Baseball Will Survive
By Amaury Pi-González
“I don’t think American culture would
collapse if baseball collapsed.”
– Don Fehr March 13, 1990
Same Donald Fehr that is leading the
players union(2002) into what could be
another baseball players strike.
But strike or no strike, baseball will
survive just because it is baseball and
baseball is more than a sport, it is
more than a game, it is an American
institution.
There is no other Sport with the history
of baseball, the relation between father
and son (playing catch)is unique
in baseball from generation to generation.
But strike or no strike by the “deadline”of
August 30, 2002, baseball will endure
because this is such a great game,
truly a kids game played today by
millionaires.
Baseball will survive a strike(if it happens)
because this is 2002 and not 1981. The
sport is played almost all over the
world today and has become much
more international than ever. Baseball
has proliferated faster than humans
had time to “screw it up” i.e. lockouts,
strikes and such.
A friend of mine who happens to be a
top executive in the Caribbean called
me and told me: “If there is a baseball
strike by August 30th and the season
ended on that day, come down here
and I will give you a job as a Play by
Play announcer with my team”. That
teams happened to be a professional
team in the Puerto Rican Winter League.
You see, if MLB decides to cancel the
Postseason and World Series, that
doesn’t include the Caribbean Professional
Leagues in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panamá,
Venezuela, Colombia and last but
certainly not least, the Dominican
Republic were baseball is also the
National Pastime and there is never
a strike.
Because, baseball in Latinamerica has
survived much more troublesome
problems than Management vs. Labor.
In Latinamerica baseball survives
with revolutions, coups, assasinations
all kinds of dictatorships (left wing or
right wing) . Look at Cuba, after 43
years of Castro’s dictatorship, baseball is
still the #1 sport in the country, the difference
in Cuba is that the best player might be
paid $50 a month. I don’t think Mr.Fehr
will ever visit Cuba and talk negotiations
with Fidel. I don’t think Mr.Selig will visit
Cuba soon and talk contraction with
Fidel. Baseball has been played in
Cuba since 1866 and during those
years it was so popular
with the Cuban youth that the Spanish
colonial rulers banned it, fearing that
the money that was collected with
the traditional ‘passing of the hat’
(pasar el sombrero)would be used to
support opponents of the Spanish
government…at the end, “béisbol”prevalied
in Cuba in 1902 when Cubans gained
their independence from colonial Spain.
The Dominican Republic was poor 50
years ago and still is one of the poorest
countries in Latin America today. But they
produce most of the talent that comes
from Latinamerica to the Major Leagues.
The Dominican Republic had to survive
the Trujillo dictatorship for many decades.
Baseball was established in Puerto Rico
long before the US Marines landed there
in early 1990s and as of today it remains
the “King of Sports”in that pretty island.
When you visit Panamá the three most
famous and recognizable things in that
Central American country are: 1-The
Panamá Canal, 2-Roberto Duran
and 3-Rod Carew, who won 7 batting
championships in the American League
and is in the Hall of Fame.
American railroad workers introduced
baseball to México in the 1800’s and they
have been playing ever since, during
the days of the revolution and Pancho
Villa to today’s new President Fox.
In Venezuela, baseball goes back to
1895, when a group of Venezuelan
students returned from studying in
the United States and Europe and
started the sport in Caracas (the capital
and biggest city) Venezuela. Since then
guys like Chico Carrasquel, Luis
Aparicio,Tony Armas, Andrés Galarraga
and Magglio Ordoñez have been playing
in Venezuela and here in the Major Leagues.
In Nicaragua, it was 1945 when the
Nicaraguan professional league was
established for winter baseball. Today
Vicente Padilla, Marvin Benard are in
the Major Leagues from Nicaragua. In the
past Dennis MartÃÂÂnez, the only Latino
pitcher to throw a Perfect Game in
MLB history and a man that won more
games than Juan Marichal. Also David Green,
Porfirio Altamirano,Tony Chévez and
Al Williams also from Nicaragua have
played in the Major Leagues.
So, do not worry. With a strike or without
a strike, baseball will prosper worldwide.
