June 2nd, 2008 by Teddy Jenner
It’s that time of year again; the long, hot days of summer. What does one do with themselves when there is no NBA or NHL to watch or attend? Hmmmm…. Vacations to the Hamptons, camping trips up north, or maybe a family bike tour just to say you were able to get out of the house for a while. How about taking them across the border and doing a weekend tour of two MLS or WLA arenas so you and your family can get your lacrosse fix and see some of the big names battle it out for national supremacy!?
Then there is the other option. You could grab the kids and take ‘em to an afternoon baseball game at one of the countless half filled ball parks across the US. Not saying that going to the park isn’t a good time, hell I’d go if it meant getting out of work. The problem is I just can’t figure out how baseball gets away with it. Multi-million dollar contracts, almost every game is televised, no parity- and when I say that I think that one day a team can dump somebody 14-1 then lose 3-0 later that evening and of course playing in front of 7,000 fans in 20,000 seat brand new facilities. I know baseball is a highly driven revenue sharing league, with endorsements and long term TV deals but there are just some major glaring things that stick out whenever I watch highlights.
- 1- Can you name any other league where a player can get right in the refs face for 5 minutes, yelling, cursing, throw expletive after expletive at him acting like a 4 year old throwing a tantrum in Toys ‘R Us only to get ejected by the Umpire and not be reprimanded for it? Then to have his manager come out of the dugout and do the exact same thing, initiating the same result…. If that happened in any other sport the player would be fined and suspended for a few games and any subsequent behavior would result in lengthy suspensions. Here’s my new rule - if you argue a call to the extent that the Umpire feels the need to eject you, it’s an automatic $5000 fine and one game suspension. Any repeat offense the fines double.
- 2- I remember when Gary Gait, who was playing for the Victoria Shamrocks in ‘97, would take an absolute ass kicking from Shaun Springette who was playing for the North Shore Indians. Sure slashing is part of the game but it was to the point where it was quite excessive. But Gary never threw down his stick and gloves and ran after Springette. (yes I know that’s not his role but follow along) So why, when Alex Rodriguez gets hit with one pitch, whether on purpose or not, does he feel the need to charge the mound? SUCK IT UP! Take your free base and your $100,000 per at bat and move on. If it’s on purpose the Umpire should throw the pitcher from the game anyways. So the new rule - You charge the mound $10,000 fine and a 3 game suspension. Again any repeat offenses get you doubled fines and a hearing with MLB.
- 3- When is baseball going to get rid of ‘bench clearing brawls’? Now I know they aren’t really a brawl per say but, lets be honest here. If I’m one of the guys way out in the left field bull pen and I have to run all the way to home to stand around and police a situation the Umpires should be able to diffuse I’m not going to be to happy about it. Is there really a point to having everyone run from the dugouts and bullpens to end up in a giant unnecessary dog pile? Seriously! Hockey has gotten away from it almost completely, when was the last time in the NHL there was bench clear? It never happens in the NFL, College maybe but it’s rare and lacrosse, considered one of the most brutal sports out there, hasn’t seen one since the mid 90’s that I know of. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the team that starts the clearing automatically loses the game but, the players that come from the dug outs and bullpens get 2 game suspensions and the teams are fined $50,000.
While it seems like this is pointless and I may be beating a dead horse, it bothers me to no end that the Heads of MLB are doing nothing to improve the standards of their game. The NLL puts out one of THE best products in the sports market, has generally packed buildings, and the game pretty much sells itself. Yet television sports networks aren’t giving us the respect we deserve - where are our TV deals? And some of the hardest working guys in sport are still fighting for full time pay! Well Mr. Rodriguez, the next time you decide to charge the mound after a pitcher brushes you back, try not to drop your wallet and think of us little guys, battling it out (for a tenth of what you make a year) every weekend, then going back to our real jobs the next day.
