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| Rich ''Goose'' Gossage inducted into the prestigious ''Monmount Park''. Photo creds to newyork.cbslocal.com |
I am 18 years old. Baseball is my favorite sport. I have loved the sport ever since I was an infant, and nothing has taken place to take away my passion for the game. Sadly for the game that was once ''America's Pastime'', people like me are becoming less and less frequent. There are a few reasons for this. Baseball is a slow game, and my generation tends to have a short attention span. Batters and Pitchers are taking their sweet time to move things along, and that can be a major turnoff to somebody who is not a die-hard. Another reason the game does not appeal to people is Rich ''Goose'' Gossage and those who can't stand the thought of change.
For those who are unfamiliar with Gossage, he is an old timer. A fireballing closer who made 9 All-Star appearances while enjoying a career that spanned 22 seasons with ten different teams (including a stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1977), Gossage has certainly played a large role in the history of the game. The Goose is one of the greatest relievers of all time, finishing his career with 1,502 strikeouts and 310 saves, and in 2008, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, a rarity for a reliever.
Gossage is currently in Tampa, Florida at the New York Yankees spring camp, as The Goose wore the pinstripes from 1978-1983. On Thursday, he let use all know how he feels about the state of Major League Baseball.
In case you're not up for searching the web, here are some highlights of the interview:
''Jose Bautista is an f-----g disgrace to the game. ''He's embarrassing to all the Latin players, whoever played before him. Throwing his bat and acting like a fool, like all those guys in Toronto.''
''The game is becoming a freaking joke because of the nerds who are running it. I'll tell you what has happened, these guys played Rotisserie (fantasy) baseball at Harvard or wherever the f--- the went and they thought they figured the f---ing game out. They don't know s---.''
''A bunch of f---ing nerds running the game. You can't slide into second base. You can't take out the f---ing catcher because (Buster) Posey was in the wrong position and they are going to change all the rules. You can't pitch inside anymore. I'd like to knock some of these f---ers on their ass and see how they would do against pitchers in the old days.''
In addition to these quotes, Gossage ripped Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun for his use of PED's, as well as Brewers fans who continue to cheer Braun, along with pitchers who ask about their pitch count. A lot of people are offend by what Gossage had to say, and although he had some good points in his rant, everything he said sounded like words from a cranky old man. To put into perspective here is where Gossage was right, and wrong.
Wrong
- Calling Bautista a ''disgrace to the game'' was extremely inaccurate and uncalled for, but the worst part in my mind was how he said he was an embarrassment to the Latin players before them. Did Roberto Clemente frown from the heavens when Bautista aggressively flipped his bat in the ALDS last year? Did Orlando Cepeda and Fernando Valenzuela go on any rants about it? Is Sammy Sosa ashamed to be a Latin American as a result of Bautista being amped up about a series clinching home run? I have my doubts about all of that.
- Back to the disgrace to the game thing, Gossage was way out of bounds. Jose Bautista is a fantastic baseball player and a good role model for Latin Americas, not to mention the fact that he played a significant role in turning an entire country on to the national pastime this fall. But I guess all of that can be overlooked because of his enthusiasm for the game.
- Gossage has good reason to possess a disdainful attitude towards Braun, but how should he expect Brewers fans to react? When the best player on the hometown team comes to bat, of course the home fans should be expected to cheer. Goose should also remember that Braun has been booed very loudly in every other stadium he's played.
- Yes, the analytical ''nerds'' who are having more and more of an impact on the game can possess a know-it-all attitude and sometimes wrongly believe that stats tell the whole story, but one can't deny the effects that saber metrics have had on the game of baseball. Ask any Oakland A's fan.
Right
- Ryan Braun is a jerk
- Aside from his unnecessarily colorful language, Gossage hit the nail right on the head when expressing his displeasure with the ''Posey Rule''. There is no reason that plays at the plate should not be legal, and sliding hard into second base, when done right, should be part of the game.
- The pitch count is a bigger deal than it should be. A pitcher is out of gas when he is out of gas and should worry about doing his job first.
It is clear from his rant that Gossage is a proponent of old school baseball, which is understandable, since he's, well, old. But people who think like Gossage does in that they are adamantly against the game evolving with the times are a big reason young fans are pushed away. Unlike Football and Basketball, the men who run Baseball are very skeptical of the idea of any change to the game. ''It's always been this way, and will always be this way'' has often seemed to be the attitude of the powers that be as well as old time baseball players. Meanwhile, young fans are pushing the game to the side while watching other sports that can better suit their pleasures.