Soon, there will be men that will lead
this sport in the right direction here in
the United States (because it is only
natural, the sport originated here).
And it has to be here in the Capital
of Baseball -the US of A- that men
will someday straighten the big mess
we have in the Major Leagues.
Yes, we need less teams, a shorter
schedule and revenue sharing, with a
salary cap and of course a few new
more ballparks, starting with one in
Oakland. But with the “pea brains”in
Oakland’s political scene, that could
be even tougher to accomplish than
an eventual agreement that will keep
both sides of millionaires happy(players
and owners).
I have faith that the baseball problems will
be resolved. And I am sure that the
game will survive. It has survived
World Wars and Earthquakes and
it will survive this lack of leadership
among both sides, labor and management.
It will be sad for millions of baseball
fans accross the country. Both Western
Divisions have great races that could
reach a tremendous ending in September,
the A’S, Seattle and Anaheim might go
down to the wire or…..they all go home to
read the papers and fish in September.
The ONLY great rivalry on the West
Coast, the Giants and the Dodgers, could be
fighting for the wild-card spot in the
National League, since Bob Brenly’s
Arizona Diamondbacks are going to
walk away with the Western Division
title and I do mean “walk away”.
But….if things get really bad here,
if you can’t go to sleep without baseball
games and scores. I have a suggestion !
I recommend you travel to the Dominican
Republic and you will see on the same
team: Miguel Tejada, Vladimir Guerrero, and
Raul Mondesàplaying against another
Dominican team with Felix RodrÃÂÂguez,
Bartolo Colón and Manny RamÃÂÂrez.
Or Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panamá, or
Colombia. Be careful if you go to Cuba
you need special permission from the
US State Department, plus no Major
Leaguers (from Cuba playing presently
today in the Major Leagues)will go back
there. Rafael Palmeiro, from Lawton,
Havana, Cuba, could not tape a Viagra
commercial in Cuba, because Viagra
is illegal in that country. More than that,
all commercials are illegal in Cuba.
The only “employer”in that communist
island is the government and if you
don’t work for the government in Cuba
and you are under 65 years of age you
are considered an “enemy of the
revolution”. That is a “heavier” penalty
than the one A’S pitcher Jim Mecir
just had when he received a three-game suspension.
Never a dull moment in baseball, like an
old Cuban play by play guy used to say
over the radio in Cuba in the 1950’s,
“The ball is round, but it comes in
a square box”.
Whatever that means, it makes much
more sense the Selig, Fehr and company.
————————————————————–
Amaury Pi-González is on its eight season as Spanish Radio Play by Play Announcer
for the San Francisco Giants over
KZSF 1370 AM Radio(La Caliente). Giants
are one of four teams in California to
broadcasts their games in Spanish.
The other teams are: Dodgers,Padres,
Angels.
Amaury is on the LBC (Latino Broadcasting
Co) a radio net with stations in the USA
and Latinamerica broadcasting ALCS
NLCS and World Series. Also, Amaury
does the Caribbean World Series Play
by Play in English for the Fox Sports
International.
Amaury, shares his endless love with
baseball as Vice President of the
Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum.
The only museum of its kind in the
country with an exhibit presently and
until September 3rd at CAL-EXPO(The
California State Fair- Sacramento)
You can also read Amaury on
www.latinobaseball.com as well as
on newspapers in Bay Area and
accross the country.
0 comments
Excellent commentary Amaury, it made me realize the world wide appeal that baseball has nurtured for a very long time. I agree even here, that if the strike occurs, the game will survive because it is part of American culture and we rely on the stories being told each year. Once the story of baseball begins, it is irresistable because it unfolds slowly on a day to day basis over six trying months. So, I patiently await the results of next weeks bargaining sessions. The sides are farther apart than the owners would like the public to believe. In the USA Today, Thursday, Hal Bodley analyzed the different figures from both sides viewpoints and they are 280 million apart rather than the 30 to 40 million the owners would like everyone to believe. So. I’ll wait and see what happens, but I’m truly not worried about the future of the game.
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