Allan Huber “Bud” Selig, Jr., beleaguered commissioner of Major League Baseball, is at it again. The great overseer of the steroid era himself is advocating a special promotion which would feature David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox, calling his home run a la Babe Ruth during the Home Run Derby. This proposed dog and pony show would be the marquee moment of the 2008 All Star celebration, in what is the final year of existence for Yankee Stadium.
Are you kidding me, the apex member of the arch rival Boston Red Sox pretending to be Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium? Get the hell out of here.
Without question I truly respect the Boston Red Sox, their first-rate front office and all that the New England powerhouse brings to the sport. HOWEVER, this plan is an absolute joke for one very simple reason, this All Star game is intended to honor the rich history of the most hallowed stadium in sports – The Stadium of Sports. This All Star event must be singularly focused on paying homage to the stadium and Yankee tradition. In this sacred hall of legends, the majesty of what these grounds symbolize cannot be tarnished by bringing the focus of the moment on a prominent member of the arch rival Red Sox. That is outright stupidity.
The powers that be within Major League Baseball are completely off-base here, not that that should be a surprise considering Selig’s sparkling track record, and this plan must die now. The fact that genius executives sat in a board room and thought this was a good idea is bizarre at best. The love affair with the Boston Red Sox lately is understandable considering their dominant play after spending the better part of 8 decades playing second fiddle to the Yankees – but now is not the time to rub their nose in the face of the Yankees. I reiterate, this All Star game is about Yankee Stadium, NOT the Boston Red Sox.
One of three things must happen here:
- Baseball scraps this idea altogether and just has the normal Home Run Derby – which is what I think it should do (remember Ruth hit that famous home run in Wrigley Field during the 1932 Fall Classic).
- Allow Alex Rodriguez, the great Yankee Slugger, to replicate the Ruthian smash. Sure he is right-handed, but at least he is, well… you know,… a Yankee!!!
- If David Ortiz is asked to go ahead and take this swing (which seems very likely at this point) a compromise should then take place – Ortiz should wear a Yankee uniform during the event. Plain and simple.
I cannot believe I even had to write about such nonsense. Often times I too am embarrassed by the legions of arrogant Yankee fans who are consumed with a sense of entitlement, but in this instance I too have to join my self-inflated cohorts. This idea should have never been hatched, and I’m sorry if the plan goes through every fan in the Stadium should turn to the luxury box, point at Bud Selig and boo him during Ortiz’s at bat.
Are there any other baseball purists out there?
7 Comments
OK, I just threw up in my mouth. David Ortiz is an excellent ball player, and the Boston Red Sox are a top notch team and organization, BUT this is an aberration.
I need to start watching more US sports and then come back and read it again!
First of all if this happened and the fans booed Selig in the luxury box, my respect for Yankees fans would increase immensely.
Secondly, this is an abomination to the Yankees. Ortiz is and never will be half the player that Ruth was (no question about it). Look at their stats, not even close! Ortiz has been great for about 5 years, but to put him in the same company of Ruth? Selig and the MLB must have really lost their minds. The friggin guy is the “Sultan of Swat”, “the Bambino”, for christ sake there is a candy bar named after him! Ortiz will NEVER have Ruth’s career numbers. So the comparison is a joke and this whole scenario is just a smack in the face to every Yankee fan. Especially after what happened during the construction of new Yankee Stadium. If this goes through, I would feel there is a Boston conspiracy afoot.
If this happens, there will be a New York Tea Party and if someone doesn’t organize it, then I will.
If he calls his shot at the derby, I hope he whiffs.
The Great Ruth is rolling in his grave at the mere thought of this. This is an abomination to the sport and the legacy of Yankee Stadium. Baseball usually does the best job (out of the big 4) when it comes to honoring the history of their sport (1999 All Star game a great example) but this is such a disgrace and Bud Selig is clearly to blame. To all the Yankee fans out there, its time to start acting like Red Sox fans and cry bloody murder.
@Gregory:
Travis Hafner has a candy bar named after him, too.
haha thanks for the info. I did not know that the candy bar called Pronk existed.