MLB Tries to Become More Like NBA … Or Grade School
Just learned this: MLB is trying to crack down on players who wear their pants slightly too long.
Putting aside the fact that I prefer players who wear long socks vs those who wear long pants, it seems to be the style of the time. So it’s not really worth raising a stink about it, I think.
So the league is doing this the right way, and treating all the players the same, right? They’re telling stars like DOrtiz and Manny that they’re going to have to shorten up their pants … right?
Ha, if you thought MLB would consider it a good idea to treat its stars the same as everyone else, you obviously haven’t been paying attention to the way the league operates. Ortiz and Manny can wear their pants however they damn well please, thank you very much.
But if Denard Span does it, it’ll cost him $1000 per infraction.
Span claims it was an accident, but I don’t care. This is just idiotic. It’s just as dumb as the NBA trying to require their young black players to dress like their old white owners instead of how they want to (and like their young black fans do). Except this doesn’t even have the excuse of doddering-rich-white-guys-who-are-totally-out-of-touch-with-reality.
I can’t decide if this is an individuality-reducing power play like school uniforms, or if it’s a revenue generating ploy for the league in a tough economic time (kind of like those cameras that catch you speeding and send you a bill).
Either way, it’s lame. And it’s even worse that they won’t enforce the fines for players that make a lot of money.
7 comments7 Comments so far
Leave a reply
I generally don’t care how players dress, the NBA suit thing was kind of dumb, but who cares? So they have to throw a suit on while traveling, small price to pay since every single NBA player is overpaid in my mind. But at least in basketball the rules apply to everyone from LeBron and D-Wade all the way to whoever is playing for the Timberwolves these days. Span can’t be too happy about the special treatment bestowed upon the elite players in the game.
I mean, it’s not really worth getting worked up about. He’ll just have to keep his pants about a quarter-inch higher off his heels.
But Manny’s pants drag on the ground. I hope the Dodgers got a phone call about it.
This might be something that doesn’t even get noticed by the LA beat writers, so maybe they saw it and didn’t feel it was important to bring up in a column.
Or maybe they did and we haven’t even noticed.
It is funny that ol’ Selig chose Denard Span, of all people, to single out. Kind of like how he fined Gardy for delay of game last year, when the Twins play nearly the fastest game in the league. It makes MLB look stupid.
It only makes the MLB look stupid in the eyes of Minnesotans. Around the country, if ANYONE ELSE NOTICES (which is rare), they think MLB is doing the right thing.
And by the way, Olney linked to the Span Pants story today. It would appear no other player and no other team has been warned.
The nation applauds.
Trust MLB to create a problem that doesn’t exist, while ignoring actual situations.
MLB: Nothing to see here, folks, nothing to see- no steroids or “mislabeled” birth certificates. Wait- look at that guy with the long pants! Let’s fine him!