Most Baseball Players Just Don’t Get It
When the New York Mets blew the season last month, many fans were upset, though not surprised, that it happened. The Mets hadn’t played well and, often, appeared as if they were mailing it in. Fans, however, became extremely angry when Tom Glavine decided to add his views on the matter.
After a dismal September and his last, horrible outing, lasting only one-third of an inning, Glavine is the last person the fans wanted to hear from when the Mets started making excuses. Claiming that it was “just a game” and “there’s always next year” is a gigantic kick in the teeth to fans who live and die with their teams.
While believing that this was an isolate incident from a nearly-has-been, Manny Ramirez also stepped into the fray. Manny, it seems, also believes that it’s no big deal if his team makes the playoffs or World Series or not because, well, it’s just a game.
My anger over Glavine’s comments had only started to subside when Manny decided to open his mouth. Myself, and many other fans, were angry that these grown men, who get paid millions of dollars a year to, essentially, play a child’s game dared to say they didn’t care about their jobs.
What happened to the ballplayers who didn’t care what they got paid and played for the love of the game? Where are all the players that love the game and get mad when they lose?
Yes, I was angry. I was pissed. I was in a mood to never watch baseball again. Then, I read a story about Shawn Green. He’s pissed too. He’s having a hard time coming to terms with the Mets’ collapse. He’s disappointed that his team ended up with the third worst collapse in baseball history. His team was supposed to be in the playoffs. He knows that he’s in the twilight of his career, yet he still plays the game hard. He still takes every loss personally. Why can’t we have more players with that much heart, playing every day as if it’s their last, not willing to accept defeat, and continuing to walk out onto the field each day with wanting to win being their only desire?
