This Train is OFF the Tracks

Naturally, the Boston Red Sox baseball club is legendary in the minds of Bostonians but in reality its comparative prestige measured against Major League Baseball's historically best is overstated! From the inception of professional baseball until 1918, the Red Sox won five World Series Titles. In 1920, the Boston club 'sold' a fella named Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees and 84-years later the Red Sox won another World Series Championship! I came to appreciate many years ago that the large media-markets found on each coast prop up the local teams and often create overvalued perceptions.

The current (2012) Red Sox baseball team has not made much news performing on the field but recently they have dialed up interest in their clubhouse-team meetings where many players are 'telling' ownership that the manger, BobbyValentine should be fired. Some players state that they do not want to play for manager Valentine. One such player is $21 million per year player, Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez is mad at Valentine because the manager left pitcher, Jon Lester ($7.6 million per-year) in a game when the pitcher was suffering through an eleven-run inning.

May I digress? I began following baseball in the 1940's. I remember when the average salary in 1950 topped $5,000.00. I really thought Ted Williams and Stan Musial struck it rich when they signed contracts for $125,000.00 and $100,000.00, respectively in the late '50s. In today's market value those salaries would be slightly $20 million LESS than Adrian Gonzalez's' yearly deposit. Back then, Musial and Williams often played 'doubleheaders,' which is a contractual-union negotiated 'NO-NO' for the modern day palyers; too physically demanding.

 I observed this scenario developing over my final ten years teaching/coaching high school players and watching my grandkids participate in youth sports. There was a steady decline in individuals who would accept team roles while more kids wanted playing time guarantees and parents thought the invitation to 'get involved' in your kids education meant that the parents could demand new governing school philosophies, which demanded teachers to give high grades, allow their kids exemption from physical education classes and require coaches to refrain from yelling at players. That generation of youngsters is now making millions playing a game while demanding the coach be fired for expecting effort and individual sacrifice for the TEAM.