Furthermore, there are plenty of current players that seem to be advocates of the idea of no emotion in the game. One of them is David Price of the Boston Red Sox. In 2013 while Price was with the Tampa Bay Rays, he hammered by his future Boston teammate, David Ortiz, for two home runs in Game 2 of the ALDS. After Ortiz had committed the deadly sin of stopping to look at the baseball after crushing his second home run, Price let us all know how he felt after the game, saying that Papi should run when he knows the ball is fair. Another example from the 2013 playoffs took place during the NLCS between the St. Louis Cardinals and LA Dodgers, in which several Cardinals players, including Adam Wainwright, criticized the Dodgers for their on-field celebrations, with Wainwright referring it as ''Micky Mouse stuff''. One of the most absurd examples of players overacting to other players' energy happened on Easter Sunday of the 2014 season, and it involved my Pittsburgh Pirates. The video is pretty self-explanatory, but it does not fully explain how the fight started.
As can be seen in the video, Carlos Gomez of the Brewers watched the ball he had just crushed a little longer than Gerrit Cole would have liked, and Cole harshly told him his objections. While it is evident that Gomez overreacted to the situation, the whole thing would have been avoided if Cole had just kept his mouth shut. This is the mindset that people like Gossage want today's players to have, and it does nothing to help the game. Bryce Harper, on the other hand, has a clue.
The Washington Nationals superstar was not safe from the Goose's wrath, as Gossage said, among other things, that Harper ''has no respect for the game.'' In an interview with ESPN the Magazine, Harper announced that he wants to hel[ change the game of baseball. He stated:
"Baseball is a tired sport because you can't express yourself. You can't do what people in other sports can do.
He went on to talk about how baseball's biggest stars don't get endorsements the way the athletes in other sports are. "Endorsements, fashion, it's something baseball doesn't see. In Soccer, it's Beckham or Ronaldo. In Football, it's Cam (Newton). Football and Basketball have such good fashion."
Harper is currently the best baseball player on the planet, and should be very marketable to young fans. He hits the ball far, plays the game hard and, at the age of 23, still has yet to peak. He has the look of a superstar, as his eye-black has become his trademark. But for some reason, Harper does not receive 1/2 of the amount of hype and respect from the media as does NBA superstar, LeBron James.
Harper is James on a baseball diamond. Like James, Harper was receiving considerable media attention before his 18th birthday. Like James, Harper was drafted with the #1 overall pick with the hopes of bringing a franchise to respectability. Like James, Harper won the Rookie of the Year award in his first season, and like James, Harper dominates the game he plays.
But the difference between Harper and Lebron's popularity and notoriety is as simple as the difference between the two sports that they play. Professional basketball is everywhere. Players are in commercials, on billboards, and talked about constantly on Sports Center. While reading this, I would like my readers to ask themselves how many ads they have seen lately starring professional baseball players?
A lot of this has to do with the media. ESPN, "The Worldwide Leader In Sports", is all over the NFL and NBA, regardless of whether or not those sports are in season. Baseball, on the other hand, can only get coverage from April-October. The more time the media spends beating things like "Deflategate" into the ground or covering Kobe Bryant's last appearance in *insert city here*, the fewer stars like Harper, Andrew McCutchen, and Mike Trout will be exposed. As alarming as anything are the fact that the two best soccer players in the world, Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo, are perhaps more recognizable in America than Harper is, in spite of the fact that those two play all the way in Spain.
Furthermore, there are plenty of current players that seem to be advocates of the idea of no emotion in the game. One of them is David Price of the Boston Red Sox. In 2013 while Price was with the Tampa Bay Rays, he hammered by his future Boston teammate, David Ortiz, for two home runs in Game 2 of the ALDS. After Ortiz had committed the deadly sin of stopping to look at the baseball after crushing his second home run, Price let us all know how he felt after the game, saying that Papi should run when he knows the ball is fair. Another example from the 2013 playoffs took place during the NLCS between the St. Louis Cardinals and LA Dodgers, in which several Cardinals players, including Adam Wainwright, criticized the Dodgers for their on-field celebrations, with Wainwright referring it as ''Micky Mouse stuff''. One of the most absurd examples of players overacting to other players' energy happened on Easter Sunday of the 2014 season, and it involved my Pittsburgh Pirates. The video is pretty self-explanatory, but it does not fully explain how the fight started.
As can be seen in the video, Carlos Gomez of the Brewers watched the ball he had just crushed a little longer than Gerrit Cole would have liked, and Cole harshly told him his objections. While it is evident that Gomez overreacted to the situation, the whole thing would have been avoided if Cole had just kept his mouth shut. This is the mindset that people like Gossage want today's players to have, and it does nothing to help the game. Bryce Harper, on the other hand, has a clue.
The Washington Nationals superstar was not safe from the Goose's wrath, as Gossage said, among other things, that Harper ''has no respect for the game.'' In an interview with ESPN the Magazine, Harper announced that he wants to hel[ change the game of baseball. He stated:
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| Bryce Harper watching on from the dugout. Photo creds to www,chatsports.com |
"Baseball is a tired sport because you can't express yourself. You can't do what people in other sports can do.
