Lifelong Baseball Fan Nathaniel Weighs In
August 18, 2006


Nathaniel at bat, age three

 

JS: Just for fun, predict the World Series. Who plays and who wins?

NM: I really don't know much about what's going on in the National League, but the Tigers are really kicking butt and I'm afraid, you know? Yeah, dude, the Tigers have woken up and they haven't had a winning season in 15 years dude, so... it isn’t like Boston winning the Series, but the Tigers are definitely due and they're hitting like nobody's business.

And with A-Rod throwing the ball to nobody all the time, it's like "Can I be the highest paid baseball player of all time? I can throw the ball into the stands, too, for $65 million!" I mean really, what is it? $68 million is his payout before endorsements. I mean, this guy's getting so much money it's ridiculous. You know, I think they should knock his salary down, knock him down a peg so that he starts to realize that he's a regular person like everybody else. The pressure of making $168 million to play this game is what's messing him up. I hate to say it, but it's right there, it's in his salary, the reason he can't throw the ball where it's supposed to go is because he's supposed to throw the ball where it's supposed to go every single time without flaw. That's what $168 million buys. And he can't do it.

They need to take his salary down. He needs to say, “Okay, I’ll give $68 million dollars back.” $100 million is still a lot of money, and then it would be like “Yo, now I’m a player. Now I’m in here and I’m a player, I’m not a star.” Because being a star will hurt you when you’re on a team. It will hurt you every single time, because every time that team loses, the star is going to get the blame. So he’s kind of, in his quest for the ultimate payday, screwed himself as a baseball player. That’s my opinion, anyway.

So I’m not looking towards the Yankees, or Boston, this season in the Series. In the playoffs I think it’s going to be Detroit and the Yankees playing for the American League. And the Mets are doing REALLY well. The Mets AND the Dodgers. I won’t say who will win the World Series, but my predictions for the Pennant races will be Mets/Dodgers and Tigers/Yankees. And I think the Tigers are going to beat the Yankees. I don’t know who’s going to win between the Mets and the Dodgers, but I definitely think Detroit will beat the Yankees.

JS: While we’re talking sports, what about football? Who’s going to the Superbowl?

NM: You know the funny thing about football for me? I don’t like teams, I like players in football. I can watch every team, doesn’t matter who’s playing, if I turn on the TV and there’s a football game on, I’m happy because I’m watching the players. I mean, that’s art. It’s such poetic violence, I really love it. So, I really can’t say, but I do know that I’m going to have a lot of fun staring at my TV.

Update: The 2006 Post Season

American League Pennant: Detroit Tigers v. Oakland A’s

National League Pennant: NY Mets v. St. Louis Cardinals

World Series: Cardinals defeated the Tigers in five games

 

 

Nathaniel at bat, age 30