Carlos Beltran

Friends of mine have heard me complain for quite some time about the state of baseball, and more specifically, it's inequalities.

Baseball needs a firmer salary cap and increased revenue sharing. There are too few teams able to put together a competetive team. Every year, the same teams compete for the playoffs and World Series: Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs (Believe it or not), Braves, etc. All of these teams have significant payrolls and the Yankees, the highest of them all, pay the luxury tax as if it were an annual expenditure on par with electricity.

I know that I'm a Yankees fan and some might view this fact as a paradox. But I think baseball is the greatest sport in the world and the health of this game far outweighs the success of any single team. I would rather see the Yankees win the World Series against a level playing field than simply outspend 95% of the other teams. To me, this is the ultimate test of greatness: the ability to beat your opponents at their best.

Now, this brings me to Carlos Beltran. This guy may be the best young player in baseball today. And he's having a terrific post-season. I spent almost one-half of my life in Kansas City and it was, at one time, the best baseball city in America. I saw George Brett play third then DH, Bo Jackson, and the wonderfull 1985 World Series vicotry over the Cards. The locals understood the game, followed it relentlessly, and were passionate about their team. But, as most of you know, they've fallen on hard times the last 15 years and the fans grew somewhat ambivalent and indifferent to the plight of the Royals.

Last year brought a ray of sunshine to the hope of the Royals returning to greatness. They outperformed and exceeded all expectations. For this season, they added Juan Gonzalez and made the right moves to try to build a true contender given their small market constraints. Before opening day, nearly the entire pitching staff was already on the diabled list and they never go it going this year. Thus, the Royals traded Beltran before the trade deadline since he would be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and they wanted something in return. Here's the horrible part: No serious negotiations were made since the Royals had no hope of retaining his services. They gave up on trying to sign him and traded him away for future prospects. The price tag was way too high. For me, it was a very sad day for Kansas City and all small market teams.

Now, I know how baseball works and everyone in KC knew this was inevitable. However, it doesn't mean I have to like it.

So, I'm following the postseason and still am not particularly thrilled with baseball. However, I cannot allow the Red Sox to beat the Yankees.

I am quite happy for the success Carlos is having. He deserves the accolades and attention. However, imagine Beltran going to the Hall of Fame in a Royals uniform. Oh, what might have been.