The Clutch AV department uncovered a great ESPN piece that aired recently. It turns out that NBA legend Wilt Chamberlin was a bellhop up in the Catskills in-between NBA seasons. It’s as true as it is weird. There are similar cases like this today, but for different reasons. For example, former NBA star Vin Baker now works at Starbucks. The difference? He blew though $100 million in salary. To Wilt’s credit, he probably made in his entire career what Vince made in a heyday year.
Here’s the problem with today’s athlete, specifically baseball, astronomical salaries…it’s in direct correlation to the prices of a ticket, hotdog, banner and the infamous $10 Yankee stadium hot chocolate. Yup, a little choco-powder and hot tap water in a cup for the low low price of $10. A slight reason for this is that the stadiums have a monopoly on the sale of food and drink. The main reason is that they need to recoup the bloated salaries the teams are playing their employees. They need to sell 3,300,000 hot chocolates to pay A-Roid for one season.
When Aliens stop by our planet from time to time they must be astounded and shocked that an under-performing starting pitcher who works 40 days a year gets paid 100x or more what policeman, teacher or someone doing an actual real job makes. They probably laugh at us, just like we laugh at them for constantly wearing the drab grey jumpsuits and the white boots (after Labor Day). It really is a joke and just another example of how this world is upside down.
Your average Joe and his family can likely still afford to attend a live MLB game, but probably has to cut back on the number of games attending, sit closer to God and of course budget the junk food and low quality souvenirs. Oh, and don’t forget some of the other money grabs like $30+ to park a car. Bargain parking could be had for $20 if you’re willing to rack up 5,000+ steps on your Fitbit. Hey, I guess that’s a plus for a minus!
Want to stay home and watch the game on TV? With the evolution of screen quality from the 25” Zenith tube to the 60” LED HD 3D, this was briefly a good option that in some respects was a clearer view than being there. The problem now though is the inundation of annoying advertising. I understand I’m technically watching the game for free. I say technically, because most games are on pay cable TV now, unlike those Zenith days of the Mets on WOR-9 and the Yankees on WPIX-11. It’s pay to play now.
Let’s forget about the regular commercials in-between innings. The reason is that with the clicker you can change the channel and switch over to another show, or simply get up and make a sandwich. The advertising found most annoying is the unavoidable. The 15th pitch is brought to you by an insurance company; the call to the bullpen is brought to you by a communication firm and a manager trip to the mound is sponsored in part by a vacation website. Names thrown in your face all night long so the 25th man at the end of bench could make a million or more dollars this year for watching the same game you are.
If Kid Clutch wanted to get a ballplayers autograph back in the day, it was done one of many FREE ways. Get to the ballpark early and hang down one of the baselines during batting practice or mill around the player’s stadium exit after the game. A player walks over, you hand him a pen and paper, then he signs it. It was easy Pease and gratis. Now, getting the same result usually involves outbidding someone on eBay or buying it at the local malls collectible store. In addition to it costing big money, it’s likely a fake since you don't witness the event.
The Clutch-Advice, which will never ever happen, is to go back to the old-school wages with adjustments for inflation. Men should be paid nominal wages to play a kids game. Then we pass that savings down to the hard working ones looking for a break from the rat race and a little head-clearing entertainment. Until then the Aliens win.
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