Don’t Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Growing up, I enjoyed watching baseball games on television, memorizing the statistics of various players, and collecting baseball cards. During the 1970s, I endured many mediocre and losing seasons by my favorite team: the Minnesota Twins. After I moved to Minneapolis, the Twins won the World Series in 1987 and 1991. I went to a few Twins games, briefly worked at a concession stand in the Metrodome, and attended a celebration at the stadium after the team won one of their American League pennants. It was an exciting time to be a Twins fan.

My interest in baseball has since declined. One reason was a 1994 players’ strike which dragged on into 1995. Around this time, Major League Baseball added wild card teams to the postseason. I’ve never agreed with this. If a team isn’t good enough to win its division, then it shouldn’t have the opportunity to be declared “World Champions.” It cheapens the need to play well enough the whole season. The NFL, NBA, and NHL have approximately half their teams making the playoffs. MLB owners want to increase their current 10-team postseason format to 14 out of a possible 30 teams.


Nevertheless, I went to a few games in 2013 and 2014 while living with a Twins fan. This man dressed up in a pinstripe suit he created and called himself Mr. Minnesota. My roommate would buy me a ticket in exchange for taking pictures of him as he walked around the stadium. By then, the Twins had moved to Target Field. It is an impressive place to watch a game (though I don’t like the corporate name).


Unfortunately, politics have invaded Major League Baseball like other sports. Last year, commissioner Rob Manfred moved the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver because he opposed a new voting law enacted in Georgia. Ironically, the World Series came to Atlanta with the Braves winning it.


Now it’s been announced a lockout has caused the cancelation of Opening Day games and the first two series of the 2022 season. One issue is the minimum salary for players currently at $570,500 per year. The Major League Baseball Players Association want that increased to $775,000. The owners offered $615,000, but the players refused. That reminded me of a 1976 commercial featuring Butch Wynegar. The Twins rookie catcher loved baseball so much he would play for nothing. Then-Twins owner Calvin Griffith declared, “I love that kid!”


I will always enjoy playing baseball with friends though I’m not that good at it. I also like playing baseball video games. As for watching Major League games on TV and at the ballpark, I will skip it this year even after the lockout gets resolved. Commercialism and greed have taken over America’s National Pastime.


“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” - 1 Timothy 6:10

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