Times are tuff all over, got this in an email today.
Since September 11, 2001, Americans have come together as never before in our generation. We have banded together to overcome tremendous adversity. We have weathered direct attacks on our own soil, wars overseas, corporate scandal, layoffs, unemployment, stock price plunges, droughts, fires, and a myriad of economic and physical disasters both great and small. But now, we must come together once again to overcome our greatest challenge yet.
Hundreds of Major League Baseball players in our very own nation are living at, just below, or in most cases far above the seven-figure salary level. And as if that weren't bad enough they could be deprived of their life giving pay for several months, possibly longer, as a result of the upcoming strike situation. But you can help!
For only $20,835 a month, about $694.50 a day (that's less than the cost of a large screen projection TV) you can help a MLB player remain economically viable during his time of need. This contribution by no means solves the problem as it barely covers the annual minimum salary, but it's a start, and every little bit will help!
Although $700 may not seem like a lot of money to you, to a baseball player it could mean the difference between spending the strike golfing in Florida or on a Mediterranean cruise. For you, seven hundred dollars is nothing more than a month's rent, half a mortgage payment, or a month of medical insurance, but to a baseball player, $700 will partially replace his daily salary. Your commitment of less than $700 a day will enable a payer to buy that home entertainment center, trade in the year-old Lexus or a new Ferrari, or enjoy a weekend in Rio.
HOW WILL I KNOW I'M HELPING?
Each month, you will receive a complete financial report on the player you sponsor. Detailed information about his stocks, bonds, 401(k), real estate, and other investment holdings will be mailed to your home. Plus, upon signing up for this program, you will receive an unsigned photo of the player lounging during the strike on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean (for a signed photo, please include an additional $150). Put the photo on your refrigerator to remind you of other peoples' suffering.
HOW WILL HE KNOW I'M HELPING?
Your MLB player will be told that he has a SPECIAL FRIEND who just wants to help in a time of need. Although the player won't know your name, he will be able to make collect calls to your home via a special operator in case additional funds are needed for unforeseen expenses.
__YES, I WANT TO HELP! I would like to sponsor a striking MLB player. My preference is checked below:
[ ] Infielder [ ] Outfielder [ ] Starting Pitcher [ ] Ace Pitcher [ ] Entire team (Please call our 900 number to ask for the cost of a specific team - $10 per minute)
[ ] Alex Rodriguez (Higher cost: $60,000 per day)
Please charge the account listed below $694.50 per day for the player for the duration of the strike. Please send me a picture of the player I have sponsored, along with an Alex Rodriguez 2001 Income Statement and my very own Donald Fehr MLB Players Union pin to wear proudly on my hat (include $80 for hat).
[ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express [ ] Discover
Signature: _______________________
Mail completed form to MLB Players Union or call 1-900-F%*&-THE-FANS now to enroll by phone ($10 per minute).
Posted by Santo (Member # 411) on :
Si, your concern is truly amazing. I shutter at the thought of a single major leaguer having to make a purchase at WalMart instead of the upscale stores that serve latte to its revered clients.
[ August 29, 2002, 05:01 PM: Message edited by: Santo ]
Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
COUNT ME IN....CHECK'S IN THE MAIL!
[ August 29, 2002, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Bob Burns ]
Posted by J & N Signs (Member # 901) on :
Unfortunately it has become, along with hockey a rich man's sport. People can't afford to go and watch these events anymore. I'd be more than happy to play for $100,000 a year. What is wrong with these people?
Posted by jimmy chatham (Member # 525) on :
just send the money to me. i will hand deliver it. not Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :
Ditto to what Mario said.
Posted by Mark Matyjakowski (Member # 294) on :
Nawwww .... SCREW 'EM
I've had tickets to Sundays Yankee/Bluejays game for months. My son's been looking forward to it all summer ... now even if it's a "short" strike we get screwed. I'll stick with REAL BASEBALL (little league ... the ones who love the game)
I feel bad for the "little people" who are going to loose out (vendors, stadium workers, etc. ... who's going to pay thier rent while the whiners go golfing?) Posted by Jeff Bailey (Member # 1975) on :
Si, that's awesome ;-)
This is actually a tough one guys. I DO think the players union is pushing this way too far, ( as if the players are being neglected financially... yeah right!! ) but here is the reality of it no matter what. MBL generated some serious money from merchandise, television sponsors, etc. We are the people feeding that cash cow. Every time we walk into the mall and buy an article of clothing or a toy with a MLB team logo or player etc.. we are funding that whole industry. The Players union is trying to see that the players are recieving their share of that billion dollar industry. If you look at it from that perspective I see what their complaint is. If you look at it from a tactful perspective, and consider the fans that make that whole industry a reality, I think a strike is absolutely a slap in the face of the fans. What really sickens me is that I ( and I'm sure many of you as well) hear kids today wanting to be pro sports athletes because they see thier favorite player cruising the strip in a decked out Hummer, or Escalade with TV sets in the seat backs, and a beautiful mansion with 6 sports cars, big screens, indoor courts, and hot tubs in every corner of the estate.
