Mark Madden: No need to panic about players opting out amid covid-19 concerns

Babe Ruth was baseball’s biggest gate attraction ever. The New York Yankees built a 58,000-seat stadium to accommodate that. Ruth’s slugging and larger-than-life charisma saved MLB after the Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series.

Ruth retired in 1935. Baseball kept playing. People kept watching. It’s a business worth billions.

So don’t get panicky (or even slightly annoyed) because a handful of baseball players opt out of playing in 2020. Same goes for the NBA’s restart.

The game goes on. If none of MLB’s players played, the owners would round up minor leaguers, some college players, and maybe even a few semi-pros. (Washington Wild Things, represent!) It might take a while, but MLB would resume. There would be a World Series winner, MVPs, batting champions and new superstars.

After a while, the fans would forget the difference. Players are disposable.

Athletes who opt in for 2020 have one reason: Money. That easily conquered the motives of the short-lived Kyrie Irving movement in the NBA, and wisely so. Playing in the NBA is a huge platform for Black Lives Matter. Not playing isn’t.

Athletes who opt out have legit reasons. Such as Colorado outfielder Ian Desmond, who cited a pregnant wife, covid-19 concerns and the need to be with family.

But Desmond, who is biracial, posted a well-received manifesto on social media that is poignant and, in some respects, accurate.

But it also has holes big enough to drive a truck through.

Desmond bemoans that less than 8% of MLB players are black. Sixty-four percent are white.

But the NFL is 28% white and 68% black. If the percentages are an issue in MLB, shouldn’t they be an issue in the NFL? Why haven’t white cornerbacks filed a class-action lawsuit?

There aren’t enough African Americans in ownership and management. That goes for every sport. But a nearly pure meritocracy determines who plays.

Desmond cites cheating in baseball. But if he had been on the Houston Astros, he would have played along with the sign-stealing. They all did.

Desmond cites the “white rules” of baseball: “Don’t have fun. Don’t pimp home runs. Don’t play with character.”

But he also talks about “rampant individualism.” That’s a contradiction. Doesn’t choosing to not play when the rest of your teammates are showing up come under the heading of “rampant individualism”?

Desmond cites racism, sexism and homophobia in the clubhouse. His teammates will be thrilled to answer questions about that all season.

Desmond has every right to not play. But his screed had very little to do with why he isn’t playing.

Desmond lit the match, then let somebody else deal with the fire. He spelled out the reasons to fight, then walked away from the battle. Desmond is out of the equation, so his Sermon on the Mount will fade drastically and immediately.

Desmond is a career .263 hitter. He averaged 20 home runs over 11 seasons and made two All-Star Games. He won’t be missed that much. Not like Babe Ruth.

Gerrit Cole and Bryce Harper would be missed a lot more. Each has a pregnant wife. Each could very reasonably opt out. But Cole would pass up $13.3 million. Harper would skip out on $9.6 million. That buys a lot of baby toys.

So far, the most prominent athlete deciding not to play is Avery Bradley of the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s a great defensive player and a key member of the Lakers.

Nobody’s supposed to be mad at athletes who opt out. If the Lakers don’t win the NBA championship, LeBron James will be upset with Bradley. Bet that.

It’s fun to wonder what Roberto Clemente might think of athletes opting out. Clemente never got to see free agency. The most Clemente ever made in a season was $150,000. His career earnings didn’t top a million.

Clemente was a nailed-on humanitarian. He gave his life in that pursuit.

But Clemente would play. He couldn’t afford not to.