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Survey Says: What About that Baseball Strike?
August 22, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Apparently nobody remembers the 1994 debacle because it now looks like we might actually have a baseball strike - and who knows? No World Series? But maybe that's not such a bad thing.
Anyway, this week we asked you what YOU thought.
And then there was the conflicted reader who said, “C)…get a real job….and d) I don’t give a dam……and e)….let me be a replacement player!
A close second (roughly 33% ) said they didn’t give a – darn (some actually changed the word choice to a more “hearty” noun). Some weren’t baseball fans, others thought there were better places to spend those kind of salary dollars. As one noted, “Until our police officers and firefighters start getting paid what these spoiled brats in baseball do then maybe I’ll start paying attention to the game, but until then….I just don’t give a darn!” Teachers were also frequently cited as an underpaid profession. Many said they were just waiting for football season anyway.
One reader who said he gave a darn – and yet didn’t also noted, “…the collateral damage that a baseball strike will have; taxpayer built stadiums that will go dark, the jobs and business that orbit around the baseball season. the reason not to give a darn is the out-of-touch players that seem to think that hitting their weight is really worth 2.3 million plus a signing bonus. There is a certain comic value in getting to hear one of these characters say (and with a straight face) ‘it’s not about the money, it’s about fairness’.
A resounding 21% basically faulted BOTH players and owners for letting the entire situation get out of control. Just 4% were still waiting for the players to make a better case, while 2% said they already had a case.
But, for MY money, this week’s Editor’s Choice was the reader who was able to find a silver lining in the potential cloud: “I felt it necessary to create a new category to capture my response; E) Almost feel a sense of relief- I’m a Red Sox Fan….
Readers weigh in on the causes, impact - and solutions for the pending major league baseball strike.
The question was: Apparently nobody remembers the 1994 debacle - but it now looks like we might actually have a baseball strike - and, who knows? No World Series? But maybe that's not such a bad thing. This week, we'd like to know what YOU think. "Do the baseball players (a) have a point, (b) need to make their case better, or (c) need to get a real job? Or do you (d) just not give a - darn.
My answer is (d) because the owners and players are just greedy. Baseball is no longer the national past time. It has grown to be such a gluttonous institution that the common man can no longer afford a ballgame for fun. My husband recently went to a game where 3 hot dogs and 3 drinks cost $27. They paid $5 for bleacher seats in the outfield but were hosed at the concession stand. I hope the owners and players remember that we have better ways to spend our money.
The owners need to open their books and some players are paid way too much. Their needs to be more revenue sharing og all TV, radio, logo-wear sales, etc. since baseball can only be as strong as the sum of the teams. Should be viewed and run as one business with multiple work locations. If the players are going to have a union, run it like a union; negotiate the pay range for each position and every team would have to pay their players within the prescribed range for their position.
ball game a year, is struggling to make ends meet, and these guys are upset because they might have to keep their Jaguar a year longer than anticipated....or they won't be able to support their Hooter's waitress girlfriends in the style and manner to which they have become accustomed.
But to be honest, the strike won't really affect me that much. I generally don't go to major league baseball games, so I will continue to not go.
This is a badly worded question. The ballplayers may have a point (a), but they absolutely have not made their case to their customers. This means that (b) fits, as does (c). Unfortunately, I do care. The Yankees are in first place, and just coming off a down year (any time they don't win the World Series is a down year for the Yankees). A strike may be the beginning of the end for big-time sports, and that may be a good thing.
As someone who is a fan of baseball I'm always frustrated by this continuous saga. I can't understand why baseball is so different from football and basketball. Do the players have a point - yes, but who cares? For me, they can get a real job. They've destroyed the intrigue of the game, at that level, for me. I've become more of a college baseball fan.
Get a real job! I'd like to get paid millions of dollars for "playing". No one will be watching because we have to work too many hours to be able to afford to take the family to America's favorite pastime.
I think I've watched one professional baseball game in person, and maybe one on TV. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a hoot. At least the strike will bring baseball into the realm of something I can understand - the business world. I do still like hot dogs and apple pie, though.
I could care less...check that...I guess I couldn't care less.
I don't claim to be a huge baseball fan but if they go on strike I won't be a fan at all any more. I also don't know all of the things they don't agree on but I'm sure it's comes down to money and they're being greedy and not considering the fans!!!
It's hard to care what happens - whether the millionaire players win against the millionaire owners. Why would it even matter if baseball just fell off the planet? There are so many more real problems facing us today.
