Jim "To Me"

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Where HAVE All the Heroes Gone?

Just Follow the Money Trail

December 3, 2002

Today, Jim Thome became the latest in a long line of money grubbing athletes who ripped the heart out of thousands (dare I say millions?) of fans. If I hear one more of these over paid bastards say "It isn't the money", well, I don't know what I'll do. I know what I am GOING to do: screw professional sports. They can all kiss my ass! Hell, I didn't even like Jim Thome that much. It is just the principal of the thing. The guy is playing for a team whose fans have supported him through good times as well as bad. The fans put up with his record strikeouts per year, as well as his home runs. And he repays them by spitting right in their faces.

Hey sure, $27 million is a lot of money. So is $60 million. How many of the fans that are paying the salary of these guys is going to make anywhere CLOSE to $60 million in their entire LIFETIME? Damn few.

It also pisses me off that the general consensus from the fans interviewed in my home town is "hey, if the guy can make more money, go for it". Do you grasp the concept here? The guy is playing baseball, for Christ's sake! For $14 million dollars a year. The poor guy couldn't handle living on $12 million a year, with a sure bet that he would always have a job in the organization "he wants to stay with" for the rest of his career. He left for $2.5 million a year...which is about 1/5 of the salary that Cleveland offered him...which is one hell of a lot more than I ever hope to make in my entire lifetime. This is just the DIFFERENCE in the salary folks. NOT THE SALARY! Is loyalty worth nothing?

Ah, Curt Flood, what did you do to us? Using 20/20 hindsight, free agency doesn't seem like such a good idea anymore.

I lived in the Baltimore area for a good portion of my life. I got so sick and tired of hearing about Cal Ripken, Jr. Now, I have to rethink my position (and anyone who knows me, knows how much I hate that!). Here was a guy that played for the same team for his entire career, making less than what worse shortstops were making, but still more than 90% of the people that supported him and paid his salary. And he stayed. He gave the Baltimore fans something to be proud of. He gave them something for young boys to look up to. Mark McGwire, although arguably worth much more than Cal Ripken, in my opinion, chose the same route.

Joey Belle....you can kiss my ass

Manny Ramirez...you can kiss my ass

And Jim Thome...you, too