MLB Player Pierced in The Chest By Maple Bat

[Saxman]

OK first off....I can't stand pro baseball...bunch of over payed and under played....P*%(&'s if you want to know the truth.

Second...they still have pro baseball!!!!

Seriously you baseball fans listen to what Bud "I can't make a decision and stick with it" Selig??? I mean come on...three injuries since 01 and its a "pressing" issue? My lord find something else to whine about and then lets talk.

You know what the irony about complaints over baseball salaries in today's game is?

People have been making the EXACT same complaints since the first pro team in 1869.

[IrishOne]

I can't stand pro baseball...bunch of over payed

the league makes a TON of money.  the league isn't going to stop making all that money.  who should get it?  the owners?  for what?  for owning?  pshaw.   nobody more deserving than the PLAYERS, the ones who actually do the playing; the ones who provide all the entertainment.   any other way to see it is absurd IMO.   same in any sport.

[Masherbrum]

Over payed?  Sounds like jealously to me.

Underplayed?  They played 162 games a season + spring training.

I agree 100%, no other Major Sport comes close to it, in terms of length of schedule.

[lowZX14]

Just did a little bit of rough math for those who think they are overpaid.

NFL average salary for 2009 - $770,000

MLB average salary for 2010 - $2,700,000

Of course these are rough numbers and were retrieved from 2 different sites so the numbers could vary a little but let's break down salary per game shall we.

NFL salary per game counting 16 weeks of regular season and we'll say our player made it through all 3 weeks of the postseason to the Super Bowl for a total of 19 games.
$40,526.32/game

MLB salary per game counting 162 regular season games and our player made it all the way through game 7 of the World Series.
$14,917.27/game

Now I know NFL players have a more "physically demanding sport."  I'll agree that some of them get right beat up during a game and baseball is for the most part non-contact and a slower pace unless you're a Catcher like I was and that's a whole different story.  However, MLB players also play about an average of 6 games per week with constant travel as well and anyone who has played college ball or higher will tell you that the travel will wear down on you quickly.

For the sake of argument, I have left out Spring Training, Fall Instructional Leagues, etc. for MLB players and preseason games and team mini-camps for NFL players.  I just never have agreed with people who feel that baseball players are overpaid.  I agree that some of them do receive a ridiculous amount of money, but there are quite a few that make peanuts compared to those guys.


Back on topic though.  Like some have said, foul balls do a ton of damage each year but it's something that you know can happen when you attend a game.  I park my car everyday at the high school field where it is somewhat exposed to foul balls and park it at the rec league field where it can be hit but it's a chance I take.  I know coaching that I can get drilled by a line drive and almost did this year sitting in a dugout, luckily I happened to be leaned over getting something out of my bag at the time, but it's a chance I take.  I hope major league parks never put up the netting because being out in the open enjoying the game is something that I love and I think the net would be a distraction which is why I never sit behind home plate.

[IrishOne]

  I hope major league parks never put up the netting because being out in the open enjoying the game is something that I love and I think the net would be a distraction which is why I never sit behind home plate.

+1

[bcadoo]

Just did a little bit of rough math for those who think they are overpaid.

NFL average salary for 2009 - $770,000

MLB average salary for 2010 - $2,700,000

Of course these are rough numbers and were retrieved from 2 different sites so the numbers could vary a little but let's break down salary per game shall we.

NFL salary per game counting 16 weeks of regular season and we'll say our player made it through all 3 weeks of the postseason to the Super Bowl for a total of 19 games.
$40,526.32/game

MLB salary per game counting 162 regular season games and our player made it all the way through game 7 of the World Series.
$14,917.27/game

...

$15K per game huh?  Not bad for playing a game.  It's all financial.  If they weren't generating revenue then they wouldn't make that kind of money.

[grizz441]

The thing is about baseball salaries...  You can whine about them making all this money but in reality, all the money they make has to sometimes last them for the rest of their family's lives.  So just because you make 10 million dollars (before the government takes half of it because you are rich) playing the game for 7 or so years, 5 million over your next 50 years of life turns out to be only $100,000/year.  Granted, they might get into coaching, or another profession, but imagine being 35 years old, retired from the game of baseball, and not have any real life skills outside of the baseball universe.  What about the guys that play in the minors for years, get a sip of coffee in the big leagues, and are out of the game at the age of 35 with barely any financial reward to show for?  That would be the worst outcome I can think of.  So there is definitely a huge risk playing the game throughout your twenties, financially speaking.  The pot at the end of the rainbow is why thousands of players compete and sacrifice to try and get there.

[JHerne]

Simple solution.

Design a wood-core bat with a micro-thin Kevlar jacket or covering over it. As long as it doesn't effect the performance of the bat. Bat shatters, instead of flying spikes of ash or maple, you got a wet noodle.

J

[dedalos]

Simple solution.

Design a wood-core bat with a micro-thin Kevlar jacket or covering over it. As long as it doesn't effect the performance of the bat. Bat shatters, instead of flying spikes of ash or maple, you got a wet noodle.

J

Or we just leave it alone.  Not everything needs a fix 

[lowZX14]

Or we just leave it alone.  Not everything needs a fix 

Exactly 

I'd be interested to see how many lives the skull cap that base coaches have to wear has saved.  I need to go dig that up.  Remember a couple of years ago when it was a big deal and was instituted because one of the minor league coaches was hit and died?

I have a buddy that coaches in a wood bat summer league that is meant for upcoming college players.  It's pretty much the next step down from the Cape League.  He has had to wear one of those skull caps and I give him all sorts of grief and have taken numerous pictures for blackmail.

He's also the head varsity coach of the high school that I coach at and threatened to make us wear them but thankfully hasn't yet.  I'll admit, I was hit twice this year while coaching third base, once in the leg and once in the back, but I had enough time to move or shield my grape from being hit.  Last year when we went to an annual coaches' conference here in VA, one of the guys said that the High School League that governs all high school sports in the state was looking at instituting the skull cap for base coaches, I sure hope they keep deciding not to.

[Slash27]

I agree 100%, no other Major Sport comes close to it, in terms of length of schedule.

Hockey is very arguably twice as hard on the body as baseball so I'll say their 82 game schedule would compare.