The Baseball Desert

Friday, February 04, 2005

A load of old balls

I didn't comment on the whole Red Sox 'Ballgate' thing when it blew up because it just seemed so ridiculous, but yesterday's headline news was the straw that broke this particular camel's back.

The infamous Renteria-to-Foulke-to-Mientkiewicz baseball that represented the final out of Game 4 of the World Series finally arrived at Fenway Park, and Red Sox president Larry Lucchino had this to say:
"It's an important part of Red Sox history and it should be a ball that's honored and shared".
For God's sake, Larry - you can hono(u)r #9 or Yaz or Wade Boggs, but why (and how...) the hell are you going to honour a baseball? I know it's an important little piece of history, and that you're all excited that you finally spirited it away from that sneaky former Red Sox first baseman, but don't get carried away, OK? By all means, honour the team that brought the World Series trophy back to Boston, but leave it at that. I mean, honouring a baseball would be as bright an idea as believing in some bizarre 86-year curse, and nobody is stupid enough to do that, right?