I choose d, but I think it's a shame the spirit of sport is overwhelmed by the press of business on both sides, and the fans are the ones hurt.
Everything I've been reading points toward greed on the part of the players.
I'll never understand the situation. Both sides are willing to negotiate salaries so high that the whole industry will go bankrupt.
(d) The owners suffer from the same disease that affects most school boards and city governments. They have bargained away their ability to run the business.
The last time there was a strike - my family boycotted baseball for two years in protest.
While I am an avid fan of baseball (I'm even a Phillies fan) the thought of these people making MILLIONS of dollars and still complaining about it makes me ill.
Maybe they should try a different career if this one is so terrible. One thing I can tell you is that if they have the gall to strike again - it'll be another 2+ years before I watch a game (on TV or at the stadium) or have anything else to do with baseball.
Perhaps we should strike against baseball and let them know that we're tired of their whining!
Both sides have a point, but at some point the madness has to stop! If baseball fans stop supporting the sport, the owners and players won't have anything to argue about!
d.....just don't give a darn, there are more important things in my life, like spending time with my family playing baseball, not watching!!!
I think they all (both sides) need to grow up. If they all stopped for 5 seconds maybe they would realize how ridiculous they look arguing over salary caps for people who already make more in a year than most of us see in a lifetime. I say they need to work more on public relations or they are going to lose their fans!
Hmmm....so they can't figure out how to share billions of dollars? Can you spell s-t-u-p-i-d?
of reading endless litanies of meaningless ball scores as "sports news."
where baseball is still a game and not so much a business.
see 162 virtually meaningless games each year.
The only intelligent life in the baseball universe is New York's Cablevision.
A combination of C and D. Who gives a crap! Maybe they should all try to get real jobs and survive like the rest of the WORKING nation.
The baseball players (a) have a point. And, the strike clause is a part of their negotiated agreement. However, there is a third party in this particular saga, namely the American public. And, it appears that the vast majority of the fans view a strike very unfavorably which could have even very negative ramifications for professional baseball even if the players were to strike and win their on their issues.
"D" that's I never gave a damn. The closest thing to baseball team around Nashville is Little League. I hate watching the game, it is way to slow. However I like playing the game.
The players need to get a real job. I respect the talents professional athletes have to get to their position, but I differ on one major item. They always claim that they are the product and without them, there is no game, so they should be justly rewarded. I agree to a point, but I would like to see what they would do if they were on the other side, or even in another business. Would they see the employees as the reason the product is available, or would they try to maximize their own profits by instituting pay grades, salary ranges, etc. found in most HR departments? I am guessing they would try to squeeze as much money as they could because they would see their assets on the line to create the company in the first place. Being the son of a union man it's hard to say, but I'm with the owners on this one.
I personally do not appreciate sports. However, I believe that it is a sad statement that we place greater value on how well somebody throws or hits a ball than on how well they can teach our children.
I think a strike might be a good thing. Maybe TV writers will have to actually come up with some good entertainment in its place.
Since free-agency, baseball has been a yawner. Let 'em strike. Barry's gotten his 600 so turn out the lights, lock the gates and quit already. If they're really serious about changing things they should shorten the games to four or five innings, put a time limit on the pitcher and the batter, put padding and helmets on the players to make it a contact sport. Who knows? That game may just become the preferred "National Pastime"!
d, but in my opinion it isn't just the players, the owners are as guilty for the state of the sport as the players. They all need to go and get a real job!
In one day, many of these players make more than most people do in one year. Must be hard to play itchy and scratchy. Isn't Mastercard giving away a free trip to the 2002 World Series, looks like you won't have to worry about the line for the restroom!
Little League World Series this weekend and remember what the game is about.
Let them strike! The market does better when they strike!
I remember the strike; It took a while before the fans returned. Perhaps a portion of the players' pay should relate to attendance. Might make them think twice about striking.
To make a choice - I think they should get a real job. I'm tired of their whining.
Until our police officers and firefighters start getting paid what these spoiled brats in baseball do then maybe I'll start paying attention to the game, but until then....I just don't give a darn!
I don't give a darn if they strike and never come back!!
The whole sports world has gotten out of hand. The salaries are ridiculous. They are playing a game not curing cancer! I don't mean just baseball but all of the sports. I'm fed up with the owners and the players.
I have an idea, how about if the home team loses, they have to pay the fans for coming out to watch them fail at these exorbitant costs?
