>>Rich;
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>>I have to agree that there were some outstanding players say 70 years ago as well as throughout the history of baseball. The dead ball era is interesting as well as so many other changes.
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>>I know I live in the past. A few things have changed about baseball such as players salaries. For example in 1967 the average baseball player made $19,000 a year, and in 1997 the average was $1.3 million.
>>
>>
http://www.baseball1.com/bb-data/bbd-mas.html>>
>>The average salary of a New York Yankee player this year is over $5 million for the season.
>>
>>
http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/mediansalaries.aspx?year=2005>>
>>
>>When I was a kid it cost twenty cents to see a game. When the Giants were at Candlestick it cost me less than $20 to buy tickets for my son and myself. Today the average cost of a ticket to see the Giants at SBC Park is about $50. Add two hot dogs, two soft drinks, parking and you have spent nearly $175. SBC does not have as many seats as Candlestick so they have to charge more to pay the bills.
>>
>>It costs a good deal of money to pay the players salaries of today. Did you happen to see the Ken Burns special on PBS about Baseball? I think I saw it about ten years ago. That was interesting!
>>
>>
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/>>
>>One of Ken Burns points was that until about 1975 players salaries were about five times greater than the average working man's income. Today the proportion is very different as is the game.
>>
>>Tom
>
>I grew up in NYC in the Mantle-Mays-Snider era and my main reading material up through high school was sports stories. I've seen the Ken Burns special and interesting does not begin to describe it. It brought back memories of the people I read about, but times I lived through.
>
>I don't go to major league games anymore (unless someone buys me a ticket). I've been in the North Bay area for a year and a half and one of the biggest disappointments in moving here (aside from the cost of living, which I knew about anyway) was the absence of minor league baseball. I escaped from the Georgetown Tx (one of the northernmost suburbs of Austin) where one of the only virtues of life was the nearness of the Round Rock Express. They play in a brand new, wonderfully designed stadium where an 8 dollar ticket puts you 10 rows back right behind 3rd base. Watching players bust their butts trying to impress the scouts with their hustle and hard play was a joy to behold.
>
>SET ADDITIONAL RANT ON
>I hate loudmouthed showboats like Deion Sanders. OTOH, I saw him play once in Cincinatti and, to give the guy his due, he played the game the way it is supposed to be played. He RAN out his ground ball outs. He RAN to back up second base on attempted steals. He's still a loudmouthed showboat, but he plays the game RIGHT
>SET ADDITIONAL RANT OFF
>
>But back to the original post........
>
>I still get a kick out of people complaining about how much worse certain things are now compared to "the good old days" because back in "the good old days" they were complaining the same way and I imagine you'll find that true going back as far as you care to go.
lol. I have to agree with you.
Just a bit more about the Seals. They were a farm club for Boston. During the Spring you would see the Seals and Red Sox play a few games in San Francisco. Boy, can I remember Ted Williams! He is one of my favorite players.
