“There’s always a hundred other, better stories to cover…NBA, WNBA, and World Cup soccer. We can’t acknowledge the local kids because it’s not important enough.” (Press Pros File Photos)
Your comments on the past month of content on Press Pros – pro and con – on the Reds, youth baseball, no more cashless, and an old favorite summer topic…officiating!
When the Byrds recorded Turn, Turn, Turn! back in the 60s I’m not sure they thought it through. It was just lyrics:
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
Time is the principle element in everything we do, now going on 14 years of Press Pros, beginning on August 10th. Time? This year has flown by…the spring and summer could not possibly have gone faster.
High school football begins in a month, while we barely remember April and May…baseball and softball seasons. “It’s like it didn’t even happen, it went by so fast,” wrote Ben Gillenwater in this latest installment of the Reader Speaks.
And you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Time is something many of you mentioned in your comments, beginning with baseball:
“I am so pleased that Press Pros took the time to write about baseball and softball this spring, because I don’t remember it much being covered anywhere else. It’s like it didn’t even happen. It went by so fast. There’s always a hundred other, better stories to cover…NBA, WNBA, and World Cup soccer. We can’t acknowledge the local kids because it’s not important enough.” … Ben Gillenwater
“[It’s] heartwarming to see the little ones covered like the big kids. Way to go Press Pros!” … Jamie Hirschfeld Heitbrink (via Facebook)
“You are the only source willing to say that baseball has now become an activity for the elite, while we leave half the kids who can’t play yet, or can’t afford to play, to fend for themselves.” … Emmett Cook
“There aren’t enough dads, anywhere, as you wrote. Only for that brief moment it takes to become one. Sad.” … Mark Ranz
As to the Reds, and their best season in memory…how come no coverage?
“The Reds are the best they’ve been in years, so how come you guys don’t cover them? You’ve got Hal McCoy.” … Jason Campbell
(Ed. Note: We reached out to them years ago and were told that major league baseball has no interest in independent media entities, and made their point rather forcefully. Two, it’s very time consuming, expensive, and who’s going to do it better than MLB.com, anyway? As for Hal, you can’t smoke a Monte Cristo White Label in the press box. But you can in the ‘Man Cave’. Do the math.)
Proudly supporting area sports on Press Pros Magazine.
“Whoever was responsible for the new law that says you can pay cash for a ticket and a hot dog, let’s find that guy and encourage him to run for higher office.” … Danny Huff
“They said they went cashless to prevent the spread of germs during Covid. Now that Covid is over inflation is 9%, tickets are $10, and no one has enough money to go.” … Terry Craft
Here’s another thing people have noticed about the state of officiating…such as it is.
“You write about officiating a lot, but I don’t see a lot of young umpires working summer baseball. If the old guys are leaving, where are the new ones that will take their place?” … Ben Miller
(Ed. Note: The three most important words in real estate are…location, location, and location. And the three most important words regarding umpiring summer baseball are…money, money, and money. It doesn’t pay much, and it’s a thankless job. It always has been. Aside from that, the best young umpires are those who have broad experience in baseball as a player, and there aren’t many of them going into officiating. But rest assured, if it were football…there would be five of them out there. They’d find a way.)
“You’ve written before that you umpired minor league baseball for several years. How come you don’t umpire now, and did you ever work after you left pro baseball?” … Craig Keuther
(Ed. Note: Age now, for one thing. Two, I broke enough bones during those years and I don’t need to break any more. My spine is a wreck from foul tips. More poignant, the way I left professional baseball was far from incentivizing, and to your point, I probably should have taken advantage of the opportunities I had to stay active. Some of the colleges contacted me for a few years, but I didn’t have the desire to do it. College baseball, proportionately pays well. In fact, if I were working today I’d make a lot more than I ever made in Triple A. But, good times!)
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