The Case of Alfredo Aceves: Is Any Baseball Athlete Worth The Price Of A Ticket To See Them Play?

Angela Forte

ENGL 102-048

Rogerian Argumentative Essay

20 March 2013

The Case of Alfredo Aceves: Is Any Baseball Athlete Worth The Price Of A Ticket To See Them Play?

            Alfredo Aceves has been the most controversial issue with the Boston Red Sox lately. He has clashed with his managers, degraded team chemistry, and has sparked trade speculation from almost every beat writer. He has proven to be a valuable pitcher, available to pitch long innings for days on end, but how far can his versatility go? Is his rubber arm worth the headache he causes anymore? Is he even worth paying the high ticket prices to see him play? Is any baseball athlete worth the price of a ticket to see them play?

            Many tend to forget that Aceves was a godsend in his first year with the Red Sox. "In a year of multiple pitching disappointments, Aceves stood out as one of the very few members of the Red Sox staff that exceeded expectations" (Shapiro). He made 55 appearances, 4 starts, and posted an earned run average of 2.61 (Shapiro). Not to mention, he was made famous for his significant words after pitching four consecutive days and being asked to pitch for a fifth straight day. "As soon as I wake up tomorrow–if I wake up tomorrow–I'm good" ("Alfredo Aceves on Pitching Again Wednesday: ‘If I Wake Up Tomorrow, I’m Good'"). With an answer like this, he proved himself to be a dirt dog, a warrior, a rubber arm, something Boston could never let go of. He was one of the most valuable pitchers one could find, and a rare talent in the league.

            Like most good things, it came to an end in the following season. He posted ugly numbers for the 2012 season, although the numbers made his year look slightly worse than it was. He was a decent closer up until about the end of August when his role was being threatened to be taken away and the team was sinking faster than the Titanic. However, it was not just the mediocre statistics that were creating an uproar from the fans, demanding he be traded immediately, it was his antics. He started doing weird things that made people start to question his mental state. He was slamming doors, tearing his shirt off in the bullpen, circling around the mound to avoid his manager, interfering on a play with his catcher, and essentially losing his mind. It did not help matters any when he reported to Spring Training the year after and began his antics by lobbing the balls to the plate.

            Now why would people pay money to see that kind of behavior? If people were paying to see a comedy act, it would be a different story. The main reason people are upset with Aceves still being on the roster is not because he acts like a clown, it is because people pay all this money and expect to see winning records and good quality baseball. Aceves, when in his ridiculous form, is not the kind of player people would want to pay an arm and leg to see play. Then again, what player is worth the price of a ticket to see?

            There are certainly some players that are worth the ticket prices to see, but most of them are the legends: Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Carl Yastrzemski, Jackie Robinson, etc. These are the players that people paid good money to watch. However, baseball was different back then. Ticket prices were cheaper, probably more reasonable for people's salaries at the time, and baseball had a different meaning. Baseball forty years back was about the individuals, for example the home run hitters, the base stealers and the aces of the pitching staff. Most people went to see their favorite players.

            Nowadays, average people watch the team that they root for. These people normally do not go out of their way to watch a player on another team, even if they are a phenomenal player in the league. Usually if people want to see an individual that bad, they would wait until the individual player opposes their hometown team, or whatever team they watch occasionally. Baseball today is less about iconic players, because in all honesty, there are not too many of them left. The players now have been consumed by the steroid era. They rely on supplements to give them the talent that our greats decades ago had naturally. It really takes away from wanting to see an individual for their talent.

            What makes a player worth paying money to see? Sports players are measured by their name and image awareness, appeal and personality attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience and influence, both at the national and local levels, in terms of endorsement potential ("Yankee Players Dominate Baseball Marketability "). In simpler terms, these measures of an athlete is what attracts fans to a player, whether they know it or not. To be worth paying to see, a player should be well known in the leagues and have superior statistics with a great public image. People want to see the good guy, the one that signs autographs for people, not the pitcher for the Red Sox who throws tantrums and tears his shirt off in the bullpen.

             However, these factors that make a player worth paying to see combined with talent is not always easy to find. In some cases, there are players like Alfredo Aceves who have true, natural talent without the use of supplements, but he lacks the characteristics to attract a crowd. It is safe to say that no one will pay to see him pitch unless he starts acting more like the ideal baseball player. A little bit of eccentricity in an athlete is often admired by the fans, but sometimes players take it too far and let their passion take over their performance.

            A baseball player worth paying money to see is Carl Yastrzemski. He, like others in his era, had raw talent and is no doubt one of the best baseball players in the game.

