Jack Piatt
Daily Egyptian
Once again in the wonderful world of baseball, we find ourselves as fans preparing for another possible strike.
At this point in my life, I honestly don't care what the issues are or which side finally gets what they want. It doesn't matter because the sport of baseball is supposed to be about the fans, but the fans aren't getting anything out of this deal.
Money, of course, is the usual suspect in this controversy that involves capitalistic owners and corporations that are having trouble feeding their hungry overpriced players who forgot a long time ago what they did for a living anyway.
I love baseball. America loves baseball, so much that it adopted the sport as its national pastime.
Once upon a time in a ballpark not so far away, there were players who laced up their cleats with a pounding in their chest, an overwhelming anticipation of trotting gallantly onto an empty field to play the game they loved.
Where is the love now?
Kevin Costner had the love for the game in a few of his films.
Where is the pride and appreciation for the game, its players and the fans.
I will never forget playing little league baseball as a kid, knowing my family was watching me out there ... way out there in left field. It seemed so big back then.
I remember the rush of pride I felt when I slugged one past the infield and ran my heart out hoping to get to second base. All the baseball cards I collected as a kid left me daydreaming about playing in the big leagues one day.
The first time I ever set foot into a Major League Baseball stadium, my eyes had to adjust to take it all in.
There I stood in the nosebleed section at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, completely captivated by the whole scene.
The grass was tropical green, and the stadium was so massive I felt like an ant under the feet of the bustling world above.
The players down there were real and they loved the game, and I would never believe anything different.
Now, I don't know what I believe.
I want to believe that every player in the Major Leagues would play for free if they had to, but come on ... obviously that isn't the case.
They won't even take a pay cut. Playing for free is a joke.
I am not taking sides with the owners; They are the root of the problem in my eyes.
If they didn't pay outrageous salaries in the first place, the players wouldn't be so spoiled on salaries that should be paid to people who are out there saving lives everyday, not just entertaining people by playing a sport they would play for fun anyway.
I know people who would pay to play the game of baseball in front of a huge crowd. To just one time feel the eyes of the fans upon them rooting them to victory.
In a way, I can't blame the players for fighting for money that has been promised to them. Once someone has become accustomed to a certain way of life, it is hard to change.
All of these players at one point experienced a period in their life of climbing to where they are now.
They all started playing for different reasons, but if I had to guess, I would say they all began playing baseball because they loved to put the bat to the ball and the feel of a leather glove on their hand.
A great friend of mine, Jon Lewis, has always made me understand that love for the game is the only thing there is when the lights go out on the field. I don't know another person who loves baseball more than Jon. He loves everything about the game and gives back to the game by coaching baseball teams and helping young players learn to first and foremost love the game and have fun playing it.
When I met Jon in the military at Ft. Bragg, N.C., we became friends immediately, and we spent much of our free time playing baseball.
Jon wanted to play baseball so bad it oozed off of him.
I could call him up at midnight and ask him to go play and we would head up to field and flip on the lights. He would chase down balls in the outfield for hours as I hit them from home plate.
He never quit. He was always ready for one more ball, so we usually quit when I got too tired to hit anymore.
I look at Jon and wish that more professional players could have his heart, that love that revolves purely around the sport and nothing else.
Professional baseball could go on strike forever and never come back, but guys like Jon would still be out there shagging balls down at some old field on the other side of town, because they know where the love is.
Reporter Jack Piatt can be reached at jpiatt@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
