How can that be? Let's see, Japan was used as a cash cow for two regular-season games last week and the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles played Sunday night in a made for ESPN matchup.
All this while other teams were still playing exhibition games in Florida and Arizona. Baseball used to be as dependable as a comfortable pair of spikes -- the first game of the season always took place in Cincinnati to honor that town's rich baseball tradition.
Baseball stopped paying attention to its roots a long time ago in its search to win the hearts and minds of the casual fan. It lost something along the way -- traditionalists who saw the game for what it is -- a living, breathing link between the current generation and the past.
Mychal Wilmes
wilmes@agrinews.com
