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Baseball strike
"If Major League Baseball players strike this season, when they come back to the game, will you still support them by watching them on TV and going to the ballpark?"
Following are samples of comments
received from this week's poll; to ensure people's privacy the comments
have been posted anonymously.
"No, I would not support them, Baseball
today isn't like it was when Y0gee Bear,
Ted Williams,Mickey Mantel, Babe Ruth,
Brooks Robinson,those were men who
didn"t play for only money,which wasn't
nowhere compared to todays outragious
salarys, they played more & better
because their heart was all about
baseball, not How much they could get
payed. They are the true meaning of
what used to be an all American
pastime, and they had great pride in
having the privelage of playing the
game, now it's a business not a game."
"A Plea for Help!
Since September 11, 2001, Americans
have come together as never before in
our generation. We have banded
together to overcome tremendous
adversity. We have weathered direct
attacks on our own soil, wars
overseas, corporate scandal, layoffs,
unemployment, stock price plunges,
droughts, fires, and a myriad of
economic and physical disasters both
great and small. But now, we must come
together once again to overcome our
greatest challenge yet.
Hundreds of Major League Baseball
players in our very own nation are
living at, just below, or in most
cases far above the seven-figure
salary level. And as if that weren't
bad enough they could be deprived of
their life giving pay for several
months, possibly longer, as a result
of the upcoming strike situation.
But you can help!
For only $20,835 a month, about
$694.50 a day (that's less than the
cost of a large screen projection TV)
you can help a MLB player remain
economically viable during his time of
need. This contribution by no means
solves the problem as it barely covers
the annual minimum salary, but it's a
start, and every little bit will help!
Although $700 may not seem like a lot
of money to you, to a baseball player
it could mean the difference between
spending the strike golfing in Florida
or on a Mediterranean cruise. For you,
seven hundred dollars
is nothing more than a month's rent,
half a mortgage payment, or a month of
medical insurance, but to a baseball
player, $700 will partially replace
his daily salary. Your commitment of
less than $700 a day will enable a
player to buy that home entertainment
center, trade in the year-old Lexus
for a new Ferrari,
or enjoy a weekend in Rio.
HOW WILL I KNOW I'M HELPING? Each month, you will receive a complete financial report on the player you sponsor. Detailed information about his stocks, bonds, 401(k), real estate, and other investment holdings will be mailed to your home. Plus, upon signing up for this program, you will receive an unsigned photo of the player lounging during the strike on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean (for a signed photo, please include an additional $150). Put the photo on your refrigerator to remind you of other peoples' suffering. HOW WILL HE KNOW I'M HELPING? Your MLB player will be told that he has a SPECIAL FRIEND who just wants to help in a time of need. Although the player won't know your name, he will be able to make collect calls to your home via a special operator in case additional funds are needed for unforeseen expenses. YES, I WANT TO HELP! I would like to sponsor a striking MLB player. My preference is checked below:
[ ] Outfielder [ ] Starting Pitcher [ ] Ace Pitcher [ ] Entire team (Please call our 900 number to ask for the cost of a specific team - $10 per minute) [ ] Alex Rodriguez (Higher cost: $60,000 per day) Account Number: ___________ Exp.Date:_______ [ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Discover Signature: ____________ Alternate card (when the primary card exceeds its credit limit): Account Number: __________ Exp.Date:_______ [ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Discover Signature: _________ Mail completed form to MLB Players Union or call 1-900-@%*&-THE-FANS now to enroll by phone ($10 per minute). Disclaimer: Sponsors are not permitted to contact the player they have sponsored, either in person or by other means including, but not limited to, telephone calls, letters, e-mail, or third parties. Contributions are not tax-deductible." "I didn't support them before and WILL NOT support them now or ever. Safeco field should be demolished." "This just illustrates how our tax money was wasted building the new stadium." "Having grown up playing America's Pastime, having followed it through my adult life and even coming back after the last disaterous strike, I can no longer have any sympathy for the players who, on an average, make over $2 million a year, or the owers who obviously are making the national debt every year to be able to stupidly pay these overpriced ( and say it right) athletes. Baseball has priced itself out of the market for so many of us out here for so long, and on top of it they want more, so who cares if they do come back or not. Maybe if they didn't play for a couple of years people would re- discover that baseball is just what it is- a game." "While I think most people are sincere about not supporting baseball if they strike. I have to believe that once the players come back so will the fans... eventually, and the players and owners know that. Fans