The most unhappy
I am an avid baseball fan and I am distressed. Usually, as the ides of March near, an annual wave of boyish fervor whirls me into a passionate anticipation for the start of another baseball season. This year, however, several stars' attitudes may cause my tidal wave of expectation to crest at a mere ripple.
I am not among those who scream and swear as today's baseball salaries are peaking out at $5 million per year. I stand by the philosophy that if the organization is turning an immense profit, then the players are entitled to their share. If the Boston Red Sox organization nets more than $5 million in a given year (as a result of Roger Clemens), Clemens is entitled to a fair percentage of the revenue he generated. What I am against is the petty, immature griping and sulking during spring training.
Let us examine Rickey Henderson, for example. Henderson is unhappy because he is the Most Valuable Player but does not have the most valuable contract. He believes the Oakland Athletics should renegotiate his contract (which does not expire for two more seasons) and pay him what he deserves.
If I recall, Henderson was all smiles while signing a certain $3 million-per-year contract. Now, he demands more. In mid-contract, he says he "deserves" more money. This is preposterous! A personal hunch tells me that Henderson would be slightly reluctant to accept a pay cut in a situation where his batting average may have slipped to .270. Would it be proper for the A's to delay his invitation to spring training until he accepted a pay cut for a year in which he declined? This sounds ridiculous. Practically unheard of. Is it an understatement to assume that Henderson would be upset? Therefore, I ask you: Doesn't the opposite also seem absurd?
If you have already signed a contract, you are obligated to complete its terms as specified. Major-league baseball teams do not attempt to re-negotiate players' salaries during mid-contract. What gives players the right to do this? Mr. Henderson, I'm afraid the union and Mr. Fehr are not on your side because you are wrong. You are all alone on this ignorant stance. Is it necessary and mature to sulk over the fact that a handful of your peers are
making a few dollars more than you?
Mark Biggerman Bel Air
A bad rap
Ten lacrosse players at Washington College have been kicked off the team not because they were intoxicated and broke training rules. There are no defined drinking rules at Washington College. A "socialable" beer or two after a game is acceptable behavior and has been for a long time.
Had they been intoxicated, as they have been charged, it is highly unlikely that the North Carolina state highway patrol would have allowed them to drive the five-hour return trip to Washington. My son, for one, requested a Breathalyzer test for ++ the record. He had nothing to hide.
These 10 players have been disciplined because somebody had to take the rap for a policy that permits socialable drinking after games and allows those same kids to drive vans unsupervised.
It's about time that someone at Washington College accept some of the responsibility for this regrettable scenario.
Miller
7/8
Palmer never left
Jim Palmer hasn't lost anything. Jim Palmer has already established himself as one of the greatest athletes of this century. The grace and poise of that high-kick delivery, filled with serenity, made Jim a beautiful thing to watch on the mound. It was almost worth the price of the ball game just to see him perform. No, Jim Palmer didn't try to come back. He never left.
He will live forever in our memory.
Joseph E. Wicks
Baltimore
5/8 Kristi Yamaguchi, 1991 world figure skating champion, has really been given a hard time by the media. Formerly considered a media darling and technical dynamo, this year (in light of the emergence of the triple axel jumps among the women) she is alleged to have insufficient technical content in her programs. While she has the definite advantage in presentation, musicality and elegance, the media must recognize that she prepared a program containing all triples except the triple axel (for a total of seven), difficult jump combinations, spins, footwork, etc. She had defeated both Jill Trenary and Midori Ito earlier this season and had all the necessary ingredients to claim the 1991 world title regardless of her competitors' triple axel success.
Lauren B. Davis
Randallstown It's been my pleasure to read the letters criticizing John Buren lately in The Sun. I have to agree: The guy is the worst of his profession. He's always in a hurry and at the same time is not funny at all.
Bob McChing Baltimore I'm in favor of the new baseball stadium being named Camden Yard. The name has an old-time, yet unique, sound and it would be interesting to say "Hey, let's go see a game at the
yard!" Babe Ruth Stadium and Oriole Park are too bland and "cookie-cutter" type names and the stadium is not a "cookie-cutter" type building.
If you are tired of high-priced, low-fan games at Memorial Stadium and are tired of the snobby high-priced players, why not go to the two most exciting teams that Maryland has to offer? Frederick and Hagerstown are close-knit, wonderful places to see a ball game and have enough money left to pay the bills!
Mark Johns
Owings Mills
7/8
Bring back seventh man
As I go around talking with fans during Blast games, I'm hearing comments that the players don't like the coach, the team is folding, Kenny Cooper's cliches have become boring and he should be replaced. Though I've been involved with the halftime shows like Ca$h Cap$ule, I really don't know Cooper well, as he is a very private person off the field. However, I've had opportunities to observe him before, during and after the games. He takes losses personally. He takes fans' booing personally. Right or wrong, that's the way the man is. Translated, that means he cares, and caring about fans is a rare quality in professional sports today.
Having played soccer for several years, I can tell you that our team, even with the injuries, is capable of winning the league championship. The problem is that they don't know it yet. The fans can help them realize this by getting back in the games, being the "seventh man" as it's called. Remember how it was before? After the last player was introduced, we kept clapping and yelling to let the team know we were with them. Often the Arena announcer had to beg us to be quiet.
Jerry Cvach
Cockeysville
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