Gordon Wittenmyer wrote
an interesting column in yesterday’s Sun-Times.
According to Wittenmyer, MLB players can see “power shifting towards
baseball’s owners,” and players like the Cubs’ Kris Bryant “are ready to start
fighting back.” In which case, I’m
reminded of the African proverb that holds, when two elephants fight, only the
grass suffers.
Wittenmyer, like
sportswriters from the time of Marvin Miller at his most militant, cast this as
a two-way fight, and, just like his predecessors, sympathized with players who
simply want “their fair share.” Oh,
please. I’ll start sympathizing with
players as soon as they stop hiring agents like Scott Boras.
And enough of this
notion that, “Players aren’t simply labor like [in] other businesses; they are
the product.” What Wittenmyer fails to
see is the product has no value without a customer base in the form of fans who
either watch at the ballpark, in front of their televisions or some other
screen. No fans, no ratings, no
merchandizing and broadcast deals, no golden goose. This fan, for one, is tired of being taken
for granted.
Both owners and players
have too much money, a portion of which should be used to subsidize ticket
prices, season’s tickets excluded. You
know that old joke about the $10,000 hot dog?
Well, sometime soon they’re going to start selling them at a ballpark
near you. Yes, the game is rolling in
dough. So, then why do owners keep gouging
fans, and why do players keep quiet about it?
They want me to care about them? Well,
it works two ways, guys.
A strike in protest of
possible collusion by owners to control the free-agent market and over other
issues affecting players’ salaries? Go
ahead, but don’t expect me to side with anyone but myself.
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