Eric Langill plays for the Mets as a bullpen catcher. Unlike the normal catcher, the bullpen catcher will rarely(if ever) take the field and serves to warm-up pitchers before and during games. The bullpen catcher is a glorified water-boy, a player whose name will most likely never be known to even the most intimate of fans. Despite his lack of notoriety until now, the press is still in outrage over his indiscretion. But why?
Since the early years of baseball, fans have glorified baseball players as just good old American boys; fans would rather ignore the fact that they are often drinking, misogynistic jerks. Up until Ball Four, most fans did not realize that ballplayers were actually just normal people who drank, smoked, had sex, and acted like everyone else. The Great American Novel showcases baseball's Puritanical attitudes when discussing Big John. All positions of authority reprimand John for his lack of teetotaling and love of playing baseball drunk. To General Oakhart, Big John defies the core morality of the game by his disdain for the most core rules of the game. When Big John takes Nickname to the Mommy-Houses this causes a huge scandal. Why? Because as baseball players, they are believed to be "above" that kind of behavior.
In class on Monday, we discussed why we take baseball players advice on anything besides baseball and I think that's relevant here. Why do we hold baseball players to a higher level of morality? I think it's because the very symbol of baseball is as the "Great American Past-Time" and the idealized version of our own moralities is that we're a teetotaling, Christian nation. When the people who enact this symbolism defy it, we find ourselves at odds with ourselves and the mythologies we've created around our nation.
Although, there probably would have been a lot of uproar over a ballplayer making bad decisions reguarding his personal life, I think the problem here is the decision in question. Yes, baseball players are expected to be "good ole American boys", so the public is angry when a player tests positive for steroids or get caught doing something else, but it is not always worth front page news. The problem here is that Langill was not only endangering himself, but others aswell. This reflects poorly on him, the team and the MLB. (although it is through no fault other than his own)
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your point that a lot of the media coverage probably had to do more with Langill being a baseball player than public outrage at the potential damage he could have caused. However, I think it is important to establish that it is always a good thing for anyone to take a public verbal beating over drinking and driving, especially figures who are prominent in our culture. As a person who is paid to represent a team and contribute to its image, Langill deserves the backlash he is receiving, because he failed his team from a public relations standpoint, and put lives at major risk.
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