How about coming out before the game and signing baseballs or programs for free like the minor league guys do? Or, just talking to the kids who came to see you for a few minutes? The owners and the players should be ashamed of themselves and get back to the basics.
First, its all about greed - - both sides! Underlying premise of any resolution should permit both sides to profit based strictly upon performance. Utilizing a spending cap model, owner's who spend more should expect to have a team who out-performs the others and accordingly receives greater income from higher attendance, post-season play and merchandising which all add value to the general franchise. Players should all be paid "annually" based upon the ratio of what they take versus what they contribute. Example: If A-Rod is 20% of the annual Texas payroll expense, standard metrics should be in place to validate that he contributes 20% to the measured performance of the team. An annual percentage adjustment cap could be employed to avoid severe swings. In a game where commentators continuously spew senseless data about players and teams, we might all feel relieved and better informed if confirmed that A-Rod is indeed worth $200,000 per game or that next year an adjustment would be in the making. Then, we could all buy our $30 tickets, pay $5 to park, eat poor quality $3 hotdogs, wash them down with $5 beer, and continue underwriting the folly commonly regarded as "America's favorite pastime".
I'll continue to stick to what I did after the 94 strike...go watch the little kids locally, who may not be as skilled, but most of whom do it for the fun...which also means I save my M-O-N-E-Y.
That said, in any industry that has a seasonal beginning and end, with many starting out and only one champion remaining, all salaries should be heavily incentive laden--the latest rhetoric from players takes away from the fact that it's team that win championships, not players.
d) Who cares. It's almost officially football season and I've got pre-season football now. If they want to make an impact, they have to strike mid June to mid August: after basketball and hockey are over, but before football starts.
Of course I give a darn! September w/out baseball is like December w/out football! Being from New York, revenue sharing is is for the teams that can't compete for the Yankees. Baseball is a business, when a Fortune 500 company has great profits do they have to "share" them with the weaker companies??
As I sit in my small office w/no windows and no fresh air for at least a ten hour day, with no raise for a year due to the economy, I have to say I feel real sorry for those poor players, sigh -- who am I kidding? They are already living a man's dream to be able to play in the big leagues. I tell you what I'll trade places with them and go for the salary they were making five years ago and they can come and sit with the computer. Now Let's Play Ball!!
I'll treat them just like basketball, haven't been to a game since their strike.
As far as I am concerned: One more strike and they are OUT!! I would love to see all of them get a real job. Their new "minimum" salary ($300,000.00), will put the worst baseball player in the major leagues, in the top 1% of wage earners in the United States.
the players have no idea what the rest of us go through. They have totally lost touch with reality.
PLAYERS, WAKE UP!! YOU'RE GETTING PAID MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO PLAY A GAME!!!
among us would turn down the chance to make more money for doing our job? I like my job and make a decent salary. I won't get rich but the bills get paid. If we don't like what the athletes (also actors, etc) earn then we can express ourselves by not buying tickets. That would level things out very quickly.
would rather watch Harlem get back in the LL world series!
just plain fun. They make more in one year than those of us who truly "work" 8 to 5 every day and will not make $2.5mm in our lifetime. They eed a dose of reality!
it is amazing to me how much these players have their fans by the....well, you know.
(c) need to get a real job PS - I have tickets for September 10th to go to the venerable Wrigley Field to watch the Chicago Cubs...and this strike had better not ruin it!!!
e) Let them strike. What's the difference between a strike and playing? Yankee fans in NY/NJ can't see games on t.v. either way thanks to the stalemate between Steinbrenner's YES network and Cablevision. Maybe with a strike it will force the two sides to reach a deal, so that when the strike is over we could actually see a game this season!
I enjoy baseball, but the hometeam is losing so badly this year that it just doesn't matter!
c and d - the average - AVERAGE mind you, baseball player earns 2.5 million a year! Have the NFL players ever gone on strike? I say replace baseball as the national pastime with soccer and American football and let the crybabies of baseball figure out to make due with what they've got in the bank.
I have been a "die hard" fan for many years. However, I am actually looking forward to the strike. Perhaps a two or three year strike might pair the league down to the owners and players who really care about the game. In the mean time, I may visit some minor league parks.
Baseball players only want one thing to be paid fair market value just like every employee. The owners should want to make a profit. I believe there needs to more incentive for some owners not to over compensate their players. So maybe we need to begin to treat baseball teams like businesses and reward the most profitable teams by sending those teams to the playoffs rather than the teams with the most wins.