I do not want to pick on the social media person who, having been hired by Major League Baseball to perform social media-type activities, is doing so to the best of his or her ability. It is, if not a tough job, certainly one where it is extremely easy to make a very public mistake. It is a job that requires three dashes of edge, but if you give it three and one twenty-eighth dashes, so help you God, you are in for a world of hurt.
The MLB social media person — very possibly a perfectly nice person who presumably has many good qualities — tweeted this on Tuesday:
You can understand why a person would tweet this. Baseball is a wonderful game, and it’s ingrained in the American character, and they say Uncle Apple Pie himself invented the sport out of whole cloth in his home town of Peoria, Illinois, in order to fight the looming communist menace. The league’s first commissioner, Benjamin Franklin, personally feted its first MVP, Archer The Bald Eagle. Later, guys came along like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays, who were also somewhat memorable in their own right.
But on the other hand, it’s a business. Business people make business decisions for business reasons, and yes it would have been clearer to say “for money,” but “for business reasons” is more structurally elegant, so it stays. The Indians declined their option on Brad Hand, one of the elite relievers in the game, because they didn’t want to pay him that much money. The Braves non-tendered Adam Duvall, a nice player, because they didn’t want to pay him that much money. The Twins non-tendered Eddit Rosario, a very strong hitter, because … oh, you get it, don’t you?
It is, it turns out, very easy to not be romantic about baseball. Step 1: Work in a baseball front office. Done! But maybe you think that doesn’t apply to too many people. Good point, friend. Alternative Step 1: Pay attention to a baseball front office. That’s it. You’re done. You’re now officially Not Being Romantic About Baseball.
As much as they still like to bring back old friends, the Giants are no exception. Yesterday, they officially non-tendered five players:
Setting aside strategy and development and whatnot (the only real surprise on this list is Anderson, who apparently didn’t show enough in his time with the Giants last year to earn more time), this means something very specific to each of those five players. When you’re on a 40-man roster, you get higher pay and better benefits, which stops when you’re removed from the 40-man, as these guys were yesterday. There’s nothing romantic about that. It’s just business.
Melvin Adon in particular is worth a bit of attention. He suffered an injury in a Dominican League game last week. Before getting injured, he also threw a 101 MPH fastball.
If it seems cruel and heartless to cut a guy loose right after he gets injured, well, yes, it does seem that way. Now, the Giants might well have non-tendered him regardless; like Chris Shaw, who has now gone to Baltimore, they took a while to invite Adon to their summer camp this year despite his being on the 40-man roster already. That’s a clear sign of the organization’s priorities and, despite his pure stuff, Adon’s poor command and spotty injury history mean that the Giants think they can find a better use for that 40-man spot.
The Giants also think they can re-sign Adon:
That makes sense for the team. Pay less for the player, don’t use up a valuable resource when you don’t have to, and still keep him around. That’s a win for the front office. A minor, commonplace win, but a win nonetheless.
And that’s fine. But it’s also business. It’s important to know why teams make the decisions that they do, and it’s also important to be clear-eyed about what the sport is. That just can’t coexist with a romantic picture of baseball. This is the world we live in now. Sorry, MLB social media person, but the people roasting you were right. Because it’s easy as hell to not be romantic about baseball, as long as you’re paying attention.