Nibbles Ninja

Nibbles Ninja

Nibbles & bits from Alan Fahrner

Goodbye Major League Baseball (MLB)

Posted on Author AlanPosted in Nibbles

No MLBI am truly pained to write what I am in this post.

I have never been much of a spectator-sport person. My parents didn’t watch it on TV, and I grew up in the middle of nowhere in a family without a ton of $$$, so the trek to watch professional sports was both too far and too expensive. I still have never gone to an NFL game.

But, I still had love in my heart for one major league sport: baseball.

Sadly, no more.

I also grew up in a world where sports were considered a no-politics zone, other than energetic nationalism (e.g. I still remember how wildly we cheered at a high school game in 1980 at the news that we beat the Russians in hockey at the Olympics).

It was bad enough last year when players and the league decided to embrace divisive race politics without (apparently) even a single thought for the cities they implicitly where encouraging the destruction of. Or the fact they can damn half the country that politically disagrees without nary a peep about the evils being done by the Chinese Communist Party (in the lucrative Chinese market that they are expanding partnerships in).

I was still looking forward to my MLB.tv subscription allowing me to catch Red Sox games.

But, how can I do anything to support an organization that now has clearly chosen sides? That has chosen to knee-jerk react based on misinformation? That is perpetuating lies?

I haven’t deleted my MLB.tv account yet, partially ‘cause I really don’t want to, and with hopes that Major League Baseball will realize their mistake, apologize, and return the All-Star game to the great city fo Atlanta (where I worked two years on the Olympics).

But, they’ve boxed themselves in and, given they acquiesced so swiftly to the woke mob (was it even two days?), could you imagine how unlikely it is that they could stand the blow-back if they said, “We misunderstood, we judged and moved too quickly, and…”?

Goodbye MLB. I will truly miss you. You were a big part of my childhood (I still smile at listening to games with my friends as we hung out in our garbage bag tents) and my work life (I ran an operations team that supported ticketing for 13 MLB teams).

I have fond memories and still care for so many folks who are employed by you (directly or indirectly).

But truth, fair judgment, and this great nation of ours are much more important.

MLB, please prove me wrong and fix this. Be the adult in the corporate woke playground.

Goodbye Major League Baseball.

P.S. Some articles to consider (I may add more):

Hugh Hewitt is a very reasonable (and reasoned) person:

Opinion | Good luck with your fans, Major League Baseball
Baseball declares itself a “blue sport.”

Georgia Public Radio cannot be considered right-wing. What do they say about the law?:

What Does Georgia’s New Voting Law SB 202 Do?
Georgia has a new slate of voting laws after Gov. Brian Kemp signed a 98-page bill Thursday. From absentee restrictions to more flexibility with voting equipment, here’s a look at all the changes.

”Virtue signaling itself has become our national pastime”:

Virtue Signaling Replaces Baseball as America’s National Pastime
Commentary By moving the all-star game out of Atlanta, the morally narcissistic ignoramuses who run Major League Baseball ...

Ironic:

MLB requires photo ID to pick up tickets from Will Call, but boycotts Georgia for voter ID law
Major League Baseball responded to calls to boycott the state of Georgia over a controversial new voter-ID law by moving the All-Star game out of the Peach State.

Is this why MLB picks sides in America (where it is safe to do so), but not China (protecting access to ¥¥¥)?:

MLB boycotts Georgia, signs new deal with Chinese firm that dropped NBA over exec’s Hong Kong support
Major League Baseball is protesting a democratically passed Georgia voting law while bolstering ties with a Communist Party-backed Chinese company that cracked down on an NBA executive who supported the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.

More irony:

MLB Boycotted Georgia a Day After Expanding China Deal
Major League Baseball had extended and expanded its contract with a Chinese telecommunications giant shortly before boycotting the ...

Somehow, I can’t imagine it’s just MLB’s targets for punishment that are hurt by this:

Cobb County says loss of All-Star game will cost tourism industry over $100 million
The bureau said the loss of the game will have a negative impact on the county’s hospitality industry, further delaying recovery from the pandemic.

Now that a new precedent has been set by our President:

Questions The Media Should Ask President Biden On Georgia Voting Law
The country looks forward to the answers provoked by these questions about Biden’s call for economic sanctions against Georgia.

Question asked:

I’m not a Chris Christie fan, but:

Kudos to Governor Kemp for not buckling under to extortion:

Georgia Gov. Kemp Rips Biden, Abrams Over Voting Bill Lies, Will Not Bow To Corporate Pressure
“You now have a choice. You can bow down to this cancel culture, [but] I’ll give you a warning. If you do, it’s never enough. It will never be enough,” Gov. Kemp told the crowd after saying he felt the state didn’t need to apologize “one bit” for Georgia’s new voting law.

“Right now, it appears the only reason there was significant pressure on Major League Baseball but not these other sports organizations or other businesses is that ESPN’s Sage Steele asked President Biden about the MLB All-Star Game, and not the others.”:

Why Is Major League Baseball Expected to Boycott Georgia, While Other Businesses Aren’t? | National Review
The MLB All-Star Game will not be played in Atlanta, but quite a few other major sporting events are still scheduled to be held in Georgia this year.

Another “not a conservative”:

Psaki’s Alternative Facts: How The Georgia Election Law Became Part of Our Alternate Political Reality
For years, the media shredded Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway for a statement on Meet The Press interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on attend…

Texas is having none of it:

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Throws Fastball at MLB’s Virtue Signaling
The Texas Rangers baseball team had asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to throw out the first pitch at their home opener.
Major League Baseball then took a stand against sensible voting reforms in Georgia,...

Governor Abbott’s letter to the Rangers.Governor Abbott’s letter to the Rangers.

White House washes its hands of it:

White House Spins Biden’s All-Star Game Remarks: He Didn’t Definitively Say He Supported Moving All-Star Game From Georgia
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tried to mitigate the effect of comments President Biden made last week in which he stated that he

Two things:

  1. Please watch the video just below yourselves and decide what the President was supporting
  2. If Biden didn’t mean to support moving the All-Star Game, why didn’t he speak up as soon as people “misunderstood”?

Rubio makes a point:

Sen. Marco Rubio to MLB commissioner: Will you give up your membership to Augusta National?
The Florida senator says he doubts MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred would make ‘a personal sacrifice’

Eerp:

MLB Moves This Summer’s All-Star Game From Atlanta to One of the Whitest Cities in America
Major League Baseball has announced that it is playing the 2021 All-Star Game in Denver, Colo., instead of Atlanta, Georgia. The Colorado Rockies will host the 2021 MLB All-Star Game after the decisi...

Legal Insurrection weighs in:

Biden’s Lies About Voter Law Cost Georgia The All-Star Game
President Biden and White House press secretary Jen Psaki continued to make false claims about Georgia’s voting law even after they were debunked. Within 48 hours of Biden’s ESPN interview, MLB announced they were pulling the All-Star game.

So, rushing things wasn’t a good idea?:

Okay, this is funny:

‘Biden Never Called For A Georgia Boycott,’ Says Jen Psaki As Biden Stands Right Behind Her Holding ‘Boycott Georgia’ Sign
WASHINGTON, D.C. - After an uproar from Georgia small businesses over MLB boycotting their state, many are demanding answers from President Biden who allegedly encouraged the boycott. ‘Biden never called for a boycott of Georgia,’ said Psaki. As she spoke, she seemed unaware that the President was s…

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