Friday, April 06, 2007

Hope I Die Before I Get Old

The other day, there was a post over on Hot Foot, ranting at Joe Buck for talking about how “old” the Mets team is. Now, while we all hate Joe Buck for our own deeply personal reasons, he’s not the only one who’s taken this tack and I’m kind of confounded as to why. There’s a parallel in rock and roll (hence the title of the post), where I am tired of the pathetic jokes about aging rockers, instead of noting that Bruce Springsteen is in better shape now than he was in his 20’s, that blues musicians play literally until the day they die, that the Rolling Stones are still doing what they do and don’t completely suck, that Dylan released some incredibly vital music in the last few years. Instead of being glad that these people are still on the planet, the tone is mocking. I was thinking about all of this last night, when TBF and I were sitting in Carnegie Hall at the Bruce Springsteen Tribute, and the man himself showed up. Watching him up there surrounded by musicians of all ages, but especially younger ones, I noted to myself that very few of the kids up there could play the shows he does right now and be as physical as he is.

In professional baseball, it’s even more confusing to me. Why isn’t the story instead about how age in professional baseball has been redefined? Why isn’t the story about how fantastic it is that there are ‘old’ players in baseball who are still achieving? Why isn’t the media fascinated as to how these people stay in shape and stay competitive? Aren’t there real lessons for people to learn here? Shouldn’t we hold up folks in their 40’s who are healthy and in shape as role models? Yes, they have different challenges than individuals in their 20’s - but that’s the point.

Yes, I know, professional atheletes are different than normal joes and josephines - but I would think that the ability to spin a new and interesting story for a core part of the MLB fan base would be taking precedence over continued discomfort masked as criticism or outrage - no, that’s not quite it - it’s almost mocking.

Look at Jose Valentin, for example. If he was 26 and not 36 he would get the respect he deserves. Instead, the media and fans continue to be dumbfounded that a 36 year old can reinvent themselves and be a consistent force on the team. He’s not cute and cuddly like David Wright, he’s not a record-breaker like Glavine, he doesn’t have rings like El Duque - he’s just a 36 year old professional baseball player and that phrase is still an oxymoron, when it doesn’t need to be and shouldn’t be, when there are more and more examples to the contrary.

There is so much knowledge an older player has that a young player, no matter how talented or athletic, simply isn’t in possession of yet. The kind of stuff that comes with time and experience. Instead of praising the Mets’ ability to find places for technical athletic prowess and intellectual knowledge and experience on the team and not just on the coaching staff, the roster gets criticized and mocked. Yes, I sometimes wish that Julio Franco was on the coaching staff instead of pinch hitting at the bottom of the 8th, but he’s faster than Paul Lo Duca is right now.

It’s idiotic.

TBF was telling me about a thread on his message board where people were talking about El Duque and his somewhat dubious age status, and we were discussing during spring training with some people sitting near us: how old would he have to be for you to be *really* surprised? Given the overwhelming attitude of the media, I don’t blame him for shaving a year or two off (if he actually has done so), but shouldn’t the story here be, again, older individuals staying prime and vital as they age?

The media is missing a big story here. Instead of cowing to their own personal fear of aging and what they perceive to be the audience’s preference to put down people who are ‘old’, they are missing out on a wealth of material to write about and educate the audience on. We’ll be in the playoffs and they’ll still be using the words “old” to describe the Mets. I want to think that knowledgeable sports commentators are going to be one step above a presenter for TRL, but sometimes I’m not so sure.