There is nothing wrong with being compensated fairly (and if that means making 7 figures, then so be it). After all, it is you and I that have made thier tremendous saleries a reality in the first place. But they are sending a very insulting message to the world, and our kids don't have the experience in life to understand the entire situation. Sad indeed.
Where has the love for the sport gone?
Posted by Bob Rochon (Member # 30) on :
If we were all smart we'd all boycott those greedy players and tell em who cares.
Of course we have these no life, hyper baseball thumpers who would miss the mortgage just to sit in a park and see thier favorite shirts. I say shirts cuz the players change more than the weather in New England. Instead of sewing the names on the shirts I hear they're going to start using changeable letter tracks on each shirt next year just to save a few bucks.
Thanks Si for the awesome laugh!!!
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
i am fed up. i hope they go on strike, and i hope they get what they want
But, in return i hope another 14 % of thier loyal fans never return. Like i have not, I hope another segment of their money base loses credibility ( advertizers)
and i hope they come to thier senses and realize that an working average family fan can no longer go to more than one game.
And i hope they are made to give autographs for free again. (not 50 - 200 bux ) each
And i hope baseball come back to the citizens.
Posted by Bruce Bowers (Member # 892) on :
Hey Si!
That was too dang funny. It brought the stupidity of the situation to humorous light. Sheesh.
I find it hard to have much sympathy for either side. I used to be an avid Toronto Blue Jays fan. I lost a large part of my interest in baseball after the last players strike.
It really is hard to feel sorry for players that make that kind of money and still want more. When is what you got enough?
Have a great one!
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Man that sure makes me glad I'm not a sports fan.
It's just proof that while customers might grunt at a price increase, they'll still pay for it if they want it bad enough.
Just imagine living a lifestyle that REQUIRES you to earn several million per year.. although it might sound weird to say it, no matter how much you make you'll want more because you will always find ways to spend all of it.
Then in the end of it all, you die and your kids fight over whether your body is to be buried, cremated or frozen. Posted by Jeff Bailey (Member # 1975) on :
Si, that's awesome ;-)
This is actually a tough one guys. I DO think the players union is pushing this way too far, ( as if the players are being neglected financially... yeah right!! ) but here is the reality of it no matter what. MBL generated some serious money from merchandise, television sponsors, etc. We are the people feeding that cash cow. Every time we walk into the mall and buy an article of clothing or a toy with a MLB team logo or player etc.. we are funding that whole industry. The Players union is trying to see that the players are recieving their share of that billion dollar industry. If you look at it from that perspective I see what their complaint is. If you look at it from a tactful perspective, and consider the fans that make that whole industry a reality, I think a strike is absolutely a slap in the face of the fans. What really sickens me is that I ( and I'm sure many of you as well) hear kids today wanting to be pro sports athletes because they see thier favorite player cruising the strip in a decked out Hummer, or Escalade with TV sets in the seat backs, and a beautiful mansion with 6 sports cars, big screens, indoor courts, and hot tubs in every corner of the estate.
There is nothing wrong with being compensated fairly (and if that means making 7 figures, then so be it). After all, it is you and I that have made thier tremendous saleries a reality in the first place. But they are sending a very insulting message to the world, and our kids don't have the experience in life to understand the entire situation. Sad indeed.
Where has the love for the sport gone?
Posted by Todd Gill (Member # 2569) on :
Wait a minute Jeff....
If it's us fans that are creating the billion dollar sports merchandise industry that pays these players the huge sums of money they make....then I think the fans ought to be compensated for their efforts.
We should strike the ballgames until we get a kickback or a tax break for our years of loyal support.
If you think about it...We're like the government and the ball players are like a bunch of lazy welfare bums. They're getting all the goodies in life off the backs of us hard-working middle class slobs.
P.S. I bet if some of the old timers were alive today, they'd pistol whip the first ball player they saw wearing a 14 oz, gold earing while they were up to bat. Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
If the OWNERS are stupid enough to pay the PLAYERS that kind of money......LET'S BLAME THE OWNERS. They build new stadiums with OUR MONEY, then sell the teams and keep the profits. The richest teams get the best players because they're willing to pay nore, so they can win more games. If they sell the TEAM, they make a bazillion, and if they KEEP the TEAM, they make a bazillion. Basically there's no equity in the value of competing teams. It's a revolving CATCH-22. The ONLY REAL LOSERS are the fans and even moreso, the VENDORS and others who make their living because of baseball.
Posted by Kathy Joiner (Member # 1814) on :
My song:
"Buy them some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, We don't give a hoot if they never come back."
Posted by JoAnna Nouis (Member # 2838) on :
It seems to me that the MLB players union has forgotten one very important fact, IT IS JUST A $#&%%*& GAME!!!!!!! These are grown men being paid absurd amounts of money for playing a childs game designed to promote team work and self esteem. They should be grateful that other grown men are willing to pay absurd amounts of money to watch them play, to take their children to watch them play. If the fans continue to come back, pay the insane prices for tickets and continue to represent to their children that these undereducated, unappreciative, egomaniacs are heros, the players (and their union) will continue to rape the fans with ticket prices and charge for autographs!
I think we should start our own sports franchise, we could call it MLLP (Major League Lettering and Pinstriping)and charge insane amounts of money to watch pinstriping races, speed gold leafing and competitive wall dogging. And if they want it signed we can charge extra for that to!
OK Im done ranting now, time for bed.
Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
ROFLMAO JoAnna!!! You are so right!
Posted by Santo (Member # 411) on :
What kind of labor union has a strike where: The negotiations are held at the choicest hot3els in the the country? The stiking parties never walk a picket line or carry signs? The strikers will receive extensive opportunities to appear on talk shows and given opportunities to do motivational speaking for financial gain. The striker have collected the lion's share of their yearly salary already so, they are risking a much smaller percentage of their salary than a true labor worker does when they strike. Just Low-Life spoiled m#@%^&&%(*&@ jockstraps that who.
Posted by Tony Vickio (Member # 2265) on :
Personally I wil NEVER watch a MLB game!! I would stick hat pins in my eyes first!!! Just on the news!! A Rod, if the new contract is approved, will loose $114,000.00 per DAY!! Since he makes $520,833.33 dollars per day (seven days a week), he may need some financial help from us! Baseball (and the NBA) are the only sports where it is required to wear your IQ on the uniform! What would happen to them if they had to get a "real" job?? Have MUCH more to say, but no time today!
Posted by Tony Vickio (Member # 2265) on :
So upset I made a mistake!!! Its $520,833.33 per week!!!!! Just think about that!!!
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
One clarification on the A Rod thing...he didn't force any team to pay him that much. They fought over the chance to give him that kind of money. If a company approached you and offered to pay you that much money would you say - Oh no, thanks, only pay me half that much?! Of course not!
A Rod is also the ONLY player who publically offered to take a dramatic cut in his salary if it would help to avert a strike.
[ August 30, 2002, 12:33 PM: Message edited by: Kimberly Zanetti ]
Posted by John Thompson (Member # 2750) on :
I live in Royston GA where Ty Cobb lived and you know what, he died a multi millionaire. Guess what though, he made hardly any of his money from baseball, they didn't make hardly anything back then. He took what little money he made and invested it in stocks mainly a small startup beverage comapany in Atlanta called Coca-Cola. Most the other baseball players from his era died virtually pennyless. I wonder just when the "game" changed and they started getting payed and treated like gods. I can say this about it all... F-'EM and then some!!!!! Posted by Jeff Bailey (Member # 1975) on :
Bob, you're very right. The owners are making very good money off of this industry, but here is the reality. No one is forcing any of us to go to a game, and no one is forcing us to purchase goods that support Major League Baseball, so yes Todd, we the fans do have a large hand in the absurd amounts of money the players are now being paid for playing a game. Now, the strike idea is insulting to us the fans ( thankfully it is now over) but we need to put it into perspective. If you were an employee for a sign shop that effectively charged a 500/hr labor rate (and let's say you enjoy your job immensly) , you would certainly want to be compensated fairly for the work the sign company was making. If you were currently being paid 100/hr ( which certainly is phenominal wages) and the shop started charging 700/hr for labor, you most certainly would expect a raise. Now, you obviously don't need a raise ( heck, you're already making 100/hr) but you would wish to be compensated fairly. So now you say the customer who is paying the outrages labor rate of 700/hr is being ripped off, but again, no one is forcing that customer to contract to that shop at that rate. Persosnally I would say it's outrageous, but if the shop is still thriving, and profiting, then the market is obviously supporting that shops rate.
So, Baseball is becoming an expensive past time for the average fan. Well, I do agree that the prices of a ticket are far too expensive, but again, the public is obviously still willing to attend, and purchase merchandise thus supporting the entire industry. So what is fair? Shall the team owners keep their profits and not compensate the players who are out on the field creating the entire game in the first place? I don't think that is quite fair either. Remember, nobody is forcing fans to go to games and buy a darn thing. The money is obviously there, so yes, we as fans are responsible as well. I don't see the players as greedy, but I do see a strike as wrong. If we as fans wish this to change, the only answer is to not support the industry with our dollar. We wouldn't even be losers. We can go to little league games, and see the REAL baseball players. The little guys, and girls that still play for the love of the game.
[ September 01, 2002, 04:41 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Bailey ]
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
You hit the nail on the head Jeff. When they show these polls about what it costs to take a family of four to attend a ball game, I don't feel that they are showing the truth. Yes, our tickets are $32 a piece because we CHOSE to buy those seats. In Dodgers Stadium you can buy $6.00 seats that aren't bad at all, the $10 seats are very good (coming from someone who is used to sitting right on first base). You don't have to spend $50 on horrible food and snacks. Almost every stadium will allow you to bring a cooler or paper sack with sandwiches and drinks. One night we brought lobster tails and melon wrapped in prociutto. The experience is what you make it. There's no reason you can't stop at Pathmark and buy a $3.00 bag of peanuts that will last you for 5 games instead of spending $5.00 for a tiny bag at the ballpark. I even buy bags of the hallowe'en M&Ms in November when they go one sale so I can take orange & black M&Ms to the ball games.
If you want a shirt or team sweatshirt or jacket, you can go to Sears or JC Penny's when there are sales and pay less than $10 for a shirt. I got a $300 jacket at Penny's on sale for $75 and then used a 20% off sale coupon. Only a moron would buy something like that at the ballpark.
Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
What it comes down to for ME, is that I don't go to any baseball games....and I'm in DIAMONBACK country. I went to every WORLD SERIES game in 1951....YANKEES/GIANTS.....sat in the bleachers for $1.00!!!!! During the GIANTS/DODGERS playoffs that year. bleacher seats were $.50.....I was out there and saw BOBBY THOMPSON hit that world famouse homerun....for 50 cents! I realize this was in the "olden days", but now you need a 2nd mortgage to get a seat at a game......and BASKETBALL is WORSE!
Posted by Steve Burke (Member # 2674) on :
This post reminds me of what irks me about concerts. Anyone who would pay more than $50 to see anyone other than Jimi and SRV together (that would be quite a feat) should have their head examined. I know lots of people make more than enough that $50 (or $500) is chump change, but it's the principle...Half of the Eagles' fans probably couldn't afford the tickets, or more so the Stones!!! $200 for a ticket is not larceny, it's stupidity. Oh well, entertainment sells!!
And I also agree- if someone told me they would pay me $5 million to swing a club at a ball or a bat or a stick at a puck, or to hang from a tree and pick leaves, who wouldn't? Yes, most of these guys are the furthest from my ideal role model, but no-one put a gun to their head and said "sign, or I'll put a cap in yo a##!!" Why else do you think they are such nimrods? We are enabling their immaturity by throwing this unheard-of sum at them.
Did anyone ever think EXACTLY what these salaries are? It would take the average employee in Canada 500 YEARS to earn AROD's annual salary. Celine Dion is selling her Florida home for $20 million or so- and she is only in her thirties. Scary...
Posted by Kenneth Sandlin (Member # 3014) on :
urgh, Si you do have a gift that was great.
All of these so-called "pro" sports are well beyond the absurd stage. But if fans weren't spending the money on the merchandise and the game seats, not to mention being glued to the 30+ sports channels available now with all of that advertising and the dozens of sports magazines with all of that advertising, and the entire newspaper sports sections people are always clamoring for...
I never quite understood the FANatical obsession with watching somebody else play games, but it sure created a market.
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