Perspective: What baseball loses when capitalism and romanticism collide
, and it will shorten the start of the year rather than lop off the conclusion of a campaign. Nonetheless, the disappointment is familiar. And the concern is that this period of unrest could wind up being just as destructive in its own way.It will continue to be infuriating, but the business of baseball will sort itself out eventually. What can’t be negotiated, however, is a healing of the game’s soul.
One day, his son was doing the dreamy math and thinking it was possible with 45 games remaining. The next day, it became clear why his father had been on all those conference calls for all those hours. For the child, the best time became no time at all.“As an 11-year-old, I was upset for selfish reasons,” Gwynn Jr. said. “I truly felt like my dad had a chance to get that .400 spot.”
But in less than a month, the regular season won’t begin as scheduled, and it will feel like Aug. 12, 1994, again. Gwynn Jr. remembers his father coming to tell him: Baseball was about to stop. It didn’t start again until 1995.