Letter to NYT--Baseball...and Spitting--11/6/09

Lots of letters appeared in the New York Times November 6, most of them celebrating the Yankees on their Series win but one letter, while complimentary about baseball in general, had some things to say about a side exercise which goes on, relentlessly, throughout every major league baseball game-- Spitting. Here's Tom Franken's letter:

To the Editor:
I love baseball. I love the World Series. I love to watch the Yankees win. But I hate the constant spitting by most of the players. This is not a necessary part of the game and should not be tolerated.
In New York City and many other cities it is unlawful to spit in public places. It is also unhealthy, especially in this era of the H1N1 flu epidemic. The message it sends to the millions of children and adults watching the game is that this affectation is normal and acceptable behavior.
It would be easy to rid the leagues of this awful habit. A spit could be ruled a strike. A batter steps up to the plate, spits. Strike 1. The batter steps off the plate, spits. Strike 2. Three spits you’re out.
Tom FrankenNew York, Nov. 5, 2009

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Mr. Franken's letter in turn inspired one for me to follow up with; here is the letter I submitted to the Times later the same day:

To The Editor:

First off, kudos to Tom Franken for his letter today about the Series and the torrent of constant spitting in all of its glorious varieties.

For those who may have turned away, early in the game last night, and after a called-first strike which seemed to have offended him, Alex Rodriguez stepped out and let go again, this time with a veritable 3-streamer, a beauty it was, with great velocity, a marvel to behold. Somehow I knew then that the Yankees would take the game and the Series.

There certainly was a superabundance of expectorating during that final game and it made me wonder again why the the Series was being telecast on the Fox Network. The spitting alone--which actually constituted a good bit of the activity on the field--would have made all of it altogether appropriate for the Discovery Channel because if nothing else, it was a constant reminder of where we all came from a long time ago. Our ancestors, those prehistoric apes, were spitting up a storm the very same way, as they ran around with their clubs, chewing on leaves.

Yours truly,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305