LA and Chicago are pretty large markets, wouldn't you agree? Yet it's been roughly a decade since either team has had anything to cheer about. Ask the Orioles if spending money guarantees wins.

At the same time, nobody seems to notice when teams like the Phillies and Pirates give horrible contracts to the likes of Rheal Cormier, Jose Mesa, Derek Bell and Terry Mulholland. Why can't these teams compete? Because they're run by idiots who wouldn't recognize talent if it jumped up and bit them.

Suppose -- as many fans do -- that all ballplayers are overpaid. Now ask yourself if it's better to overpay for quality players like Alex Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez, or to overpay for scrubs like Mesa and Bell.

Of course, teams wouldn't have to overpay for talent if they were simply smart. Take Oakland GM Billy Beane, for instance, whose club won 91 games last year despite an Opening Day payroll of just under $32M. The A's know they aren't going to sign big-name free agents, so they pour what money they do spend into scouting and player development, where the potential return is much greater.

Then, rather than sit around waiting until they turn into the American League's version of the Montreal Expos, they instead lock up their good young players to reasonably priced contracts. They've already done this with Ben Greive, Eric Chavez, Tim Hudson and Miguel Tejada, and you can bet similar deals for Barry Zito and Terrance Long.

The one guy who is due for a big raise in the near future is Jason Giambi, but ask yourself which is easier to find: a first baseman who hits like Giambi, or a shortstop who hits like Tejada? If Beane' acquisition of a guy like John Jaha a few years ago is any indication, he understands this point completely. He also knows when to dump a veteran guy like Randy Velarde in favor of youngster Jose "PCL MVP" Ortiz, and even got two young arms for Velarde to boot.

Feel free to sit in the corner whining about how it's all about the money, the sky is falling, baseball is doomed and surely the devil himself must be controlling players and agents alike. Just try to keep quiet come springtime, because I'll be over here watching the greatest game in the world and I don't appreciate being distracted.

And to the guy who's posting that quaint little open letter to Scott Boras all over Usenet under the mistaken impression that somebody cares -- at least spell the guy's name right. It's B-O-R-A-S, not "Boros."

about the author

Jason Michael Barker sits patiently at home in an asbestos suit, waiting for your loving emails to pour in to jmb@strikethree.com. Go easy, will ya'?

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