Posey Weighs In On “Making Baseball Fun Again” With GQ

The most logical way that a baseball player can make baseball fun again is to help lead their team to World Series championships. Buster Posey has had fun three times in the last six years. So where does he stand on the debate about making baseball fun again?

In an interview with Jack Moore for GQ magazine, Buster Posey was asked a series of questions, but what stood out the most was what he said about the “Make baseball fun again” debate. Here are the notable quotes about the state of the game:

    “Where do you stand on the “Make Baseball Fun Again” debate?
Well, I think baseball should be fun, but there’s always a line. There’s a fine line with everything. Where’s the line between making it fun and making it disrespectful. I think that’s where I stand with it.”

     “Where do you think that line is? Is there a specific thing that bugs you?
The way that I was taught to play baseball, and to me the way baseball has always been, is… Look, we play 162 games. It’s a grinding, hard-nosed game. And even when I was a kid it was about not showing up your opponent. It was about playing the game with class. But, obviously I think you should have fun doing it. But the line for me is when it becomes disrespectful to your opponent.”

It wasn’t an issue that was even in the news until one of the game’s brightest, and most boisterous, stars complained that baseball was a “tired sport”.

It isn’t the view of every player in the league, likely a lot less than half, but a polarizing individual like Harper can make a mountain out of a mole hill. Some people enjoy watching Jerry Springer and reality shows that feature enough censored profanity that it sounds like twenty garbage trucks backing up at once.

This isn’t to say that Harper was looking for baseball to eventually have daily “pitcher-catcher” boxing matches featured on ESPN every day. But where does the line get drawn?

The game is fine. Aside from the one issue that the sport has always had an issue with (fans wanting to see a lot of offense, but don’t want the game to take so long), the game is in a very good place.

The marketing of the players is perhaps the more important issue that Harper wants to address. Maybe his personality can only be seen by others if baseball’s “shackles” are taken off. But marketing yourself, for the purpose of maximizing your wealth does not take priority over the sanctity of the game.  He may just be a football player who happened to be great at a different sport.

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But this whole issue comes down to making the game fun for yourself as a player. And how you do that, is you win. You, and your teammates consistently play baseball into October, and you will be able to market yourself and have the exposure you desire. Giants world champions Posey and Madison Bumgarner don’t really seek the spotlight, but still make appearances based on their performance and the team’s success.

Not trying to compare the two players, but Posey and Harper are the best position players on their respective teams. How many times has a Giants player angrily put their hands on Posey? Or even looked at him in a confused way?

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Is there even a question as to whose view point is more credible as to the direction of baseball. If you want to increase your exposure, play baseball on Halloween. Then you don’t need to pump up your name. Focus on the team aspect of the sport first, the rest will take care of itself.