I'd like to discuss some incidents that have taken place in the past month in the wild, wild world of sports. Let me relay to you these three recent headlines:
1. Texas Rangers' Frank Francisco tosses chair into stands
A pitcher gets heckled to the point of throwing a chair at fans and breaking a lady's nose. He's suspended for the rest of the year and probably some of next. He was even arrested.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers' Milton Bradley erupts when fan throws bottle
Right fielder Milton Bradley (no relation to the board games) has a bad temper. So bad that he was traded to the Dodgers. With full knowledge of Mr. Bradley's bad temper, a brilliant fan throws a bottle at him after he dropped a fly ball with the bases loaded. This did not sit well with Mr. Bradley. He took the bottle back to the fan and explained why it was not such a smart move. I'm sure he invited the fan to try to play baseball on a professional level. Milton has been suspended for the rest of the regular season.
3. Cleveland Indians' Kyle Denney struck by bullet on team bus
After playing in Kansas City, rookie Kyle Denney boarded the team bus to the airport. He was struck in the calf muscle by a bullet that entered the bus. Fortunately, he was not injured more seriously given the fact that his teammates had dressed him in a cheerleader outfit, which included knee-high boots, as part of a hazing activity.
I certainly can appreciate a fan getting involved. I've been a devout New York Mets fan since their world championship reign in 1986. Since that time, however, the Mets have basically stunk more often than not. That's hard to swallow. It's hard not to lash out. That's why I'm thankful that I don't live close enough to watch them play on a regular basis. It's just as rewarding to throw Cokes and peanuts at the TV screen. And there's no threat of being physically assaulted by a muscular man who makes his living throwing balls and swinging bats. See the logic? If you're an irate fan, take a step back. Distance yourself for a little bit. I realize that an athlete that is paid thousands of dollars per game should be flawless at his trade. Why shouldn't he be? Oh yeah, he's human.
Now let me take the players' side on this for a minute. Besides the latter incident where the shooter has not been identified, it seems that the player is punished while the fan is sympathetically pitied. I think that the fan should be subject to penalty as well. If a fan should rattle the cage of a professional athlete, he should be prepared to face the music. Why not suspend the fan from the ballpark for a while? Why not let a professional athlete follow him to work and verbally assault him while he earns a living? Why not make him play right field in the heat of a pennant race? Why not parade him around the ballpark in a cheerleader outfit?
Thanks for hearing me out on this one. I hope I haven't disinterested you readers with a sports column. I'm just passionate about our national pastime. I'd hate to see Major League Baseball stadiums begin to look like hockey rinks when they have to install Plexiglas in front of the bleachers to keep fans and players from hurting each other.
Join me next time for "Why do they call them soap operas? They're filthy." - I have to give credit to Fred Sanford for that one.
Official disclaimer: This column expresses the views owned solely by me, Bradley Littlejohn, not Paid In Full or Sogospelnews.com. So if you've got a beef, e-mail me. But don't think for a minute that you can discourage me by punching holes in my arguments. And one other thing, I offer only observations. No real solutions. I don't think that far in advance.
Author: Bradley Littlejohn
| Author's Website: http://www.paidinfull.net/
Written: 09/30/2004
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Category: Monthly ArticlesObservations by Bradley
Comments: 3
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Bradley, as an avid hockey fan (except for this non-season because of the owners' lock-out) I can tell you that the Plexiglas was installed in hockey rinks to keep flying pucks from hitting the fans. That's why it's higher behind the two goals. Although I suppose these days it does seveve a dual purpose.
Make that "serve." Sorry.
Thanks for the info, Bob. I do realize that Plexiglas was installed as a protective device for fans, but I thought it was ironic that we could use it for the protection of the players in baseball. However, I guess they could just use policeman in riot gear like they did last night at Yankee Stadium.
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