Fair or Foul?

Hello, and welcome to the first segment in the history of blogs that sits suspended, high above the moral pathway guarded by the bridge trolls of baseball. Every now and again the game of baseball will teeter on the edge of pushing the boundaries of what rules acceptable to those involved in the game. This is the baseball purist vs millennial human calculators fight that baseball loves to jaw over, and for now I'm the Judge.

1) Rory McIlroy does golf at Yankee Stadium

The irish golfer took to the concourse of Yankee Stadium for a promotional event, basically with some targets set up around the field. Not super interesting to be honest. Here's a video from Tuesday:

Okay so not really exciting, but the question of whether the video is exciting or not is not the important question. Is it FAIR...... or FOUL....... I get pro sports is all about money, we're reminded of it all the time, so I can't knock the Yankees on promoting with the help of some good pull from a young stud golfer. Rory's only made about $2.3M this year so maybe FedEx can hook him up with some routes, I'm sure they can always use some help in the Bronx.

From seeing this I considered what golf would be like played in an urban area. I really don't see a downside to pooling together 24 willing PGA professionals and letting them go at it for 18 holes inside a Major League stadium. Maybe go only 9 holes, keep things simple. For this one though, the Yankees are just sticking to the script. It's a smart move getting Rory in there, and for that they get a pass.

The Verdict: FAIR

2) MLB Umpires wear white wristbands in protest

Following a verbal beating from the Tigers' Ian Kinsler that was directed toward long-time MLB umpire Angel Hernandez, the game's group of on-field governors took to the streets in strike and protest. Every umpire crew stood with locked arms in front of the gates of every MLB stadium prior to games Sunday. Bob Davidson, known as somewhat of a wild card during his tenure as an umpire, picked fights with fans who wouldn't recognize their peaceful protest. It was later discovered that Davidson had shown up late to the field, and wasn't aware of the umpires' protest at all. Cowboy Joe West stood still like a Terra Cotta warrior, powerful and strong. Nobody challenged his presence. Anyway the umpires rallied behind Angel Hernandez (although he has consistently been the symbol of inconsistency) in a gesture to let people know that umpires are just like all of us. Except you're not. You're umps.

It really must be a tough life, to be an umpire. You regulate a game that survives on a certain level of human element, yet either way you're gonna piss people off. But at the end of the day it's all about one thing to me; didn't these umpires want this? I mean becoming an MLB umpire is not an easy road, it's a career that requires a lot of patience and experience. It can certainly be said that not just any person can be an MLB ump. Fair. However, not every person wants to be an MLB umpire. There's a reason that when I used to ump it would be little leaguers. Minimal pressure and an easy $60 in my pocket. Yeah, $60, Marin county is a wild place. But even then I had to deal with parents and coaches who drank french roasts until 8 pm. The point is that these umpires have to be expecting a level of adversity. They all chose a profession that not many others would even think of, but are paid well for making decisions against one side or another.

It's kind of ironic to me that the umpire protest was spurred on by Angel Hernandez getting reamed. Polls have came out that he's the worst, so he had the ability to quit a while ago. Above all else, umpires shouldn't have to worry about verbal abuse if they get the call right! Show some confidence in your call, then the player will start to look like the aggressors. Until then, get some thicker skin cuz nobody's forcing you to ump!

The Verdict: FOUUULLL BALL

3) Nickname / Cartoon Uniforms

Major League Baseball recently broke the news that from August 25 -27th, teams will wear unique uniforms with players' nicknames on the back. The thing with this is, I really like what Major League Baseball is trying to do here. Everyone talks about bringing younger fans to the game, and how Manfred is tunnel-visioned on getting whiffle ball bats back in boys and girls hands everywhere. I'm not really sure if this is as much of an attempt to appeal to a younger demographic as it is a very different way to make money. The MLB did try something similar in the 1990's, but more as an effort to tap into excitement for the turn of the century:

The look on Jr's face says it all. Not a big hit, I'm guessing. Sure, kids might be attracted to the different color schemes or animated logos on the ball caps. But so what if they aren't buying any of the gear? From a marketing standpoint (I have absolutely no business savvy or experience FYI) this is a wise move. Even if people don't purchase this exclusive gear, Major League Baseball still wins. Why? Because people will tune in just to see the different nicknames. And what else do people see when they turn on baseball? Advertisements. If companies have reason to believe a game will receive more viewership, there's more incentive to empty the pockets for stakes on television and stadium ads. There's my blogger opinion.

Let's get down to business, finally. Regardless of the reason why the commissioner signed off on this move let's talk about the jerseys. My gut tells me not to like this. I've lived long enough to realize what kind of things I find genuinely appealing. I'm interested in this, but I'd bet the house that after a day of these uniforms I'll wanna hydrate with bleach. Making changes to uniforms here and there could definitely work, but someone went crazy with this one. Let me suggest nicknames on, say, the All Star uniforms?

Here's the uniforms for Players Weekend 2017: