As a little girl sitting at my father’s side- I watched year after year the trials and tribulations of my Dad’s beloved Boston Red Sox-Year after year I would hear him say “Well there’s always next season.” But there was something else I remember or should I say someone else I remember. The one shining star who dimmed those disappointments and made me the fan I am today! He was simply known as “Yaz” Carl Yastrzemski, Number “8”. In 1967 he did what only 9 others before him have done and no one has done since, he won the Triple Crown of Baseball, (to win this the player must lead the league in Homers, RBI’s and Batting Average in the same year.)
Some have come close, the Yankees Alex Rodriguez has topped the charts in all three categories but never in the same year, the same for Barry Bonds in the National League.
Yaz, considered by one of his colleagues, to be the greatest left fielder of all time, still holds the record which has stood for 42 years, not shabby for the son of a potato farmer from Long Island, but to me the real accomplishment isn’t the longevity but it’s how he achieved this Honor. He did it through hard work, practice and the commitment necessary to exceed his own expectations. Yaz didn’t lean on the excuse that “it’s a competitive world out there and we need to do what ever it takes to stay in the game”, he didn’t cheat to achieve accolades that were obtained through his own talent and efforts.
So why is it that so many of today’s athletes, these naturally gifted young men (and women) feel compelled to be dishonorable and use substances (as well as promote the use of substances) by POWER OF EXAMPLE, to achieve potential Greatness. To put it simply they’re liars and cheats who in my book don’t deserve the respect of the sporting public or the media recognition they are given.
A sociologist recently stated that we are a society that expects instant results. Hard work and honest efforts have been replaced with the instant fix. Along with this instant gratification there are too many members of our society that have seemingly undermined our value system and replaced it with plain and simple “greed.” Our current economic state glaringly reflects this concept, and an even more troubling fact is this is the value system being imposed on our children.
Perhaps I’m naïve to think that things will revert back to a time where “The honest ability and effort of an individual is rewarded” but I will continue to hope that more people begin to see the light and say Enough is Enough-,Like “Yaz” who humbly has accepted the title of “The Renaissance Man of Baseball” (because he was thought to bring about the change of baseball in New England) perhaps some other young player will step up to the plate and bring about a reformation of “Sports” bringing back “The Great American Pass Time” to what it once was, benefiting all who participate and all who watch along with their faithful parents, game after game, year after year. - Leora Moquin
Leora Moquin is a professor at the University of Harford. She is an avid reader of our site and has contributed this Op-ed piece expressing her views on the state of MLB. If you would like to voice your opinion on a particular topic, send your piece to ufbaseball@gmail.com. If it’s anywhere near as good as this piece, we’ll publish it.
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