Could Major League Baseball and the MLBPA be any more tone-deaf?
Could Major League Baseball and the MLBPA be any more tone-deaf?
As Little League, Cal Ripken, travel teams, and all amateur baseball leagues come roaring to life; there’s an air of disappointment lingering around. There is nothing that will stop the ultra-gifted from continuing to play baseball. But a lack of Major League Baseball is something that will stop other athletes from choosing the sport.
When there are so many avenues to a college scholarship, team sports, baseball, the one constant as James Earl Jones’s character in Field of Dreams said, has become inconsistent. As with everything in life, inconsistency leads to apathy.
Apathetic feelings towards a sport are the real killer. Adults encouraging their kids to play baseball are having a hard time believing in the professional version of the sport. What happens when the glory days stop existing? Who’s going to tell the baseball stories that get kids to fall in love with the game all over? Who’s going to be the one to show what they did as a ballplayer if apathy permeates the sport?
Could Major League Baseball and the MLBPA be any more tone-deaf?
As of this writing, the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv are under siege. Volnovakha and Mariupol are now under Russian control. Thousands of civilians have been injured or killed along with troops on both sides of this horrid situation. 1.5 million Ukrainians have sought refuge in Romania, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary.
Regardless of your news source or political view, you have to be tone-deaf and be a public figure complaining about money. Former Heavyweight Boxing Champion and mayor of Kyiv, Vitaly Klitschko sounds off in a desperate plea for help while NATO countries and EU member-states await the next move by Putin.
The world is watching, and there aren’t many distractions for the diehard baseball fans. Some of us feel guilty for being angry that MLB can’t get their act together and fix this. Guilty because of everything that is going on in our world. Guilt leads to disenfranchisement and, once again apathy, because MLB continues to occupy mainstream news cycles while the war continues in Ukraine.
Fans have a hard time taking sides in this labor dispute because MLB and the MLBPA continue to act spoiled, and they are entitled to our money. Plus, both sides are publicly waging negative campaigns against each other, further hurting the game.
MLB announces initial $1 million fund to support ballpark workers affected by missed Spring Training games in Florida and Arizona: https://t.co/sOrdGqmnmC pic.twitter.com/8drIZ0r4Oi
— MLB (@MLB) March 8, 2022