Charles Krauthammer says should MLB players strike again, he ain’t coming back to the game this time. As a baseball nut (and an addicted fantasy leaguer), I’m not sure I could stay away — though another strike would go a long way toward pushing me toward permanent withdrawal.
Writes Krauthammer:
The players have it made. And they’re ready to strike to keep it that way. They think that the fans will let them get away with it. Again. ‘It’s entertainment,’ said Bonds. ‘It will come back. A lot of companies go on strike, not just baseball. And people still ride the bus.’
But baseball is not just any company. People don’t root for Intel or Sunkist Raisins. One more strike and people will be rudely confronted with the utter silliness of caring one way or the other about Barry Bonds Inc.
The players don’t seem to understand that they have peculiar skills of limited marketability. Throwing a ball 95 mph has few industrial applications. If the players betray us again, it will be gratifying to see pitchers who might have made $5 million a year pumping gas at the local Exxon.
Bonds was asked whether he felt fans could empathize with players who are making an average of $2.4 million. ‘It’s not my fault you don’t play baseball.’ Bonds said. It won’t be ours if you don’t either, Bud.
And there you have it, ladies and gents. Barry Bonds. Sticking it to the Man since 1986.
Why I Love PGA Golf: Reason 2365.
I hang my Giants-capped head in shame.
You think Tony could post a dialogue with Mr. Bonds (and, while he’s at it, have him get the scoop on the whole Kent v. Bonds thing)? Mr. Bonds may not be as accessible as Miller Park, though.
Yeah, except, unenchanting though he may be, Barry’s right. The fans will come back. They always do. The owners shut the game down the last time. Now it’s the players’s turn. There’s nothing sacred about baseball, George Will and The Hammer notwithstanding – it’s no more holy than stock car racing or pro wrestling. The owners have always treated it as a business. They – and the fans – shouldn’t be surprised that now the players do as well.