For Those Who Feel Sorry for the Poor MLB Players

[sub]This was in my in-box today. I don’t know whom to credit.[/sub]

Subject: You Can Help!

Since September 11, 2001, Americans have come together as never before in our generation. We have banded together to overcome tremendous adversity. We have weathered direct attacks on our own soil, wars overseas, corporate scandal, layoffs, unemployment, stock price plunges, droughts, fires, and a myriad of economic and physical disasters both great and small.

But now, we must come together once again to overcome our greatest challenge yet. Hundreds of Major League Baseball players in our very own nation are living at, just below, or in most cases far above the seven-figure salary level.And as if that weren’t bad enough they could be deprived of their life-giving pay for several months, possibly longer, as a result of the upcoming strike situation.

But you can help!

For only $20,835 a month, about $694.50 a day (that’s less than the cost
of a large-screen projection TV) you can help a MLB player remain economically viable during his time of need. This contribution by no means solves the problem as it barely covers the annual minimum salary, but it’s a start, and every little bit will help!

Although $700 may not seem like a lot of money to you, to a baseball player it could mean the difference between spending the strike golfing in Florida or on a Mediterranean cruise. For you, seven hundred dollars is nothing more than a month’s rent, half a mortgage payment, two unemployment checks, or a month of medical insurance with COBRA. But to a baseball player, $700 will partially replace his daily salary.

Your commitment of less than $700 a day will enable a player to buy that home entertainment center, trade in the year-old Lexus for a new Ferrari, or enjoy a weekend in Rio.

HOW WILL I KNOW I’M HELPING?

Each month, you will receive a complete financial report on the player you sponsor. Detailed information about his stocks, bonds, 401(k), real
estate, and other investment holdings will be mailed to your home. Plus, upon signing up for this program, you will receive an unsigned photo of the player lounging during the strike on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean (for a signed photo, please include an additional $150). Put the photo on your refrigerator to remind you of other peoples’ suffering.

HOW WILL HE KNOW I’M HELPING?

Your MLB player will be told that he has a SPECIAL FRIEND who just wants to help in a time of need. Although the player won’t know your name, he will be able to make collect calls to your home via a special operator in case additional funds are needed for unforeseen expenses.

YES, I WANT TO HELP!

I would like to sponsor a striking MLB player. My preference is checked below:

Infielder
Outfielder
Starting Pitcher
Ace Pitcher
Entire team
(Please call our 900 number to ask for the cost of a specific team - $10 per minute)
Alex Rodriguez (Higher cost: $60,000 per day)

Please charge the account listed below $694.50 per day for the player for the duration of the strike. Please send me a picture of the player I have sponsored, along with an Alex Rodriguez 2001 Income Statement and my very own Donald Fehr MLB Players Union pin to wear proudly on my hat (include $80 for hat).

Your Name: _______________________
Telephone Number: ____________________
Account Number: _____________________ Exp.Date:_______
MasterCard Visa American Express
Discover
Signature: _______________________

Alternate card (when the primary card exceeds its credit limit):
Account Number: ______________Exp.Date:
MasterCard Visa American Express
Discover
Signature: _______________________

Mail completed form to MLB Players Union or call 1-900-SCREW-THE-FANS now to enroll by phone ($10 per minute).

Disclaimer: Sponsors are not permitted to contact the player they have sponsored, either in person or by other means including, but not limited
to, telephone calls, letters, e-mail, or third parties. Contributions are not tax-deductible.

This sounds very familiar. I seem to recall reading something very similar in MAD Magazine a couple of years ago - it sounds like Dick DeBartolo’s style. (I think it was originally written in connection with the 1998-99 NBA strike.)

But . . . ummm . . . is there anyone who feels sorry for the players? (Barring themselves and those they support, I mean.)

But on the other hand, I don’t feel sorry for the owners, either. And I think it’s the owners who are the ones who cry for pity and sympathy every year, not the players.

It’s been done with Enron executives too.

Is there anything in the world sadder or stupider than a baseball fan simultaneously bitching about the impending strike and talking about how many games in a row he has attended? I will only say this once Mr. Fan at the Game: QUIT GOING. Problem solved.

Who is responsible for outrageous sports salaries? The fans, and the fans alone. No fans, no market, no salaries.

What makes you think the OP is a baseball fan?

Since I’m not a baseball fan, I’m actually hoping for another long-term strike like 1994.

It’s like watching two people you hate get in a fistfight, you don’t care who wins, you just hope both sides do each other a lot of damage.

Thanks Rasta, I’m going to fill that out and send it off as quick as I can!

Well, I think we can all rest easier, knowing you’re only going to say it once.

Unfortunately, the fans are not solely responsible for the salaries. They didn’t write the checks. In fact, because attendance is down over the past several years, using your logic salaries would be less, not more. :slight_smile:

Ah, but they’re still watching on Television and listening to Radio. Those ad dollars drive those contracts. Hell, in some cases (ARod’s for example) non-baseball revenue drives his contract. The owner of the Rangers felt that having ARod around would inflate the value of his real estate holdings near the park. The jury’s still out on that one but at least he’s thinking like a businessman.

The owner of the Rangers is not thinking like a businessman - he’s thinking like a moron. He offered A-Rod millions and millions more than anyone else possibly would have. That’s just a stupid business move - he overspent wildly. Then he comes out and says they need to stop all this overspending.

The TV contracts have a lot to do with the salary structure, because owners think they can afford it. Problem is, while the attendance has declined, so have ratings (IIRC); this means that when the current TV deal expires, the new one will be for less money. The owners basically have shot themselves in the foot, thinking money will always be there but not really promoting the product itself (notice they hardly ever say nice things about their players, or really get behind them?).