Washington Nationals: Sean Doolittle wants integrity in baseball
Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle doesn’t agree with the airing of MLB’s dirty laundry and he wants to protect baseball integrity.
Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle has been very vocal this offseason on several fronts. His latest diatribe talks about protecting the integrity of the game by playing as many games as possible under the current agreement.
Doolittle, who was the closer on the World Series-winning Nationals last year, recently tweeted his frustration with the current state of negotiations for getting baseball up and running again.
There’s social unrest in our country amid a global pandemic. Baseball won’t solve these problems, but maybe it could help. We’ve been staying ready & we proposed 114 games - to protect the integrity of the game, to give back to our fans & cities, and because we want to play.
— Sean Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) June 8, 2020
The piece of this tweet I latched onto was the part about the number of games proposed. 114. Money aside. Pro-rated contracts aside. No fans in seats aside. Do 114 games constitute a full regular season?
The stat-rat society which is the baseball community would have a quandary on its hands determining what counts and what needs an asterisk by it as far as records are concerned.
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Remember when Roger Maris bested Babe Ruth‘s single-season home run record in 1961. Well, you might not, but if you watch Billy Crystal’s version of 61*, you’ll quickly see how up in arms people were that Maris attempted to accomplish this feat with eight more games in the regular-season schedule.
The owners heard the offer of 114 games this year and countered with 76. The decision was money-driven, the more game they have with empty seats, the more money they stand to lose. A 76-game season? Where’s the integrity in that?
The great thing about baseball is the marathon season. The evaluation at Memorial Day, the Dog Days of Summer, the trading deadline, and the September roster expansion. In a 76-game season, or newly counter-offered 50 game season, the game loses credibility in the numbers game.
I’m not sure credibility at a time like this matters though. Doolittle is right in, America needs a distraction from everything going on. America needs to see pitchers pitch, and hitters hit. I do believe this will bring some relief to a Nation struggling on several fronts.
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Unfortunately at this stage in the game, I am not sure we can have both. We are going to have to choose to play baseball over protecting the integrity of the game.