Photo Credit: John Minchillo/AP
There are dozens of reasons to not like Donald Trump. Too many to list here and frankly I’m tired of political rants so I’ll refrain, but if you’ve been reading the news at all the last six months and haven’t been on a deserted island you know what I’m talking about. We’re exhausted, but now someone has pointed out that a Trump Presidency could impact Major League Baseball! I’ve now pulled my head out of the sand and grudgingly re-engaged in this hideous news topic. The thought of my beloved sport being impacted in any way by a political candidate so despised has me greatly concerned. To explain the connection, let’s back up a little bit.
The new baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, who started off on a bad note by banning Pete Rose and Joe Jackson from baseball for life (for real this time,) is actually trying to do something good for baseball. We’ve needed some foreign alliances in baseball for some time and you don’t have to go any farther than right across the border to Mexico. If you look at the current landscape of Major League Baseball it is filled with players of Latin American descent. By investing in ballparks in border towns it makes it easier to recruit talent and it’s a win-win for everyone. In addition to the contribution it will make to Major League Baseball, there is without a doubt a positive contribution to the Mexican economy and nowhere is it needed more than in the border towns. It is a positive influence, like the game of baseball is, to families, children, players, vendors, and the list goes on to infinity with all the things that will be impacted in a positive way. The first such park is due to open in Tijuana and will be introduced during this year’s All-Star Game in San Diego, CA.
Now that we’re caught up let’s talk about how Trump will kill baseball. Again, if you’ve read the news at all you know that Donald Trump wants to build a great big wall along the border between Mexico and the United States. Not only does the physical wall pose serious issues for trade of all kinds with Mexico, but symbolically it is a wall that divides us. It sends a message to Mexican citizens that “you’re not welcome here”. You want Mexican baseball players to feel welcome in America? I don’t think a great big wall sends that message. Even if you painted “Welcome” on it I don’t think it would be very inviting. As with all other Trumponian plans this one was not well thought out.
Someone should be making him a list of all the companies that depend upon Mexico manufacturing, it’s vendors, people, industries, opportunities, etc. but I digress. This is about baseball, our favorite national pastime in America and it’s about being a good neighbor to a country who could use a helping hand. NAFTA didn’t do much to help the Mexican economy but baseball could be like “the little engine that could” and bring family entertainment at the same time. I can feel the heaviness of life’s burdens being lifted off of families in Mexico right now and that’s the beauty of baseball. It provides a relief from the everyday stress and strain of life for three hours out of the day. We eat a hot dog and some cracker jacks, cheer our favorite players, enjoy some sunshine, sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ and we go home with a warm feeling on the inside. This seems like a much-needed warmth that Mexico could benefit from. Like many of Trump’s plans they benefit few and have disastrous implications on many. His narrow views on important issues prevent a broader perspective that highlights the impacts on human lives.
Baseball and politics have a long history of staying out of each other’s way. During World War II, President Roosevelt declared that baseball would not be cancelled as it had been during World War I. He proclaimed, “I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have a chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before.”
I’m not in any way saying that the future of the sport depends on us building or not building a wall. However, I am saying we are on the verge of the sport of baseball doing something positive that could have an impact larger than the sport itself. This effort could die before it has a chance to even take off if Donald Trump were elected. That puts us at a crossroads, which seems to be the theme of this election. Which way will we go? Our decision in this election has left so many issues hanging in balance and the whole world is watching and waiting to see what happens because their futures could potentially be impacted. In Mexico little kids are waiting to hear the words “Play Ball!” Parents are waiting, vendors are waiting, and the country is waiting. In America we might not see the impact as much, but I think it would be really sad to disappoint so many people who would spend years talking about the what-ifs and how great it could have been for Mexico and Major League Baseball had we had a chance to build ballparks along the borders rather than walls.
