They could do no wrong. They weren't squabbling over multimillion dollar contracts. We never heard of players getting caught with drugs, abusing women or committing other crimes. Occasionally, a favorite would be traded or would retire, but it wasn't difficult for a young boy to be able to name the lineups and starting pitchers for every team in the league. Those days of innocence were long ago.
Players now hop from team to team like they're changing buses.
Some players earning nearly as much as small countries complain they're not getting enough. The police blotter is sometimes longer than the daily transactions list. The games get longer and longer, the strike zone smaller and smaller and the ticket prices higher and higher. But I still can't resist the sound of bat meeting ball or the sight of a pitcher peering in for the sign as the batter awaits his delivery. There's something about watching Tony Gwynn hitting, Roger Clemens pitching or Rickey Henderson running that keeps pulling me back.