Article first published as Ignorant Baseball Fans on Technorati.
When I read comments on any given team articles, one thing has always made me angry more than anything when comes to fan comments; They go online and argue amongst one another about their teams and publicly bash players and managers. I don't mean when you're with you buddies watching the game and you talk about the teams, I mean the people that goes onto their computer and take the time to complain about somebody for all to see. And the most fascinating part is that the majority of the comments I read are from uneducated fans, who just spout off the latest thing they heard on the radio and have no opinion of their own.
The fact the they feel they know more than MLB player/coach/GM is ridiculous and shows their ignorance. They sit at their computers and criticize guys who have put their time in, whether its playing/coaching in the minors or being on a MLB coaching staff for years before getting the big job. Every coach or player out there earned the job through blood, sweat and tears, there are no jobs just handed to anyone. It's funny especially when you read a few comments on anything to do with how a game was played the night before and you think;
"How many teams come calling any of you when there is an opening? How many of you have even coached a minor league team? How about college/university team?"
I would say very few of these fans have even coached little league (not that it counts). Baseball, and sports in general are not black and white like most people seem to believe. For instance I was reading an article on the Toronto Blue Jays on MLB.com. And these fans were on Aaron Hill and Edwin Encarnacion for their poor play and hitting. Hill, who won a silver slugger award before his concussion (which is a terrible injury, look at Justin Morneau), if he can recovery he will be the great he was, but fans need to keep in mind, a concussion is nothing to take lightly. This injury changes players. Look across the sports world, players play differently after getting a concussion, and time is needed to get re-adjusted to MLB level again. Encarnacion, who admittedly is in a slump, needs the benefit of the doubt. The guy can hit, scouts and coaches have seen it or he wouldn't be on a MLB roster. How many of us seriously watch a team in batting practice, or in off season workouts or in spring training? How many of us have had a conversation with the guy? The big wigs in the organization see something in him, most likely shown during those times, these are things that the average fan would never see and they mean more than the stat sheets.
I'm a big believer in stats. But there are things in sports that cannot be measured on a stat sheet, that are of the up most importance. Like commitment to winning, watching film day in and day out, or playing hard for 27 outs. These are intangibles that cannot be taught and things fans do not see. In closing, MLB players and coaches deserve more respect then they get they all work hard (some exceptions do apply) and have had to work harder to get where they are than most of us do at our jobs. They toiled in the minor leagues and followed their dreams.
When I read comments on any given team articles, one thing has always made me angry more than anything when comes to fan comments; They go online and argue amongst one another about their teams and publicly bash players and managers. I don't mean when you're with you buddies watching the game and you talk about the teams, I mean the people that goes onto their computer and take the time to complain about somebody for all to see. And the most fascinating part is that the majority of the comments I read are from uneducated fans, who just spout off the latest thing they heard on the radio and have no opinion of their own.
The fact the they feel they know more than MLB player/coach/GM is ridiculous and shows their ignorance. They sit at their computers and criticize guys who have put their time in, whether its playing/coaching in the minors or being on a MLB coaching staff for years before getting the big job. Every coach or player out there earned the job through blood, sweat and tears, there are no jobs just handed to anyone. It's funny especially when you read a few comments on anything to do with how a game was played the night before and you think;
"How many teams come calling any of you when there is an opening? How many of you have even coached a minor league team? How about college/university team?"
I would say very few of these fans have even coached little league (not that it counts). Baseball, and sports in general are not black and white like most people seem to believe. For instance I was reading an article on the Toronto Blue Jays on MLB.com. And these fans were on Aaron Hill and Edwin Encarnacion for their poor play and hitting. Hill, who won a silver slugger award before his concussion (which is a terrible injury, look at Justin Morneau), if he can recovery he will be the great he was, but fans need to keep in mind, a concussion is nothing to take lightly. This injury changes players. Look across the sports world, players play differently after getting a concussion, and time is needed to get re-adjusted to MLB level again. Encarnacion, who admittedly is in a slump, needs the benefit of the doubt. The guy can hit, scouts and coaches have seen it or he wouldn't be on a MLB roster. How many of us seriously watch a team in batting practice, or in off season workouts or in spring training? How many of us have had a conversation with the guy? The big wigs in the organization see something in him, most likely shown during those times, these are things that the average fan would never see and they mean more than the stat sheets.
I'm a big believer in stats. But there are things in sports that cannot be measured on a stat sheet, that are of the up most importance. Like commitment to winning, watching film day in and day out, or playing hard for 27 outs. These are intangibles that cannot be taught and things fans do not see. In closing, MLB players and coaches deserve more respect then they get they all work hard (some exceptions do apply) and have had to work harder to get where they are than most of us do at our jobs. They toiled in the minor leagues and followed their dreams.
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