While those of us in the Northeast were wondering why exactly it had to snow in March, especially after a week of sunshine and balmy breezes, DC was in Florida taking in some Spring Training action. This week he's back with a few special reports to file. Here's the first one; enjoy.So I just returned from a whirlwind three-day tour of Spring Training and for those of you who have never had the chance to go, let me tell you that you’ll never get a better chance to get to know the players’ respective personalities. I had intended to return and write about the games I saw and how a hand full of players are looking, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now I have a much more pressing issue to share with you all. Now, let me start by saying that I am not here to debate the current salary structure of professional sports; I don’t care whether or not you think athletes deserve millions of dollars they get each year.
What I am interested in is sharing an experience that I had while in Florida that left me disappointed, disgusted, and a whole bunch of other dis-words that I don’t even know. On game days in Florida the ballpark opens up very early so that fans can line the fences, watch batting practice, and most importantly interact with the players and hopefully get a couple of autographs. On this particular day, Josh Beckett was not pitching, so he was just standing around in the field watching warms ups and basically hanging out. As he walked toward the dugout, a bunch of fans (including many little kids) started excitedly screaming his name and asking him to sign a couple of balls. His response: "Show the green. Show the green."
Now, I can only hope that he realized that it was Saint Patty’s day and he was encouraging people to purchase green jerseys from the gift shop. But somehow I doubt it. Let’s face it, the guy’s name isn’t Josh O’Beckett. More likely, is that this guy can’t seem to get by on $4.3 million a year. Look, if you don’t want to sign autographs that’s your prerogative, but if that’s the case then smile, wave and express your distaste for the fans in the solitude of the clubhouse. Let us all live the dream that you’re actually a nice guy. Especially since you couldn’t keep the ball in the ballpark last year! Honestly, if we’re going to have an egotistical, fan unfriendly pitcher, we might as well take that $4.3 mil and put it towards a private plane for Mr. Clemens. At least with him we get Hall of Fame statistics and privilege of watching/rooting for one of the best pitchers ever! I think that would make the ego sit a lot better than getting it from a punk kid who thinks he’s hot stuff even though he isn’t smart enough to throw something other than a fastball. Heck, even Clemens has been known to sign a ball here and there.
Now I’m not saying that Beckett isn’t a good pitcher. In fact, if the Sox do go deep into the playoffs this year, he'll have to have something to do with it. But somebody needs to give this kid a reality check. Someone needs to remind him that he makes millions of dollars to play a game and he makes that money because people love baseball. Young Joshua needs to look around and see the people who make more than him and play a whole lot better than him pay back the fans by signing a few autographs and waving at the fans. And if $4.3 million still isn’t enough, then here’s a dollar and a green sharpie - someone tell him to bend over and I’ll show him where to stick it.
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