See anyone steal home lately in the majors? It happens once in a great while. You see a lot more of it in the minors. Now, you could make the case that major league catchers are SO good that that's just not possible anymore. A frail grandmother of 90 could Pete Rose some of these guys, but nobody tries.
You used to see lots of complete games. Get out those antelope horns for the starting pitchers who go the distance too.
Paige, Ryan, Drysdale, Koufax and scores of other great hurlers used to go out there and throw it down. There were no pitch counts. You came out of the game feet first. Today's athletes are in better condition, and equally able.
Some blame science, but we'll finger economics as the cause: Protect those high-dollar contracts. A broken ankle or a torn-tendon or a worn arm can cost a team big money. Risky moves on the baseline are only for the desperate, or the underpaid.
The Players Association contributes to the mess by shredding respect for the rules of the game. Use a corked bat? How much do you make? Publish the punishment, appeal and get it reversed later when no one's watching. Drug testing policy? Get tougher, but give enough second, third, fourth, and fifth chances to players to make sure that they know that they may get banned or suspended or just take a nice holiday for a couple of weeks while the whole thing blows over. Then bust a few non-superstars to show that you mean business.
The players themselves don't have much accountability. Sign a kid's ball. Tell 'em to shove off because you've got a deal with some company. Be a nice guy. Be Barry. It doesn't really matter. The team doesn't really care. The league office won't say boo to you. After all, you're a S-T-A-R.
Everyone's watching out for theirs, as you would expect them to do. What isn't happening is the Commissioner watching out for ours.
Someone needs to wrangle all of these powerful forces that are driving the game into obscurity. It's not as if Joe Fan from Milwaukee can walk up to Mr. Steinbrenner, slap a hand on his shoulder and say "Georgie, you're screwing up the game for the 213 million of us living in the rest of the country."
Ticket prices, food prices, parking fees, and merchandise keep climbing. Thirty dollars to park at the Trop to see the D-Rays. The D-Rays!
The fifteen dollar shirt of last year is this year's twenty, and they can't blame the economy: Wholesale prices on these products haven't risen substantially enough to make a $3.50 wholesale shirt that sells for $15.00 suddenly go for five dollars more.
Baseball has priced itself into the upper stratosphere; from major league ballparks where an evening for a family of four can soar to $300 or more, right on down to little leagues where a kid’s equipment can easily set a family back more than $100.00. MLB Extra Innings runs $238.00 or more for the season. Is it any wonder that minor league and independent ballclubs can operate in the shadows of the majors and draw well?
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