According to this AP story, there is “not a single active player left from the 20th century.”
And in case you didn’t get that the first time, the writer emphasizes, “Not one.”
So unless someone like Bartolo Colon or Andrian Beltre decide to make a comeback…
To be honest, I followed the game better when there was still one player who was at least as old as I at the time, figuring there was still a chance for me to make it to the Show. Now it’s a chore trying to keep up with all the new names and faces (I can’t tell the players with a scorecard). Hard to believe that back in the thirties, a team could get along with maybe 30 players all season. Last year my New York Mets used 56.
As I was tidying up the site yesterday, removing bad links and the like, I came across this poem on Bardball by Dan Campion based on the AP piece that expresses the sentiment admirably (reprinted with permission).
My fellow fans of certain age,
The AP sez we’ve turned a page:
No active player from our youth
Suits up this year. The broadcast booth
And gimpy knees have claimed our last
Gold Gloves and MVPs. The cast
Has turned completely over to
The understudies and a crew
Of stars we watched when fleet and hale
Now coaching from the dugout rail
And trudging up the dugout stair
To pull young pitchers in despair.
I wish we didn’t have to view
Behind this pillar, but we do.
So settle back and have a brew.
As Ernie Banks said, “Let’s play two!”
is available on Amazon.com,
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