Baseball Will Never Be The Same

Most of us remember the "innocence" of our childhood. Well, a lot of it wasn’t so innocent but at least we didn’t yet know about all the problems of the world and we weren’t yet old enough to get into certain kinds of trouble. Especially the kind of trouble that young people can easily get into today.

More than any other sport, baseball represented the more innocent days of our lives and for our nation. Many of us might long for those type of days to return, but sadly, they will not.

At some point this year or next year or next decade, teams will again take the field either in front of fans or without fans or in front of cardboard cutouts or robots or something. Pitchers will throw baseballs and batters will try to hit them.

But the game, the sport of baseball will never be the same as it once was. Owners seem hell-bent on exerting their will on the economics of the sport, and to remind players that they are just hired help that can be replaced. Many Owners are still mad about the Curt Flood Decision and other developments that strengthened the players’ position and that of the Players Union.

The Players and the Union are getting more and more bold in pushing back and trying to have a greater say over how the game is played ("No Pitch Clock!?") and getting even more of the financial pie than they are already getting. The racial tensions out in the world are already playing out in the NBA world, and are bound to show up in baseball as well. Kneeling on the ball field during the national anthem? Some other show of racial or call for reform statement?

Right now, billionaire Owners are going to cry poverty as they are losing money on the lack of playing baseball. Players are frustrated at not playing and are concerned about jeopardizing their health with the damn virus still around. They don’t relish the idea of playing before no fans for lesser amounts of pay and risking their health.

Both sides are going to harbor hard feelings against each other. The next collective bargaining agreement negotiations are going to be more nasty that some of the nasty ones that came before. Hard feelings are going to remain for many years to come.

And fans? We’re watching all this and seeing the game we grew up loving being dragged into the mud by two clueless sides of millionaires and billionaires. Many young people don’t watch or care about baseball. And older fans are getting turned off by seeing what used to be a fun part of life being turned into arguments and stalemates and warfare.

Whatever happens during and after the 2020 season, the game of baseball will never be the same.

Somebody, call in and report a Grand Theft. The theft of our game of baseball and the fun it used to bring with it.