MLB Trade Deadline Guts The Fans
Today is the trade deadline in Major League Baseball. Before discussing it, let’s go back in the time machine to a more ideal time for a baseball fan. Back in the glory days a fan could grow up with his team. He could name every player on the roster and know almost every one of them would return year after year. If a team had a bad year there was always next year. Perhaps with some improvement, the addition of a young prospect or two and a little luck maybe, just maybe, our team could compete for something special.
Today, baseball is different. Players rarely spend their entire careers with one team. Following a trade or free agent move, fans must decide if they are going to remain a fan of their team or a fan of a relocated player.
Lately, there is a new element the average fan must deal with while supporting a team. He must understand whether his team is a buyer or seller. If the team is bad, the team defies logic to become a “seller”, gives up on a season and a fan base and trades its best remaining players to good teams making a playoff run. If the team is good, it becomes a “buyer” and trades away its future prospects in order to bring in another team’s best player.
Making matters worse, there are only about six teams with a legitimate chance of winning a World Series title. The rest of the league, and especially the Marlins and Rays here in Florida, continue to unload every good player they have, leaving the fans nobody to root for.
At least football season is here.
Written by Craig Shemon
