The American Spectator

/p> p> HIGH FLIES br> Re: Lisa Fabrizio’s America’s Game Gone Lame : /p>

I am a long-time baseball fan and most would consider me a traditionalist but I have to disagree with Lisa on this one. I am one who appreciates getting to see teams and players that I would not otherwise have the opportunity to see in person. My dad telling me about the time he saw Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig play the Browns in St. Louis was an awe-inspiring tale to a young boy. Telling my sons about the time I saw Bob Gibson face Sandy Koufax at Busch Stadium in St. Louis generated a great deal more excitement than relating to them that I once watched them pitch against each other on television. Watching the stars of the game on TV is just not the same as seeing them at the ballpark. I relish the chance to take my grandchildren to the ballpark to see great players like Albert Pujols and Barry Bonds or pitchers like Tom Glavine or John Smoltz when they come to Kansas City.

I agree that the unbalanced schedule is less than ideal but then so is the playoff system itself. How many times have we seen a team that was clearly the league’s best during the regular season lose a chance to go to the World Series because they were victimized by a hot team in a short League Championship Series? The purist in me says that the two best teams should be pitted against each one another in order to truly call it the World Series. Multiple divisions within each league produces imbalance when one division is clearly superior to the other ones. It could be argued that the AL Central had three of the best four teams in the American League last year but only two could go to the playoffs. Also, I don’t believe that anyone would argue that the St. Louis Cardinals were the best team in baseball last year even though they won the World Series. So, should we abandon the playoff system just because the best team doesn’t always make it to the championship game? I believe that would be tough sell even to purists like me.

p>My point is that baseball is a great game for reasons that transcend any changes made by marketing executives for the purpose of increasing fan interest or increasing revenues. In fact, some of the dumb things players and owners have done would have long ago destroyed a lesser game. For the most part, the game has remained impervious to the many alterations imposed upon it by people more concerned about the bottom line than in preserving the integrity of the game. But, I have learned that even changes that appear to in some way damage the game’s structure can have a positive side. Even to someone like me who believes that no one should tamper with the tradition that makes baseball America’s national pastime. br> — Rick Arand br> Lee’s Summit, Missouri /p>

Overall, I agree with Lisa Fabrizio’s argument against interleague play. To add to her points, the “regional rivalries” created by this new system are phony. For instance, my hometown San Diego Padres are matched up with the Seattle Mariners. And out here in my current residence, South Florida, the Marlins are paired off with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Neither one conjures up memories of the great Yankees vs. Red Sox rivalry.