Work

 

It's another Labor Day spent at work for me. I tried to think of the last time I had Labor Day off and I eventually gave up. I know I was off in 2002, but since then, no idea. It's safe to say that I have worked way more times on this day than I have not.

That's the nature of this job and our school system in this part of the country. School starts immediately after Labor Day, which means school sports start then, too. In fact, Labor Day used to be the unofficial start of school sports. They've since pushed into August, a full week or so before classes begin. Still, no matter when they start, I'm not getting a third day off this week. It'll come later on this month.

I am writing this post at work right now. I had hoped it would be an easy night with the new set-up that I had mentioned in my blog post last week. But, of course, it's work, so there's a snafu immediately that makes tonight just another grind. So I'm writing this post quickly.

 

I often think about Andy Messersmith on Labor Day. He was a favorite pitcher of mine during my fledgling days as a baseball and Dodger fan. I completely missed his 20-win season for the Dodgers in 1974, the All-Star Game start and the starts in the World Series.

The first time I was aware of the man was when I came across his 1976 Topps card in '76. I just loved the card. But by the time I pulled it (or traded for it, I don't remember how I came to have it), he was not a Dodger anymore. He had signed with the Braves as one of the first baseball free agents.

 

I had read about the court case, the ruling, my first time learning of the word "arbitrator" and lots of other complicated words. I was new to the newspaper and the sports section and had almost no idea what I was reading. It didn't make sense (I was 10 at the time). I just knew I was sad that Messersmith wasn't going to be a Dodger anymore. I'm pretty certain I thought it was unfair.

Today I know the Messersmith (and Dave McNally) story well, and all of the aftermath. For years as a youngster, I was on the side of the owners, I couldn't believe the salaries and I just fell in line with what I read in the opinion columns of the time and complaints from relatives.

Much later I realized that free agency grew the game like almost nothing else and it not only made lots of players rich but it made teams richer in record numbers.

Fans still complain about the money players ask and the amount teams spend. I'm a Dodger fan, I hear all the whining. But, inside, I think they know that players being able to decide where they play is a good thing. That's all that Andy Messersmith wanted. It wasn't about the money back then, he said. It was about being able to control his own destiny.

Sure, I still slip into why are we paying this guy so much money when he can't get outs?????? See my reaction to just about every Tanner Scott appearance this year. But overall I don't think we'd be seeing the quality of play that we do now if every player had to walk into the general manager's office every year to find out his worth.

Work is difficult, no matter what you do. It's nice to be paid what you're worth. Take it from me, working another Labor Day in a job that demands a lot but doesn't pay a lot. I know.