complain abot the high salaries but still fall short of really showing how serious they are by not supporting baseball where it really counts. In the stands, on television, and more importantly through merchandising. It would seem that we are a society that tends to forget very easily and ratonalize our behavior using numerous avenues like "its for the kids" well if it is for the kids why not put more emphasis into "kids" program and instead of fillig them with hotdogs and pretzels, why not fil them with better schools and recreational programs. if you want to spend quality time then why not go to the beach, a park, or take a camping trip. it would definetly be more rewarding that trying to get an autograph from some guy who won't remember you five minutes after he scribble something on a piece of paer that is supposed to be of value. I for one get tired of any athlete complaing about their status and yes I do realize that it is more than just money but the bottom line is that we have put the athlete above too many things and if are really going to show or kids one thing.. it should be about priorities!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "I like the way the Marniers say "thank you" for building them a new stadium. $500 million dollars later they give the taxpayer the shaft! That money could have given every teacher in Washington a $10k raise with scholarships to in state college for most graduating students. Thanks you cry baby millionaires." "Having grown up playing America's Pastime, having followed it through my adult life and even coming back after the last disaterous strike, I can no longer have any sympathy for the players who, on an average, make over $2 million a year, or the owers who obviously are making the national debt every year to be able to stupidly pay these overpriced ( and say it right) athletes. Baseball has priced itself out of the market for so many of us out here for so long, and on top of it they want more, so who cares if they do come back or not. Maybe if they didn't play for a couple of years people would re- discover that baseball is just what it is- a game." "IF THEY STRIKE-I BOYCOTT GAMES, TV, PRINT MEDIA, AND SPONSORS" "What's the point of supporting professional sports anymore? For that matter what's the point of supporting anything anymore? It is so rare to see anyone that does anything for the genuine love of it. Everyone is purely greed motivated nowadays. I suppose it was inevitable that America's "National Pastime" eventually got to this point. About 10 years ago I pretty much stopped following professional football. 7 years ago I stopped following professional basketball. The main reasons being; greed, ego, lack of competitiveness/parity, inaccessibility (TV blackouts/astronomical prices). Sombody else made the comment that professional sports is all a big act, which I believe is right on the mark. If I want to see actors I'll go catch a motion picture. I've held out a long time for baseball, foolishly hoping that it would mend itself. I should have seen the writing on the wall after the 1997 season, when Wayne Huizenga bought a "World Champion" team in Florida and then systematically dismantled it the following year. It's all about the $$! Take the stadium luxury suites, the $6 domestic beers, the completely lackluster WASP male-dominated crowds and shove 'em. I'm gonna start following the World Wrestling Federation, which is ultimately what our major professional sports have all become. Isn't that something... p.s. NO WAR WITH IRAQ!!" "The ____ if I will continue to watch MLB. What a crock. More money, more money more money? I would rather spend money going to a baseball game with average players playing for a few hundred thousand dollars than millions. New faces all the time, not the same old faces who want more and more money every year. Give me a break. How about deducting money from there paycheck for everytime they strike out, fly out, drop a ball, ground out etc. If you are as good as you say you are and expect to be paid as much as you do, then you should be flawless. No mistakes, no errors, etc." "I'll watch them on TV but I will never step foot in the ballpark." "A lot of people have their priorities mixed up. While we have teachers fighting to get decent salaries so they can hopefully buy a house or pay rent, we have a bunch of whining baseball players and owners wanting to add more zeros to their already exuberant salaries. When they (baseball players and owners) wanted a new stadium, hardly a shrug went into supporting them, but our teachers struggle to get the funding they need to support their own families. Furthermore, our schools are also suffering, in the forms of low- quality teaching aids, computers, etc. Some of the players don't even live in this state to support the state's taxes which go towards things like teachers' salaries and schools. I am a baseball fan, but if I had to choose, I would put all my baseball-fan money into supporting our teachers." "I stopped watching baseball when Curt Flood turned baseball into a money market. I saw it coming and lost interest in the game because I could see that loyalty was going to swith from the team to the dollar. I started watching again in August 1995 when the Marinersstarted the most electrifying charge to the playoffs I had ever heard of. I thought that I could overlook the greed but I guess I was wrong. i can't and so I have once again