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The fact that the major league baseball clubs and the players themselves give virtually nothing back to the game at the lower levels is an abomination. Umpires and coaches alike are not compensated enough to allow them to continue doing it sometimes. Fields are in sub-standard condition, and equipment is often poor to non-existent.
I worked a game at a dilapidated high school field that hasn't seen an improvement in 15 years. Every inch of the place is a s---hole. It is home to a team that wins LA city championships.
On the left field wall are the retired numbers of Jon Garland and Garret Anderson. To date, those two ingrates have been awarded combined career salaries totaling $110 million. There are some instances where a ballplayer comes back and helps the sport, but the percentage is astoundingly low. Garland and Anderson essentially pull in between 100 and 1000 times what they actually earn, but they can't even let their pocket change spill onto the field where they played.
Baseball has squeezed too much out of us for too long. Bud Selig needed to go away before it got this out of whack. If there isn't an awakening, the outcome may be quite sad.
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