Ted Williams went to war.
Mike Trout went to bed.
Will that be the legacy of how our generation’s greatest baseball player reacted in the aftermath of our “Pearl Harbor moment?”
Some are uncomfortable with the Coronavirus-to-war comparisons, such as the Pearl Harbor reference from Surgeon General Jerome Adams. But just Monday, President Trump flatly declared “we are in a war,” and I will not argue. America has tragically lost over 42,000 souls in the fight with COVID-19 at the time of this writing.
Baseball may seem trivial by comparison, except it isn’t. Our country needs it back.
Trump is tired of watching “14-year-old baseball games” and infectious disease guru Dr. Anthony Fauci is “dying to see a baseball game,” especially ones from his world champion Washington Nationals.
Meanwhile, Trout recently raised the anxiety of baseball fans in quarantine by telling NBC Sports Network that he’s skeptical of any Arizona BioDome-style plans to bring the game back.
“We can’t be sitting in a hotel room, just going from the field to the hotel and not be able to do anything,” said Trout. “I think that’s pretty crazy.”
Fellow left-coaster Clayton Kershaw told SportsNet LA flatly, “I’m not going to be away from my family and not see them for four and a half months.”
Sadly, this has become typical baseball lately. When presented with the option to entertain, they decline.
Here’s a thought: what about sacrificing for the good of the country as millions of other Americans are?
Safety first, of course. Anyone who’s heard me speak for even a second recently on The Greg Hill Show knows I’m hiding under my bed other than my daily trip to our radio station and a once-per-week grocery store run. I’m scared of this virus, and I fully understand anyone else’s fear there, too.
But if even Fauci believes baseball (without fans) can return safely with weekly testing and quarantine measures, then what are we waiting for?
Provided your age and underlying health conditions don’t preclude it, essential workers need to show up right now. It’s a civic duty. We’ve reached the stage where baseball is essential to our nation’s mental well being.
And anyway, Trout and Kershaw don’t seem as much concerned about a virus as they are of an inconvenience to their lifestyles. It’s attitudes like these that will make the chasm between the $35 million-per-year Trout elites and the fans all the wider.
Meanwhile, in America, the gap between the NFL and MLB is now a Grand Canyon sprawl as football has managed to agree on a new CBA, conduct free agency with Tom Brady on the marquee, and surge toward this Thursday’s draft. Roger Goodell’s league hasn’t missed a beat.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is apparently too caught up in Tiger King to find time to finish up the Red Sox cheating investigation. This is baseball’s season, and locally the Red Sox players' voices are nowhere to be found.
Where is everybody? Where is The Show?
Even a sports documentary has taken advantage of the empty stage, with ESPN averaging 6.1 million viewers for the first two episodes of Bulls retrospective ‘The Last Dance’ on Sunday night. Can you imagine baseball’s ratings right now if they came back?
And make no mistake, MLB needs some ratings. In times of recession the middle class often suffers the most, and baseball right now is barely hanging on to sports’ middle class. Do they even care about their own self-preservation?
So Mr. Trout and Mr. Kershaw, get your minds right. Send the word over there.
Ted Williams is a legend for many reasons, not least of which was his sacrifice for our country. They named a tunnel in Boston after him. Right now you guys aren’t worthy of having a Mike Lindell throw pillow named in your honor.
Start packing for the Biosphere, guys. Your legacy is at stake, your sport needs saving, and the rest of us need something to watch.