lost interest, probably for the rest of my life. I loved baseball as a kid and so, for the pre Curt Flood era; thanks for the memories, as for after; bitter disappointment." "If these players cant live on there salarys they make now then whats another few more million going to help." "I am still fuming over the last strike, but I do love baseball in a fantastic park like Safeco. Baseball as a whole has made some major mistakes in the last few years and striking now will just infuriate the fans and maybe be the "straw the breaks the back." I for one am tired of paying $5.25 for a hotdog and $3.50 for a soda and will not pay anymore just to fiance higher salaries when they are too high already. Plus, to compare teachers striking versus baseball players is like comparing apples and oranges, no comparison." "I already don't support professional sports, which I consider sets a very bad example for young people. These are not real games, they are performances by overpaid actors pretending to play games, primarily to support television advertising. The enormous energy put into professional sports - playing and watching - is obviously not available for other purposes, such as family life, civic involvement, or productive community enterprises. If sports teams were truly local and non-professional - actually made up of men and women from our town playing men and women from other towns for the love of the game, I would support them." "The strike? Ball players already make too much money. So do owners, advertisers, sponsors, and everybody else connected with professional "sport"." "While I fully support any organized labor group's right to strike under current law, the idea that people who make as much as even the minimum pay for a professional player would strike is ludicrous. These players make more in one day than many average Americans make in a month - what one earth do they have to protest about? Earning caps? Welcome to the real world, boys!" "52% of people in this stated voted against building a new playfield for milionaires. What's next? New golf courses for doctors or they will move out of town? Corporate welfare at it's best!" "millionaires versus the billionaires, Who can fleece the most out of the taxpayer?" "Yes, MLB is a business -- that's the point and the problem. Treat the professional "sports" franchises like any other business when you're disgusted with it: vote with your feet. Instead, support your local high school teams -- you'll see exciting play, passionate enthusiasm, and all for the price of a "major league" ballpark hotdog! Let MLB go the way of the DeLorean car: overpriced history." "Having been a minor league ball player. I have seen this issue from both sides. As a player at that level you realize quickly that baseball is not the little backyard game you played as a kid. You are now in the world of big business, and it is now a job. I can't think of anyone out there with a special skill or talent who would turn down a huge salary if your employer was willing to pay it. If your employer was making alot of money off your special skill or talent would you not want a piece of the pie. Would you want your employer to exploit you for his own gain at your expense, I for one would not. While I understand how people can feel that baseball players are a bunch of overpaid cry babies, we need to realize this is their job and career. If they strike, they are no different then any other employee group who goes on strike to support their best interest. Should we stop sending our kids to school if the teachers strike again. What about boeing, stop flying! We all want what is best for us and baseball players are no different. IT'S BUISNESS!! PLAY BALL!" "I'm still angry that Seattle is paying for the new baseball playpen when we can't afford to provide public restrooms for our tourists, healthcare for our old and ailing citizens, and our parks/pools are threatened. Seattle really needs to get her priorities straight! The rich can take care of themselves, the public coffers should be taking care of those who actually need help." "I think they are all a bunch of overpaid cry babies. How many of the people who go see them will ever make the kind of money these guys make. I don't care if they have careers that are short, maybe if they had better money management skills and didn't drive 75k cars and live in million $$ homes the money they make would last them longer. If they do strike, how many people besides the players/managers/owners will be effected? And one more thing weren't we all told that if we didn't build them a new stadium they would leave.....I think they got what they wanted...humm maybe they should be fined by the people who support them........make them pay for there own home, don't we all have to pay for our homes. My feelings, Don't let the door hit you in the rear as you leave, but please leave!" "I hope that if baseball players go on strike that people will not support them, they are already overpaid, they need to start thinking about the fan, They also should know that they won't recover like they did the last time they went on strike, there won't be another Big MAC and Sosa homerun race, they will be lucky to sell out a single game if they go on strike, I know I won't go." "I voted against the baseball stadium. I'll never go to a game regardless of any strike." Updated: Aug. 30, 2002 |
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