:: Life on Planet Dan-E ::

:: Monday, April 21, 2003 ::

This is for fellow baseball fans out there who are following the very interesting start to this latest season. What the hell is going on?! Future Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux gets rocked in his first three starts and has an ERA of 11.05. He's so bad even other pitchers are homering off him. Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling have both lost their first five starts. Division bottom dwellers Kansas City is 3.5 games ahead of the the number two team in that same division. Career .307 homerun slugger Jason Giambi's batting average is perilously close to the Mendoza line. The Diamondbacks, only a year removed from winning the World Series is already nine game out of first and tied with perennial losers San Diego Padres. Just Crazy. Imagine something almost as odd as, say, the Lakers starting out the season eight games under .500.

I heard about the controversy last weekend between actor Tim Robbins and Baseball Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey. Mr. Petroskey canceled a "Bull Durham" anniversary screening (which would have featured an appearance by Robbins and Susan Sarandon) due to the anti-war views of its co-stars. Robbins responded sarcastically saying he didn't realize baseball was a "republican sport."

Which made me think. Is baseball a republican sport? Or does it lean more towards the left? There's evidence to support either thought:

Despite (or perhaps because of?) coming from very humble backgrounds many baseball players -- through hard work, dedication, and perseverance -- enjoy very successful careers and often end up multi-millionaires. Very republican.

Out of all professional sports, baseball is the most internationally diverse with players of African, Latin (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, etc), Asian (Japan, Korea, etc.), as well as Caucasian backgrounds. Very democrat.

Its players work through a hierarchy-based system which rewards seniority, loyalty, and output. The longer you play, the more hours of practice you put in, the greater your production, the higher the rewards. Republican ideology.

Minority baseball players, especially foreign, are often scouted more aggressively than American players - despite some having questionable documentation - since some international leagues can produce superior athletes. Democratic practice.

Baseball teams are mostly owned by old, stodgy, millionaire white guys who run their respective teams like a corporation and often use revenue to line their own pockets instead of distributing the wealth out to the players who do the actual dirty work. Quintessential republican.

Not only do most baseball teams have some switch-hitters on their rosters, most players constantly grabbing... or rather, "adjusting"... themselves, patting other male teammates on the butt, and execute plays called a "squeeze" or a "pop fly." Democrats all the way.

Ya know, I could probably come up with many more examples to support either side but I'm tired so I'm calling it a draw.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 5:15 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
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