BASEBALL'S BIGGEST PROBLEM.

It’s been obvious for years that the national pastime is on life support and its prognosis doesn’t look good. I’m not talking about overeating which is one national pastime or bribing congressman and senators that’s become a popular pastime in Washington…I’m talking about the real national pastime – major league baseball.

Major league baseball is in big trouble. Attendance continues to drop faster than Joan River’s face; players have become overpaid, spoiled, steroid using disgraces and the Commissioner’s office has a “gone fishing” sign hanging in its window. One of the Commissioner’s main jobs is to level the playing field – to see that every major league team has a chance to fairly compete for division titles and hopefully get into the World Series

However, instead of instituting a salary cap on team rosters like the NFL and NBA which would restrain rich, deep pocket teams from dominating the acquisition of high priced players, Commissioner Bud Selig pushed through a “luxury tax” against teams that decide to pay, because they can, obscene amount of money buying star baseball players from other teams with smaller pocket books. The “luxury tax” doesn’t work.

The New York Yankee’s multi-millionaire owner George Steinbrenner loves the “luxury tax.” Paying it is chump change to him. His franchise makes more money than any other team and he’s able to spend more money than Donald Trump does on hair spray. Every year, George buys players that he thinks will improve the Yankees and weakens his opponents. He spends hundreds of millions on a single player like he just did for a Red Sox star and even had the chutzpah to make the guy shave his beard and get a haircut. So much for the “luxury tax” evening the playing field.

The only solution to truly “even the playing field” is for all teams playing the Yankees to forfeit the game. That means that the Yanks will win every game on the schedule and no baseball fan with an I.Q. larger than his neck size will pay an admission to see a “none game.” The same goes for TV revenue. What sponsor is going to pay for a broadcast that never happens? The loss in income to “Daddy Warbucks” Steinbrenner will be enormous and he won’t be able to buy every player he wants. That will finally bring baseball back to what it’s supposed to be – a fair, fun game played by athletes and enjoyed by fans.