Az I Play It....
- As Major League Baseball has now completed another inglorious season, most fans will only remember the recent World Series, or regular season accomplishments. That is how the owners and so-called leaders of the MLB Players Association would like it to remain.
One of another in a long line of America's Pastime's 'dirty little secrets' is how veterans are treated - or mistreated, ignored, under-valued, etc. No, I'm not referring to the All-Star veterans whose names roll off of our tongues with superlatives. I'm not even reminiscing of the drug scandal players of the 1980s, or the steroid-injected super-studs of the 1990s and 2000s. Not even the gambler, Pete Rose, or Mantle and Mays before him(both were banned from MLB for two years for promoting Las Vegas casinos.) This is a well swept-under-the-home plate scandal that modern-day, overpaid players, and their greedy owners will never let affect them - or do anything about!
The MLB pension system includes players who were active on an MLB roster as of 1947, and while changes have been made to include generous payments to other factions, including former Negro League players(even those that were never on MLB rosters, regardless of the cause), veterans who were rostered only prior to 1947 - the veritable Kings of Baseball - have been languishing with little or no care or compensation for their efforts - which include keeping MLB alive during pre- thru post-WWII, and ensuring the success of MLB for generations to come. They are now in their 80s or 90s.
Douglas J. Gladstone, author of 'A Bitter Cup of Coffee: How MLB and the Players Association Threw 874 Retirees a Curve,' exposes this 'travesty of the game,' especially citing the treatment of Jay D. Schleuter, a Scottsdale, Az. resident who recently died from ataxia, a disease of the neural system. In speaking with Doug, it is obvious that he is true fan - loyal to a fault - to part of the bedrock of the game. I urge you to log-on to: www.abittercupofcoffee.com and discern for yourself how and why MLB and the MLBPA are holding out - waiting for 873 more veteran players to die-off, so that they will not need to share the enormous wealth - and potential wealth - that today's owners and athlete's possess. Until they do, Long Live the Kings!
One of another in a long line of America's Pastime's 'dirty little secrets' is how veterans are treated - or mistreated, ignored, under-valued, etc. No, I'm not referring to the All-Star veterans whose names roll off of our tongues with superlatives. I'm not even reminiscing of the drug scandal players of the 1980s, or the steroid-injected super-studs of the 1990s and 2000s. Not even the gambler, Pete Rose, or Mantle and Mays before him(both were banned from MLB for two years for promoting Las Vegas casinos.) This is a well swept-under-the-home plate scandal that modern-day, overpaid players, and their greedy owners will never let affect them - or do anything about!
The MLB pension system includes players who were active on an MLB roster as of 1947, and while changes have been made to include generous payments to other factions, including former Negro League players(even those that were never on MLB rosters, regardless of the cause), veterans who were rostered only prior to 1947 - the veritable Kings of Baseball - have been languishing with little or no care or compensation for their efforts - which include keeping MLB alive during pre- thru post-WWII, and ensuring the success of MLB for generations to come. They are now in their 80s or 90s.
Douglas J. Gladstone, author of 'A Bitter Cup of Coffee: How MLB and the Players Association Threw 874 Retirees a Curve,' exposes this 'travesty of the game,' especially citing the treatment of Jay D. Schleuter, a Scottsdale, Az. resident who recently died from ataxia, a disease of the neural system. In speaking with Doug, it is obvious that he is true fan - loyal to a fault - to part of the bedrock of the game. I urge you to log-on to: www.abittercupofcoffee.com and discern for yourself how and why MLB and the MLBPA are holding out - waiting for 873 more veteran players to die-off, so that they will not need to share the enormous wealth - and potential wealth - that today's owners and athlete's possess. Until they do, Long Live the Kings!
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