He went on to talk about how baseball's biggest stars don't get endorsements the way the athletes in other sports are. "Endorsements, fashion, it's something baseball doesn't see. In Soccer, it's Beckham or Ronaldo. In Football, it's Cam (Newton). Football and Basketball have such good fashion."
Harper is currently the best baseball player on the planet, and should be very marketable to young fans. He hits the ball far, plays the game hard and, at the age of 23, still has yet to peak. He has the look of a superstar, as his eye-black has become his trademark. But for some reason, Harper does not receive 1/2 of the amount of hype and respect from the media as does NBA superstar, LeBron James.
Harper is James on a baseball diamond. Like James, Harper was receiving considerable media attention before his 18th birthday. Like James, Harper was drafted with the #1 overall pick with the hopes of bringing a franchise to respectability. Like James, Harper won the Rookie of the Year award in his first season, and like James, Harper dominates the game he plays.
But the difference between Harper and Lebron's popularity and notoriety is as simple as the difference between the two sports that they play. Professional basketball is everywhere. Players are in commercials, on billboards, and talked about constantly on Sports Center. While reading this, I would like my readers to ask themselves how many ads they have seen lately starring professional baseball players?
A lot of this has to do with the media. ESPN, "The Worldwide Leader In Sports", is all over the NFL and NBA, regardless of whether or not those sports are in season. Baseball, on the other hand, can only get coverage from April-October. The more time the media spends beating things like "Deflategate" into the ground or covering Kobe Bryant's last appearance in *insert city here*, the fewer stars like Harper, Andrew McCutchen, and Mike Trout will be exposed. As alarming as anything are the fact that the two best soccer players in the world, Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo, are perhaps more recognizable in America than Harper is, in spite of the fact that those two play all the way in Spain.
Not everybody aggred with what the 2015 NL MVP had to say. San Fransico Giants reliever, Sergio Romo, did not hold back his opinion on Harper's view, stating:
"Don't put your foot in your mouth when you are the face of the game l. I'm sorry, but just shut up."
Romo is another example of a current player with a old school mentality. Not fun allowed. Just imagine how Romo would have reacted if Harper emulated Gossage's use of language in his interview?
But a bigger reason that baseball is struggling to draw in young fans is that the game refuses to change, and there are too many people like Gossage, who don't want the game to adapt, who influence the lack of change taking place. Not only is Jose Bautista's bat-flipping not a disgrace to the game, but we need more of it.
Fans love when players get hyped. They love it. When Antonio Brown jumps into a goalpost after scoring for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they love it. Whenever former Baltimore Raven Ray Lewis did his iconic pregame entrance dance, they loved it. When the Monmouth Basketball team's bench does all kinds of zany celebrations when the team success, they love it. And when Jose Bautista blasted a 3-run homer off of Texas Rangers reliever Sam Dyson and reacted by viciously flipping his bat, they loved it. But don't take my word for it. Here is what Twitter, the ultimate site for the common man, had to say.
''Bryce Harper is spot on about Baseball. The Jose Bautista Bat Flip was best thing to happen to the sport in years. Needs more fun.''
- Mike
''Jose Bautista's bat flip made EVERYONE talk about baseball for a day or two''
- Hindi
''Jose Bautista's bat flip was one of the most exciting baseball moments in the past few years''
- Alec
''To this day, Jose Bautista's bat flip gives me the chills
- Jamall
The fans have spoken. They loved Bautista's bat flip. The want emotion. They want baseball players to have the same swagger that Football and Basketball players do. I am an MLB loyalist, and will love the game regardless of who it appeals to, but the numbers are showing that I am becoming more of a rarity. In 2014, the average age of people who viewed the World Series was 55 years young, and ratings for the Fall Classic were trumped by AMC's The Walking Dead. There is nothing wrong with older folks loving baseball. They grew up with the sport, and many of them know more about the game than any of us teens have forgotten (aside from me). But I'm sure plenty of those folks can understand that they game needs a fresher fan-base. Football and Basketball players have swag. They have charisma. They express themselves. But baseball players must not do the same. Young people must continue to be driven away to other, fresher sports. The game must not adapt with the times the way the NFL did in 1978 with their offensive friendly rule changes or the way the NBA did in the 90s when officials started calling any man who breathed on Michael Jordan for a foul. Baseball must stay the same forever, and the players must casually jog around the bases no matter what they accomplish or what they feel when they accomplish it because passion is ''a disgrace to the game''. Right, Goose?
If things don't become a little more lively at the old ball yard, my kids might not love baseball. They might be busy basking in the greatness of the Football and Basketball stars of the future. It's up to commissioner Rob Manferd and co. to decide weather or not they would be OK with that. I wonder if Rich Gossage is ok with it.
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