Baseball: Grandstand bravado is not bravery

Two of America’s pastimes are baseball and the heckling of baseball players. One is great, the other petty.

I was at a recent Tacoma Rainiers game when the heckling began in the eight inning. Mike Zunino, the recently demoted Mariner catcher, was at the plate. At an earlier appearance at the plate he had hit a home run. Two men began to yell he was no good. They did this with every batter until the game was over.

Each player was once a star on some level. Some struggle to get to the majors for the first time, others struggle to return to the Majors, and some have perhaps realized that Triple-A ball is as high as they will go. All play for the love of the game and have devoted hours upon hours of work to hone their skills. Most of them will leave baseball having never played in a major league game.

The louts in the stands had their say, but they should never confuse their bravado with the bravery of those who follow their dreams with dedication, risk public daily embarrassment, and would rather fall short of their goals than not have tried at all.

This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Baseball: Grandstand bravado is not bravery."