Hall of Fame player Bill Terry once said “baseball must be a great game to survive the fools who run it”. Terry was born in 1898 and played from 1923-36, and managed through 1941. However, his words seem to be just as true today.
The latest controversy in the National Pastime is the sticky substances being used by pitchers to gain an advantage. Every sport deals with players trying to get an edge on their opponents, but when taken to extreme measures, the sport has to deal with the problem.
We agree some of the substances being used are giving pitchers a huge advantage. We’ve all seen the pitches which show up on the daily highlights where it appears the man on the mound is throwing a whiffle ball to opposing hitters. Our opinion is those pitches are mainly the result of using super sticky stuff, like pine tar or the latest thing, Spider Tack, to accomplish these results.
We digress.
The real problem with baseball right now is who is taking care of the game? And it might be the fans, and only the fans.
The commissioner and his office serve the owners, who don’t seem to be concerned with the play on the field. In the past year, they have instituted a terrible extra inning rule, putting a runner on second base to start the 10th and any subsequent inning in an effort to get games over with quicker.
They’ve also shortened doubleheader games to seven innings. What would be the reaction if the NFL announced Thursday night games were only going to be three quarters because both teams are likely only getting three days off?
You don’t have to worry about the reaction because it will never happen.
The sport seems to go out of its way to tell you how bad it is. The game’s are too long, there is not enough action, etc.
Baseball’s in-house network tries to promote the young players coming into the game, like Fernando Tatis Jr., Vlade Guerrero Jr., and Shohei Ohtani, but they seem to focus on the teams in the bigger markets and home runs and/or strikeouts. They don’t talk enough about players who play a solid brand of baseball, winning baseball.
It’s not up to the players to care for the game either. It is their way of making a living, and therefore their first thought is making money.
That said, you can tell some of them love the game and want to do what’s right, and want to promote the sport.
This latest issue though just shows the disconnect within the sport. Instead of just banning all substances immediately and proposing suspensions, why not talk to the players and work out an agreement everyone is happy with?
There have been articles that the “go to” mixture of rosin and sunscreen helps the grip but doesn’t affect spin rates and velocity. That’s the competitive advantage, being able to throw with more velocity and wicked movement on that speed.
Or as was pointed out on the Indians’ telecast on Tuesday evening, Terry Francona wondered why MLB just doesn’t do what Japan does. Apparently, the balls already have some tackiness when they are put into play if we understood correctly.
Either way, there could have been a better solution presented with both parties having some input. That way, both sides have skin in the game and feel better about things, instead of one side dropping a heavy handed edict.
The commissioner and by association the owners seem to want to do things their way without paying attention to the players and even more odd, their customers, the fans. It’s an odd way of trying to work things out.
Someone needs to care about the grand ol’ game, that is besides the fans.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 