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Baseball after the attacks MAILBAG: Sept. 20 Q: I understand that what happened in New York last Tuesday was detrimental to the whole country, but what I don't understand is why baseball was discontinued for so long. Aren't they getting paid? Aren't they professional? Many of us have friends and family in New York, but the very next day we have to go on with our business and go to work. Had the media taken off work to mourn over the incident, where would we get the news? If all of us did that, America would stop. I know it was great that the ballplayers all stuck together and decided "not to work," but for the rest of us who aren't millionaires, I guess we don't have a choice? Can you explain why they are allowed to take off work instead of providing us viewers a source of relief from the whole incident? -- Gary, State College, Pa.
Q: How do you think the week of rest will affect pennant races? Prior
to our tragedy all of the talk was slow bat speeds. Furthermore, what about
the losses of both momentum and the intensity within the clubhouses? -- Brett Mace, Houston
Q: MLB is making the claim that they may be able to bring the
nation together for a good cause after the events of last
week. I agree. However, if MLB locks out after the World
Series, any effort to bring the nation together again, by
baseball, will be in vain. Thoughts? -- Ben Magnano, San Francisco
Q: It's great that the players expressed their strong feelings
of support for the victims of Tuesday's tragedy and their families, but have
you heard of any player -- anyone at all -- preparing to postpone his baseball
career to join the military at this time of need? We talk about sports
heroes --Ted Williams should be at the top of any list. And Williams wasn't
the only athlete to willingly suspend his life to fulfill what he felt was
an obligation to his country. Tuesday's events are no less an attack than
was Pearl Harbor, but, sadly, I don't expect to see the same sacrifice from
the nation's athletes. It's one thing for those who are married, with
families. But the rest ... it seems they, more than anyone, would feel a
responsibility to defend what this country stands for. Thoughts? -- Mark, Columbus, Ohio
Q: I don't have a question, but I'd like to remind people of this
monologue by Terence Mann (James Earl Jones) in "Field of Dreams": "The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has
rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard,
rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field,
this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was
good, and that could be again. Oh, people will come, Ray. People will most
definitely come." I think this is appropriate at this time. -- T.J. Paulsen, Lincoln, Neb.
Q: How will the recent attack on the Pentagon affect the possibility
of relocating a franchise, such as the Expos, to northern Virginia? -- Ben Mersey, Atlanta
Q: I will admit I have lost some focus on the baseball season at this
point, as much of the world has. But with the rescheduled season, I would like to know where Cal Ripken Jr. will finish his career (I know it was going to be in New York). -- Mike Pace, Covington, Va.
PWG -- It can't happen this year, but one cannot express more respect than everyone has for the Mets and their passion for the city and the people, led by John Franco. And the Yankees are playing on another level of purpose, according to White Sox GM Ken Williams.
Q: Since baseball will play all 162 games, doesn't that mean
that some of the World Series will be played in November? If so, say
Cleveland makes the World Series. John Hart's last day as GM of the Indians
is Nov. 1. What would happen there? -- Bob Marconi, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Q: Your column on the impact of the attack on America upon baseball was much
appreciated. It was about time someone took a look at the Big Picture and
how the national pastime would be affected by national tragedy. But you
couldn't set aside the attacks on Red Sox fans for even one week? The
constant cheap shots are getting tiresome. -- Miles Grant, Warwick, R.I.
Q: I am a lifelong Red Sox fan with all that goes with that. But I'm
embarrassed by the bleacher fans who chant "Yankees suck" at a game
against Tampa Bay in April, and the same fans who yell "Mondesi, you suck" at
the Toronto outfielder in May. Two weeks ago, after the team fell apart against superior clubs, my boss took his 12- and 14-year-old sons to the park and said that he had never seen
so much venomous negative behavior in his life. In the light of our recent
national tragedy, what do you think the chances are that the vocal minority
of "sports talk-radio nation" can learn to watch baseball without
inflicting others to their abusive behavior? -- Erik Kunz, Boston
Q: This is not a question but a comment. I along with thousands of
baseball lovers participate in a fantasy league. We play for the love of
the game and bragging rights more than anything else. Our league has
decided that the funds received by our league for the season can find no
better place than New York City to help in some minuscule way in this
unbelievable tragedy. Our league would like to encourage other leagues to
do the same. We can think of no nobler cause. -- Robert M. Graham, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Q: I am writing in response to Curt Schilling's "Letter to America." I love the idea of an American flag on jerseys, but I have one question: Do you think that Canadian teams would adopt this tradition as well? -- Matt, Derwood, Md. Q: The addition of "God Bless America" and the Stars and Stripes adorning player uniforms and stadiums is a fine and sincere example of baseball's concern for last week's tragedy, but it leads me to think of the Denver Nuggets player who endured the needless abuse of fans for refusing to stand for the national anthem on religious grounds. Does baseball face a similar embarrassment in asking players from so many different national and religious backgrounds to don the American flag on their jerseys? I can't help but think that a more international symbol might be more suitable to our international game, while still conveying our respect for the dead and our unity. -- Brent Ruswick, Madison, Wis. PWG -- In this case, I believe that the flag represents something far greater than simply the United States, although I would like to see the Canadian flag right next to the American flag on the Blue Jays' and Expos' uniforms as a show of the relationship between these countries. The flag is supposed to represent not the USA, right or wrong, but the principles of higher values and freedoms. This does not justify the hatred of Jerry Falwell or those who facelessly bomb abortion clinics in the name of religious beliefs; those folks are no different than bin Laden, and the flag does not represent them. The flag represents the ideal that this nation -- since the first English immigrants seeking religious freedom and asylum landed in Virginia -- has been a haven for the right to believe whatever one believes, be he Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Zoroastrian, Hindu, agnostic or whatever. That is why it is wrong to make fun of Carl Everett's belief that there never were dinosaurs, because that is what he and his sect of Christians believe. It is about pure freedom. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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