Carl Yastrzemski played 23 years with the Boston Red Sox. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, elected in 1989. Yastrzemski was selected to 17 All Star Games, won 7 Gold Gloves, achieved 3,419 Hits and 452 Home Runs and won the Triple Crown in 1967. His famous #8 has been retired by the Boston Red Sox and sits on top of Fenway Park ("Carl Yastrzemski Biography").

He was one of the best in the league and a member of the historic 1967 Impossible Dream team. He was a seventeen time all-star, one of the very few to win the Triple Crown, a seven time Gold Glove winner, and eventually, a Hall of Famer. He is considered one of the finest defensive left fielders of all-time ("Carl Yastrzemski Biography"). His statistics were remarkable, he has a resume that cannot be topped by baseball players today, but his statistics are not the only assets making Carl Yastrzemski a player worth paying the price of a ticket to see. Yastrzemski was highly a fan favorite in Boston and attracted people to the park with his golden personality and his love and passion for the game, something some players these days lack. Yastrzemski himself said, "I think about baseball when I wake up in the morning. I think about it all day and I dream about it at night. The only time I don't think about it is when I'm playing it" (Baseball Hall of Fame). His attitude and love for baseball was adored by fans and that is why people watched him. He was beyond talented and motivated. He played the game because he loved to, not because he was being paid to, making him an ideal athlete. This is what made him worth paying money to see. He brought love and passion to the park, unlike Aceves who sends Fenway into a frenzy for all the wrong reasons.

            Alex Rodriguez, the overrated third baseman for the New York Yankees, stands for the majority of athletes today that are not worth the price of a ticket to see them play. His career statistics are admirable but Rodriguez happens to be the most hated baseball player of today, and not just by Red Sox fans. He is considered a jerk and a phony by most of Major League Baseball ("The Rise and Fall of A-Rod"). "In 2009, Sports Illustrated broke the story that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. Rodriguez soon came out and, in a shaky voice, admitted to using steroids the three years he played for Texas" ("The Rise and Fall of A-Rod"). The use of performance enhancing drugs and a vulgar sore-losing attitude make Rodriguez the kind of player that people do not pay money to see. He is the exact opposite of everything that makes an athlete worth ticket prices.

            "He is a very versatile pitcher who can start a game or pitch to just one batter in a critical spot. He has a very good fastball and throws a variety of other pitches" (Abraham). To say that Aceves completely is not worth the price of a ticket is a poor assumption. He can be worth watching when he is in his dominant form. He is very versatile and can fill in any role, something people like to see in a baseball player. "Here's hoping the Red Sox keep Ace around. He's endlessly entertaining" (Abraham). Aceves is entertaining, which can attract a crowd as easily as it can drive them away. He has been known to have some of the best stuff on the pitching staff (Carrabis). If Aceves shows more strength as a pitcher and provides wins, then his antics could be overlooked and would be nothing more than pure entertainment for the fans. If he could balance both dominant pitching and an eccentric personality, he could very well be an ideal baseball player that people would pay to see.

            Since some players are worth the price of a ticket and some are not, it becomes difficult to settle the dispute on whether or not a single athlete is worth paying to see them play. However, baseball should not be about going to see a certain player, it should be about going to watch the team. It should be about watching the game that is America's favorite past time, not about going to see one player who is tearing it up in the league. Baseball will always have its finest players, but it should be the pride in the team that makes people invest in games.

               

Works Cited

Abraham, Peter. E-mail Interview. 01 Mar 2013.

Abraham, Peter. "Why Daniel Bard Has a New T-shirt and Alfredo Aceves Is Wearing His Cup." Boston.com. Boston Globe, n.d. Web.

"Alfredo Aceves on Pitching Again Wednesday: ‘If I Wake Up Tomorrow, I’m Good'" NESN. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

"Carl Yastrzemski Biography." The Official Website of Bio, Career Stats, and Autographed Memorabilia. Dick Gordon Sports, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Carrabis, Jared. Internet Chat Interview. 05 Mar 2013.

McDonald, Joe. "Still Testing The limits?" ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 18 Feb. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Posnanski, Joe. "The Rise and Fall of A-Rod." NBC Sports. MSNBC, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.

Shapiro, Ben. "Boston Red Sox: 5 Under the Radar Free Agents Who Paid off." Bleacher Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

"Yankee Players Dominate Baseball Marketability." MarketingCharts. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.

"Yastrzemski, Carl." Baseball Hall of Fame. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.