Op-Ed: Major League Baseball Has Become a Woke Sport

BOCA RATON, FL – Baseball’s Robert Manfred Jr., the Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner will have to eat some very dry infield dirt when game three of this week’s World Series is played in Atlanta, Georgia this Friday, October 29th. Of course, in his role as baseball’s chief honcho, he’ll be obligated to sit in the royal box, in the stadium that was supposed to entertain this year’s All Star game in July. But as commissar of the game, back in April, he deemed the state of Georgia to be racist, that it denied voting rights to blacks and arbitrarily changed the venue of that premier event to Colorado. One can just wonder what cheers the Atlanta fans at the games, paying ticket prices through the roof, will greet him with when his name is announced as a dignitary? 

At the time of Manfred’s royal verdict punishing all of Georgia for its attempts to clean up the voting rolls by removing long time deceased citizens and duplicate names from the lists, the current Republican Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp stated:

“This attack on our state is the direct result of repeated lies from Joe Biden and Stacey Abrams about a bill that (actually) expands access to the ballot box.” He continued: “Georgians and all Americans should fully understand what the MLB’s knee-jerk decision means: cancel culture and woke political activists are coming for every aspect of your life, sports included.”

Well said. Just look at the fury of soccer Moms and Dads about the Critical Race Theory now taught in our public schools. And masks for all. If Mr. Manfred is so intent on keeping the game of baseball in stadiums found in states that only he determines reek of democracy and freedom, why did he approve, back in 2016, of the MLB team, the Tampa Bay Rays, traveling down to Cuba to play an exhibition game with the Cuban national team? Remember that one, with even our President Obama, sitting in the stands right next to and chatting and doing “the wave” with smirking Cuban dictator Raul Castro? At that time, just five years ago, just what rules and principles of democracy did this dictatorial island regime exhibit to qualify for major league baseball to play its boys’ game on its turf? Does our own state of Georgia torture its citizens for not complying with its fascist laws… as Cuba does? Does the Peachtree state place its citizens in front of firing squads to die for just attempting to reach out for the freedoms we so blithely now are doing away with by the actions of people like Robert Manfred? The guy’s a disgrace to the sport, its fans and the people of this nation. His decree: “Cuba yes, Georgia no!” says it all. 

We honestly don’t have a horse in this World Series match. We’d have loved to have the Mets or Yankees involved. But we relish the thought of the Atlanta Braves taking the series with a win at home and watching Manfred present the Series’ trophy to the team that represents what he deems to be a racist city in a racist state. Will we hear the chant, “Let’s Go Brandon!” coming from the fans in the stands? We hope so and we’ll mouth it in our living rooms. He’ll deserve what he gets.