The Great Game?

I admit it. I'm hooked on big league baseball. I was sucked in during my youth. Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Willie Mays and Johnny Bench. The entire Big Red Machine. Reggie Jackson. Fisk's home run. Aaron's 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth. The Pirates "We Are Family" and imitating Willie Stargell's batting stance. Rod Carew. The Dodgers. My Braves (back when they lost 100 games a year...of which I still know their batting lineup from every year)...I know I've lost most of you by now or it sounds like some sort of code, but it's the code of my youth.

It's a habit I can't break. I'm addicted. I don't fight it anymore.

But the "powers-that-be" seem intent on getting rid of me. The management's stupidity over the years has been well documented (everything from failing to have revenue sharing or the disaster of free agency or the silly designated hitter rule or even adding a round to the playoffs...starting playoff games so late that kids can't stay up to watch.) but the appeal of the game keeps me watching.

Now it's personal.

The local professional franchise, the Texas Rangers, has a deal in February called the Winter Carnival. They let you park in the players lot, you can enter the locker room, walk past the lockers, stroll through the tunnel into the dugout and hit the field. You can run the bases. You can catch a fly ball in the outfield. You can hit a pitch in the batting cages underneath the stadium. You might bump into a player or two and get an autograph. And, oh, by the way, you can purchase a ticket at the ticket booth if the mood strikes you. And if not, hey, we're glad you came...and thanks for bringing your kid! We're sure you'll be both be back.

And...the best part...it is FREE!

Or, I should say they HAD a deal called the Winter Carnival. It USED to be free.

I read in the newspaper this morning that they're replacing the Winter Carnival with a day where there are some perks if you purchase a mini-season ticket plan (13 games) where you can do some of that stuff...and at a later date, there'll be the entire team on the concourse signing free autographs, provided that each person perchase a ticket to a game this season.

And this is for a team that finished in LAST PLACE for the last three seasons with no prospects for improvement this season.

So, open statement to the Texas Rangers: I know you don't care. But, just so you know, if somebody puts a few freebies in my pocket I'll come to the Ballpark and watch. I'll bring my own snacks, though. And I'll bring my kid, who will bring her own snacks. But that's the only way I'm coming. I'll need a fix, so I won't say I won't come.

But I won't mind watching the local minor league team in Frisco, which is a closer drive, with free parking, near a mall with more food options. And I'll hope that my daughter's love of the game will tide her over until you get your collective acts together and major league baseball shows it cares about her as much as the corporate bucks.

Just letting you know.