Sadness in Baseball

Hi Everyone!

I write to all of you today with a degree of humility and shame. It has been a very rough day for me. The game which I have loved so dearly for all my life is enduring a sad day. The lions of corporate greed and intimidation have today struck a severe blow to this game and my allegiance to this game. It was announced today that the Eugene Emeralds have entered into a ten-year agreement with the University of Oregon beginning next year to play at the new PK Park.

While we all knew that this day was going to come, all of us, myself included, wished it wouldn't. This announcement puts the future of my favorite ballpark in severe jeopardy as it will not have a tenant anymore. For someone who has seen 26 different ballparks in 9 states and 1 colony in 2 different colonies, this cuts right to the heart of everything I stand for. I will guarantee to all of you that everything we love so much at Civic will not carry over to PK. The Emeralds have agreed to foot $2-3 million for visiting locker rooms and umpire quarters. This will be done, most likely, through an increase in ticket and concession prices. The days of affordable summer evenings for the family will be gone.

When I first started this blog, it was my intention that the mood was going to positive and that I would not criticize individuals or teams, but rather observe and reflect on my experiences. I feel that I have done a satisfactory job in living up to this credo, but I must break this rule and criticize the University of Oregon and the man responsible for making this deal.

The man in charge of the University's efforts is a man named Joe Giansante. He has no experience in managing or operating any sort of baseball, he has not traveled nearly the amount I have when it comes to ballparks, and his reasoning behind development of PK Park are seriously flawed (designing a park after Camden Yards? Why not Pittsburgh?). He is not at even the least bit qualified to be organizing this whole deal. If he does have one quality, he is very good and perverting the truth. He would make an excellent politician, but he is a lousy organizer of baseball. On multiple occasions, he has expressed zero regard for the history of Civic Stadium and is only concerned with lining his pockets and that of the University of Oregon. Instead of spending the $15-20 million in building a new park, he could have been a smart individual and used the enormous capital at his disposal and used it to renovate and restore a perfectly suitable ballpark in Civic. His egotistical ambition and desire for legacy blinded him in making the most economical and efficient decision. If I were the President of the University of Oregon or the Athletic Director for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, I would have removed Mr. Giansante from his position a very, very long time ago. Mr. Giansante would vouch that Civic is falling apart and that the Ems had to move. I do not disagree with him, but I do disagree with his motives and actions leading up to this point. He had the sole discretion to allocate those funds to a better cause of fixing up Civic. Instead, his ego led him to guide the construction of a sterile ballpark in a lousy location that has no charm and is expensive to boot. He should be ashamed of himself.

This University which I have graduated from is becoming too big and too powerful for it's own good. In the middle of one of the biggest recessions since the Great Depression, it is in the midst of one the largest building expansions in memory. Nearly a billion dollars are being spent in building PK Park, the new Arena, a new Student-Athlete Study Hall, and numerous other projects. I know that they have a very generous benefactor in Phil Knight, but there cash flow is so large that there has to be some illegal activities going on. It is only a matter of time before they make a mistake and the great "empire" they have created comes crashing down. The unfortunate thing is that now the Eugene Emeralds are mixed up in this ticking time bomb.

It is going to be very hard to be a fan of the game from now on. I have always thought of Civic Stadium and the Emeralds as a "base of operations" for my BRTs. I travel all over the country to different ballparks with numerous experiences. But I could always count on Civic as being pure, no-frills, and a home for me that was free from all of the influence of corporations and greed. A fair chunk of my life has been spent at that venerable place, and now that home may not be there for me next year. It was stolen from me and countless other fans by greedy corporate dogs who are more concerned with money. It is a shame.

I will have five more games at Civic. I plan on soaking in as much of the experience as possible and documenting in words and photos what that place means to this community and to myself. I saw my first baseball game there. I saw my first home run there. I had my first hot dog there. I had my first kiss there. I had my first job there. Lots of memories that I will never forget.

Always take on 3-0 pitch ;)