Baseball is driving toward a cliff, and the people with their hands on the wheel are flooring it.
For the first time since 2013, no player on the Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2021 ballot reached the 75% threshold needed for enshrinement.
Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens all fell short, and all have just one more year of eligibility.
It’s safe to say they’re not going to make it, which is crazy in and of itself.
But this is bigger than that.
The Hall of Fame induction, at its core, is for the fans.
It gives the older generation a chance to reminisce, the younger fans a glimpse at the game’s great history, and new fans an opportunity to jump on board.
And, this year, once again, we’ve been robbed of all of that in a time when the game needs it most.
My fondest memories as a kid involved baseball.
I played Little League year round because the weather where I lived [Orlando, Florida] allowed for it.
I was captivated by Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds chasing history.
I didn’t care about PEDs then, and I don’t care now.
It got me to watch.
Forget the World Series…the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game were must watch events every year.
I would watch a random Mets vs. Braves game on a Monday night just because it was on.
Now, it’s part of my job to pay attention, and even that’s hard to do.
I REALLY get excited about the Brewers two days per year: Opening Day and September 1st.
And I don’t think I’m alone.
My generation doesn’t care about your valiant crusade to uphold the integrity of the game…you think the next generation does?
We just want to be entertained.
And, now, we can’t even have that.
Bat flips are chastised. Pimping a homer is cause to get pegged. Juiced baseballs are sacrilege.
One of the game’s brightest young stars had to publicly apologize for hitting a grand slam this past season.
The long and short of it is this: baseball continues to do everything wrong and is whittling away at its own future in the process.
So congratulations to Rob Manfred and the baseball writers for upholding the integrity of a game that nobody will give a damn about real, real soon.
