August 28, 2002 [LINK]
[Midwest baseball stadium tour]
While on vacation in the Midwest recently, I took the opportunity to see baseball stadiums in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Cincinnati. In the latter two cities I also stopped at the locations where, respectively, Municipal Stadium and Crosley Field once stood. In Kansas City I took a tour of Kaufmann Stadium and walked through the visiting team's ultra-plush locker room/hospitality suite only one day after the Yankees played there. In Cincinnati, the Reds' "Great American Ballpark" is nearing completion, and I took a few pictures that will be featured on this Web site in the future.
During my vacation, the dreaded possibility of a strike by the players association became much more likely; tomorrow (August 29) may be the last game this season. At issue: The owners originally proposed to put a 50% "tax" on payrolls that exceed $100 million, and the players countered with a proposed tax of 10% on payrolls in excess of $137 million, rising to 25% and 35% in subsequent years, after which the "tax" would expire. Such a tax, plus an increase in advertising revenue sharing, is absolutely essential is the sport is to retain a semblance of genuine competition between big-market and small-market teams. Yet instead of trying to narrow their differences with the owners, the players (or the union lawyers who represent them) have engaged in harsh rhetoric, holding out for the best deal they can get. It is obvious that the players, by and large, are oblivious to the fans' growing resentment of their stratospheric salaries; they just don't get it. Pampered like French poodles, they seem perfectly content to inflict a mortal wound on the National Pastime, thereby committing mass suicide. For their part, the owners have no higher moral standing, but their push for "leveling the playing field" is long overdue. The stupidity of letting the situation get to this point is unfortunately indicative of professional baseball in general today. How else could one explain its avoidance of Washington, D.C., one of the nation's top ten media markets? Even if reason somehow prevails at the last minute, I personally think Donald Fehr and Bud Selig should be permanently banished from baseball for their craven small-mindedness. Baseball needs LEADERS who will step up to the plate! Do your part and express your views through the http://www.TakeBackBaseball.com Web site.
It may not matter, but the American League west race has become red hot, with Anaheim, Oakland, and Seattle locked in a virtual tie. Sadly, the Red Sox are lagging further and further behind the Yankees, while Atlanta and Arizona keep winning and winning and winning...