When the Business of Baseball Hurts the Fans
“He’s dead to us now,” I heard someone say of Josh Hamilton amidst news that he had chosen to leave the Texas Rangers for a higher salary with the Los Angeles Angels. Every baseball fan is far too familiar with the sting of watching our favorite players pack up and leave town in pursuit of a bigger paycheck. Rangers fans will likely emulate the behavior of so many baseball crowds before them in the coming years by filling the Ballpark at Arlington with the sound of booing every time Hamilton takes the plate in his new jersey. It’s a burn that will not subside anytime soon, as evidenced by the fact that Seattle fans still boo former-Mariner Alex Rodriguez every chance they get. But why does this kind of thing happen so often in baseball, and is there any comfort to be found by heartbroken fans?
The pain that Rangers fans will feel for at least a season or two is the result of their franchise’s incredibly successful recent history. Trading for Hamilton – a recovering cocaine addict – in 2007 was a big risk for the Rangers, but the payoff was well worth it. The outfielder overcame his addiction and led the franchise to back-to-back American League Championship titles and narrowly missed winning the World Series both times. The past three years have seen some of the best MLB action in the Lonestar State for decades, with the Rangers constantly dazzling spectators as one of the most fun teams to watch in the history of the game – thanks in large part to Josh Hamilton.
As passionate supporters and fans of America’s pastime, we tend to grow attached to parts of the game that we love. We cheer for our managers when they go out to kick dirt on an unruly umpire. We sneer at the opposing manager when he does the same thing. A Yankees hat sparks intense emotion in almost any fan of the game, but whether that feeling is good or bad depends entirely on how you feel about the Evil Empire. Going all the way back to Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle almost one hundred years ago, American sports fans have a history of idolizing their favorite players. To us, baseball is more than just a game, it’s a passion – and we simply can’t understand why a player we’ve shared so many triumphs with over the past few years would just leave.
But as much as we hate it at times, baseball is still a business. Owners, coaches, and players, compare contracts and talk about million dollar signing bonuses with little to no regard for yours or my feelings. Calculators make these decisions, not nostalgic connections with a certain fanbase. That’s not to say that players never fall in love with the city they play for, but someone like Josh Hamilton or Alex Rodriguez isn’t playing baseball for fun anymore – it’s his job.
When Hamilton’s contract expired after a disappointing end to the 2012 season, he looked at his employment options and made the logical choice. To a fan, unfortunately, baseball isn’t about logic, which explains why we are so confused, hurt, and angered by a decision like this. But I promise you Rangers fans, there will be more star players in the future, and after they leave, more will come again. It might make you happy one day and sad the next, but as Rangers Manager Ron Washington once said, “that’s how baseball go.”