Customer Review: Another Solid Set From ToppsThe 2008 Topps Baseball Series 1 card set is a nice addition to the longtime tradition of baseball card collecting. Collecting baseball cards is just as much a part of Americana as the game itself. The standard card for the 2008 edition of Topps Baseball features primarily action shots (just a few posed shots) on the front of the card with each player's signature, team name in team colors, and the Topps logo and players printed name in silver. The back of the card features the player's complete stats as well as their position and basic info such as birth date, throwing and batting arm, etc. League leader stats are printed in red and in italics, and there's always a fun tidbit of information on the player if there's room to spare. Inserts included this year are Own The Game, Year In Review, 50th Anniversary All-Rookie Team, two Mickey Mantle subsets, Presidential Stamps, the obligatory relic and autograph cards as well as other insert sets. Heck, there's even a Campaign 2008 set that some might be in the hunt for. Overall this is a nice set from Topps. I do think that they went a bit overboard with the Campaign 2008 set, but some folks might just enjoy that.
The New York Yankees and New York Mets signed Alex Rodriguez and Johan Santana this off-season, respectively, to huge contracts that will make each superstar rich beyond any of our wildest dreams. The reality is, the New York Yankees and New York Mets will not make them rich-you will! Still like your team's deal?
It is not just the New York Yankees and New York Mets. Any of your favorite baseball teams paying for high-priced baseball talent, this story is about your team, and the effect of these huge salaries on your wallet.
To read about the contract of a Johan Santana, Alex Rodriguez or any other big-money baseball player, is on the surface to say, "Great, my team made a big move. At least it's not my money." Whoa, not so fast. The reality is that it is your money. How? Any time you pay for a ticket to the game where the price has increased, you help pay their salary. Any time you sip from the cup of beer at the game where price have gone up, you help pay their salary. Any time you bite into the hot dog at the game where prices have increased, you help pay their salary.
Is it fair for a baseball player or star athlete to make exponentially more money than a teacher, a repairman or anyone else that helps us live our lives in a more immediate manner? Fair, my friends, has nothing to do with it. Economics 101-the law of supply and demand. The fair value of something is the exact amount that someone is willing to pay for it.
Alex Rodriguez and Johan Santana are merely playing the system for what it is worth, getting the most money from the New York Yankees and New York Mets that their agents can draw.
In reality, we would do the same whether we openly admit it or not. When we go into our reviews at work, we look to improve our state, and deservedly so. We work hard, are loyal, and have only so many opportunities to reap any kind of reward.
MLB, its Owners, its players and machinery are out for one thing and only one thing above all else. That is, to make money for itself and its players. How does it do this? By getting money from its fans.
So the New York Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez to a long-term, huge contract. Better believe that your ticket prices, beer, hot dogs, gear and cable bill are headed North accordingly. So, in the end, it is you that pays Alex Rodriguez, or Johan Santana, or whichever high-priced star happens to play at your favorite stadium.
As a New York Yankees fan, New York Mets fan, Los Angeles Dodgers fan or wherever, you want your team to win. To win, you have to pay high-priced players. The question is whether you mind paying more for a better product?
When you buy a television, you expect to pay more for a better brand than Joe Schmo's TV brand. We don't think of it in those terms but it is the way that it is when you the fan shell out money to be a part of sports. You want to follow a competitive team? Then you will shell out the bucks, out of your own pocket, to compensate your favorite team in return for a better product. Fair? Fair has nothing to do with it...never does.
Fans of MLB do have a choice, and the power, to put the brakes on high-priced contracts, such as Alex Rodriguez and Johan Santana's. The reality though, is a stark one for true fans. The answer is to stop paying.
The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and every other MLB team pays attention to one thing and one thing only-how much cash is rolling in.
Stop following the Los Angeles Dodgers or Boston Red Sox with your wallet, and there will be less to pay the players. Less to pay the players, the less salaries will be. Less fannies in seats, the lower ticket prices will become. Supply and demand.
The reality however, is that MLB knows this will never happen. In the wake of strikes, steroid scandals and such, MLB still enjoys record attendance throughout the United States. As a MLB fan, you cannot have it all. If you want to follow MLB, be ready to pony up cash. The closer you want to follow, the more cash you will need.
Alex Rodriguez, Johan Santana and the others do not care about how much you have to pay. They care about how much they can make during a limited MLB career. It is a Catch-22, but fans will continue to come, continue to pay, continue to harbor some resentment.
MLB fans-the reality is this is the going rate to have access to the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets or whichever team you follow. You cannot have everything. You can have your favorite team, on a competitive level which is expensive, but in the end it will be your cash bankrolling the winning, creating the competitive atmosphere that you are then able to follow. Is it worth it? Only you can decide for yourself. Until now, the answer among MLB faithful is a resounding, yes.
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