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From: rossiter@cornell.UUCP (David Rossiter)
Newsgroups: net.sport.baseball
Subject: Re: Ueberroth gets strike one in first month!
Message-ID: <2152@cornell.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 6-Nov-84 12:12:37 EST
Article-I.D.: cornell.2152
Posted: Tue Nov  6 12:12:37 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 8-Nov-84 01:26:44 EST
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Reply-To: rossiter@gvax.UUCP (David Rossiter)
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept.
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Newsgroups: net.sport.baseball
Subject: Re: Ueberroth gets strike one in first month!
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Reply-To: rossiter@gvax.UUCP (David Rossiter)
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Organization: Cornell University C.S., Ithaca NY
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In article <> mp@ganehd.UUCP (Scott Barman) writes:
>HEAVY FLAME ON UEBERROTH:
>
>The man steps in and has a chance to right the wrongs of his predecessor.
>This concerns the banning of Willie Mays and (gasp) Mickey Mantle
>from baseball because of affiliations with hotels in Atlantic City, NJ who
>also run casinos.
>
>It has been proven that these men are doing promotion for the hotels and
>are in no way involved with the gambling operations.  If this is true, why 
>ban them?  Is Major League Baseball going to legislate morality?

Well, you really got me going this time.  Yes, baseball must legislate
morality, for its own preservation as sport.  Gambling is a terrible cancer
on society.  It literally robs the working people, and especially the poor
and those unfortunates who can't control their habits.  It is a terrible
mistake to have legalized gambling in NJ and Nevada.  Huge sums of money
flow from the productive sector to the Mafia.  Baseball must avoid even the
slightest hint of association with this.  If Mays wants to promote Best
Western Motels, no one is going to get upset.  Consorting with gamblers
(I didn't say he himself is a gambler, but he's playing golf with them...)
is enough.  I fully agree with Ueberroth, Kuhn, and Kennesaw Mountain Landis,
who started this whole business of 'legislating morality' back in the bleak
days of the Black Sox scandal.  Many people believe that baseball started
its rise to real popularity after Landis' corageous and uncompromising
decision.

I know the tone of this posting is a bit strident, but just think how much
one fixed game would cost baseball in terms of prestige.  The cancer of
gambling must be kept as far from the ballpark as possible.  I was a great
admirer of Mays as a player, but I think he has got involved in something
that is entirely inappropriate for a Hall-of-famer.

P.s. Dwight Gooden is working on his mechanics down in Florida.  We're not
ALL slacking off until spring training!