The Inevitable Changes in Modern Sports

In the novel, For the Love of the Game, protagonist Billy Chapel is essentially an old school player living in the modern era. He loves the game, and the thought of playing for a team other than the one he played for his entire career is one that has never really crossed his mind throughout his tenure in the big leagues. He is paid generously, but there is speculation that throughout his career, a large amount of money has been left on the table due to his earnest willingness to continue playing for his team, and simplicity in negotiating the financial aspect of doing his job. Never any agents, and always with a handshake with the owner of the team. Even the owner himself has questioned Chapel's lack of argument when it came to the financial aspect. To Chapel, he's paid well; more than enough to live a comfortable lifestyle, and it's while getting to do what he loves most - play baseball.

Even with the most marginal of talent, the minimum salaries in professional sports at the major level are more than enough for a person to comfortably live off of, with minimal maintenance. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you that it's financially irresponsible to own a Hummer, Maserati, Lamborghini, and a Benz, when one can do just fine with a top-end Lexus. But I'm getting beside the point, which is that the modern sports era is one that is purely tainted by money, greed, and luxury, and I often question where the love of the game has simply gone?

Sports fans of any sport nowadays will endure the feeling of change, when a player moves elsewhere, for whatever reasons, most typically, financially. I think it's certainly more frequently than back when our parents and their parents watched sports - back then, there were more Billy Chapels, and less agents, and a seemingly better understanding that get paid to play sports was more of a privilege than a right. Sometimes, the changes are understandable, sometimes they don't really bother us, because it's a player from a team that we might be indifferent to. Lots of times, change occurs with the teams that we religiously follow, which hurts the most. Always though, change takes some time to let sink in, because it's going to be a little strange.

Cases in point -

• Ken Griffey, Jr. departs from the Seattle Mariners, and goes to the Cincinnati Reds. How accustomed did we all grow seeing Junior in the green and navy blue of the Mariners, to see him don the red and white of the Reds? I didn't even really follow baseball much back then, and I was like, wtf?

• Allen Iverson traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Denver Nuggets. Iverson grew up in Virginia, played college ball at Georgetown, and went pro to the 76ers. For his entire career to that point, his entire life was spent in the chunk of the Atlantic coast, mostly making his name at Georgetown. Even when he went to the 76ers, there was always a sense of pride in this guy that at first, liked it there, because he was "close to home," referring to Washington/Virginia. And now he's out in fucking Colorado, because he's now a douche who couldn't get along with management. Just because it happened in one place doesn't mean it'll never happen again. I wouldn't be surprised to see him have to move again in his career. Regardless though, black-red-white Iverson was a staple of the game - but now we're subject to the light blue-gold-white of the Nuggets, and that's just.. weird.

• Mike Mussina goes to the Yankees. Because Peter Angelos is a stingy jew, Mussina does what most players with good talent do - accept Yankee money, and then put on Yankee pinstripes. This, saddened me, because I have glowing memories of the 1997 ALCS, where the scientific Mussina struck out fifteen Cleveland Indians, in an extra-innings heartbreaker. With him gone, and the inevitable retirement of Cal Ripken, Jr., I would never have any reason to like the Orioles ever again.

• Drew Bledsoe throws up his arms and goes to Buffalo. Bledsoe was the Patriots, long before Tom Brady showed up and started spreading his seed everywhere, impregnating all the hot womens. Bledsoe has to have had one of the most ironic careers in sports history, starting with the fact that during his tenure with the Patriots, they were never really bad, and once good enough to go all the way to the Superbowl in 1996. He got his ring in 2001, but that was after his injury, and Brady stepped to the plate, and Drew had to earn it on someone else's coat tails. Naturally, sensing the directional change of the team, he goes to the Bills, and in his first game with the Bills, he leads them to a humiliating blowout win over his former team. Unfortunately, that would be the highlight of his career with the Bills, as they proceeded to pretty much lose every game after that, and then he went to Dallas where he did shit there too.

• Pedro Martinez leaves the Boston Red Sox, and goes to the New York Mets. To me, this is probably the biggest move that I can think of currently. Pedro WAS Boston. Throughout the 90s, and into the 2000s, when anyone mentioned the Red Sox, the guy synonymous with the team was Pedro, quite possibly the greatest pitcher of the 90s. The city of Boston had reason to celebrate every five days in the summer, aptly described as "Pedro Martinez Day." In 2004, the Red Sox got their shit together, and actually won it all. Promptly afterwards, Pedro balks at Boston's generous 4-year deal, and accepts the equivalently generous 5-year deal from the Mets. The red, the B, of the Red Sox no more. Instead, he donned the blue and orange, sometimes pinstriped, and always ugly blue baseball glove of the Mets. Now that was weird.

There are far other examples, and I don't count the ones that contain players well past their prime, like Patrick Ewing going to the Sonics and then the Magic, or Hakeem Olajuwon going to the fucking Raptors.

**

Now what I'm getting to is the recent news that the Atlanta Braves have decided to not deal with Nazi-agent Scott Boras, and therefore allowing Andruw Jones to cut ties from the one organization he's been playing with for his twelve-year career. Basically, unless Andruw comes back with just his dad and no Boras, and says he'll play for Atlanta for the rest of his career for half of what he's initially looking for, there's a 99% chance that Andruw Jones is done for with the Atlanta Braves.

There are times where the guy has infuriated me, especially this season. I marched out of Fenway Park after Andruw Jones struck out for the fifth time against Papelbon, drunkenly screaming to everyone that "if you want Andruw Jones so bad you can fucking keep him I don't want him coming back to Atlanta with me". I cursed his existence when he pulled a Jose Vidro, and grounded into a double play to end the game at Shea, against an evidently struggling Billy Wagner. The constant rally-killing strikeouts, the poor body language. At times, I hated Andruw Jones.

But as the season began winding down, and Mark Teixiera started heating up, it was Andruw Jones, quietly improving his numbers from the seven-spot. Realization sunk in that Andruw Jones' Atlanta career was slowly, and quietly dying. I thought back to 2005, when Andruw cranked out 51 home runs, and how amazing he was. 2007 was no question, a fluke in his career, and he will be back very soon, with another 35 homer, 120 RBI season.

Unfortunately, it will probably in all likelihood not be for the Atlanta Braves.

In 2005, I remember logging onto SI.com, and seeing a picture of Pedro Martinez wearing a Mets jersey, and hat, while smiling brightly for the camera. I grimaced, and did the "OJ Simpson on Trial" face at that sight. I dread the day I go onto SI.com, and see a picture of Andruw Jones wearing someone else's jersey.

But it's going to happen.

And that makes me sad.