Let's Focus On The Right Things
I will be the first to say that there are a lot of reasons to criticize A-Rod. But, criticizing his decision to skip the Home Run Derby is a really stupid one. Why doesn't the national media focus on baseball's terrible job with tickets for this event and other All-Star festivities? As of last night tickets for the Home Run Derby in Section 601 (upper deck) were being sold by MLB, not scalpers, for the low, low price of $300 each! How about the much-ballyhooed "Fan Fest" going on right now at the Javits Center. Well, that's a relative bargain at $30 a pop for adults with children ages 2-12 getting a huge discount and only paying $25.
Look, I know that things like World Series Games ending before midnight and players actually caring about the All-Star Game the way they used to are a thing of the past. But, is it too much to ask for baseball to stop gouging every last cent from the fans? If the national media wants to criticize someone, why not take a shot at the executives who are pricing the game out of reach for most fans? Would it have killed baseball to cut the costs on the Fan Fest and maybe even allowed kids under 12 to go for free? Of course not, but you won't read about it in the national media. They need baseball to fill a lot of summer programming hours. So, I guess A-Rod gets to be the lucky target. Maybe we should just criticize him for being one of the few people who could afford these prices?