For the Love of the Game

Major League Baseball will soon decide what punishment to give Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers. This comes one day after Rogers “shoved two cameramen . . . in a tirade that included throwing a camera to the ground, kicking it and threatening to break more.” Why did he do this? He was “upset of the perception that he missed his start Tuesday night for some reason other than the broken pinkie in his non-throwing hand, sustained in an angry outburst after a game two weeks ago.” No one else was hurt in that tantrum two weeks ago, though a cameraman was sent to the hospital after this most recent outburst.

Another of the gentleman players from the Dallas (oops, I mean Texas) Rangers is Frank Francisco, who was sentenced to 500 hours community service today after a ballpark incident last September in which he threw a chair into the stands and broke a fan’s nose. Why did he do this? “Francisco threw the chair in the stands during a loss to the A's at Oakland after a group of fans seated near the bullpen began heckling players.”

Similar acts can be found throughout the Major Leagues, and other professional sports leagues. For you and me, living our normal work-a-day lives, this seems completely unreasonable. Frank Francisco makes $321,500 a year. Kenny Rogers makes $3,338,758 a year (source: ESPN). Surely, for that kind of money, they can learn to put up with a few questions from the media and a little heckling from fans. I know I could. I put up with much more for much less.

But that’s the problem. This is how you and I look at it. Kenny Rogers looks at it from another direction. He thinks, “I’m making $3 million a year. I should be making more (he was in contract negotiations until this incident). I don’t have to put with this crap.” These obscene salaries often only encourage players’ egos.

Now, most baseball players are good people who are ever thankful for the opportunity to get paid for playing the game they love. My favorite player, Craig Biggio, is paid $3 million a year playing for my hometown Houston Astros, though a future hall of famer like him could make more somewhere else. Many teams have tried to lure Biggio away from the Astros, but he stays because he loves the city and he believes in the team. Unlike the mercenaries that go wherever the money is, Biggio has remained with the Astros throughout his Major League career. This is unheard of in modern sports. He should be in the Hall of Fame for that stat alone.

But, a growing number of players are only concerned about the money. Major League Baseball should be the finest example of this noble game. Instead, it has become perverted. Ballplayers don’t need their own entrance music. They don’t need $25 million a year. It shouldn’t cost $200 for a family of four to go to a ballgame (tickets, parking, concessions).

Look, I’m not asking for much. I just want baseball, without overpaid, egomaniacal players, high ticket prices, or designated hitters.

–J.E. Heath
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