Fans making statement to sports leagues

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Barry Bonds, Conor Jackson, Derek Jeter, ESPN - New York, Mark McGwire, New York Yankees, Oakland A's

Conor Jackson hit the first grand slam of his career last night as the A’s defeated the Los Angeles Angels, 9-1 in Oakland. After the game, reports say all it took for him to get the meaningful memento back was an autographed bat and ball for the local fan who retrieved it.

Yankees fan Christian Lopez after recovering the Jeter 3,000 ball.

This comes a week after Christian Lopez, a 23-year-old Yankees fan, stumbled into 15 minutes of fame as New York’s Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit, a home run, rolled to him beyond the outfield in Yankee Stadium.

Many expected Lopez to see the dollar signs of a capitalist, holding the Yankees and Jeter over the fire for a hefty ransom. Why not? It happened during the home run surge a few years ago with Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds and the fans who caught their respective moneyballs.

But Lopez, much like that fan last night, decided to see the stars of a young fan, appreciating the game, the athlete and the special experience.

From ESPN New York’s coverage of the event: “Mr. Jeter deserved it. I’m not gonna take it away from him,” Christian Lopez said. “Money’s cool and all, but I’m 23 years old, I’ve got a lot of time to make that. It was never about the money, it was about the milestone.”

Lopez did receive gifts from the Yankees, but that even brought out more angst from one sports writer who believes the team exploited the generosity of the fan.

As sports fans, maybe it is up to us to show the leagues, bickering over how best to split the millions of dollars they make because of the fans, what it is to be a good person who respects the game and its lifeblood, the fans.

I’ll never ask for his autograph or a picture with him, but I am a fan of Christian Lopez and the A’s fan that looked out for Jackson last night in Oakland.

Celebrate the game. Enjoy the community. Live the experience.

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Mannywood Ending

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Barry Bonds, Chicago White Sox, Manny Ramirez, Tampa Bay Rays

Unfortunately, I’m not in the least bit surprised by today’s news of Tampa Bay Rays OF Manny Ramirez retiring.

Last baseball season I wrote about Ramirez – Manny being Manny – and my dismay that people expected a contribution to the Chicago White Sox playoff push.

I’m not going to kick him when he’s down.

What I will say is that he is a tragic Hollywood drama waiting to be made. One that will sum up the steroid era of baseball possibly better than any other player, because he was embraced and engaging even if moody and bad-mouthed at times. He has not really been seen as the “evil” person Barry Bonds is painted as.

Sorry to see this Manny, but it is just another example of what Major League Baseball allowed to happen to their sport.

(Getty Images)

Can Manny still be Manny?

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Barry Bonds, Chicago White Sox, ESPN, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez

I enjoy watching outfielder Manny Ramirez swing a bat. He’s entertaining and creates a buzz wherever he goes. I was living in Los Angeles when he joined the Dodgers and experienced Chavez Ravine morphing into “Mannywood.”

What I don’t understand is the current buzz and excitement in the media about him joining the Chicago White Sox for their playoff push. He may sell tickets and bring about that chatter he creates in broadcast booths, newspapers and studio shows, but no one is mentioning his lack of production since being suspended 50 games for banned substances at the beginning of May 2009. Here’s ESPN’s recap of the suspension if you’re interested in the details.

I’m past the point of wondering if his excuse was legit or not, and in all honesty Barry Bonds is my favorite player of all time, so the whole steroids and human growth hormone issue is for someone else to argue about.

Again, I’m writing this out of being stunned by the fact I haven’t heard a member of the media (and quite possibly I just haven’t looked hard enough) question his ability to consistently produce anymore. If he was just bored and not happy to be in L.A. that’s one thing. But if his skills have deteriorated coincidentally after a suspension for performance enhancing supplements, shouldn’t there be some mention of that?

As a fan I’d like to see Manny play well and make it a great race in the AL Central, even if I’d prefer the Twins win the division. Chicago has good fans and I hope they get the opportunity to experience Manny being Manny. At the same time it will be very interesting to look at his final numbers now that he has something to play for and a fresh situation.