Nov 6, 2007

It's time for us to start being selfish

By 'us' I mean fans. The owners do what's best in their self-interest, as do the players, so why not the fans? Too often do I read fans saying things like 'I don't blame the player (for demanding more money). That's what I would do,' etc. We're so used to trying to see things from other points of view that we forget about our own! We don't want our best players leaving. We don't want to pay $100 to go to a ballgame (with food and drinks). We don't want to pay $200 to watch ballgames on TV (Extra Innings). Unfortunately for us, there aren't any alternatives like there are for players (other teams) and owners (other players). But I honestly foresee a time in the future (maybe five years, maybe 30) when fans of small market teams stop going at all to games - going on strike in essence. This will cause repercussions throughout MLB with the likely inclusion of a maximum and minimum salary cap.

- In the good news category, GMs voted in favor of instant replay to help umpires decide fair/foul calls. This is great news, and although limited, is a step in the right direction. Hopefully next year balls/strikes, out/safe, catches/traps, and other such calls will be eligible for video review. And going by ESPN's poll, fans overwhelmingly favor IR. Not all bad news these days.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Instant replay for balls and strikes? The game will slow to a crawl. You are an absolute idiot. Thank god you're not in charge of baseball.

Travis G. said...

have you ever watched a game on ESPN or FOX? they have those Pitch Tracker things ('K-Zone', etc.). they tell whether it's a ball or strike IMMEDIATELY. it wouldn't slow the game at all.

btw, thanks for reading.