Major League Baseball has announced that the Hall of Fame Game - an annual tradition celebrating the national pastime in Cooperstown since 1940 - will end following the 2008 contest between the Cubs and Padres.
The fans' voice was not heard before this decision was made. Major League Baseball made a decision that not only affects fans, but will also directly affect many people that rely on the annual Hall of Fame Game for a variety of important reasons. Please visit savethefamegame.com to send an e-mail to Major League Baseball president and COO Bob Dupuy, Major League Baseball Players Association chief Don Fehr, and Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey letting them know that you want the Hall of Fame Game to continue beyond this year.
We launched savethefamegame.com to give you the chance to make your voice heard, and to convince Major League Baseball that it needs to reverse its decision and continue celebrating baseball - with major league teams - in the sport's celebrated home. Your participation alone would go a long way toward saving the Hall of Fame Game. But you undoubtedly have friends, family, etc., that you can ask to participate as well to help make this campaign a resounding success.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has always been fond of noting all of the many accomplishments he has achieved during his tenure as commissioner. One black mark on his legacy will be the death of the Hall of Fame Game. First, MLB ended the AL vs. NL format. Then it separated the game from Induction Weekend before finally killing it last month.
The Hall of Fame Game has survived a world war, player strikes, steroids and more for almost 70 years in order to help maintain what is right and true about our national game.
Don't allow Major League Baseball and others to kill one of the few remaining pure events in all of professional sports. The Hall of Fame Game doesn't need TV ratings, ad revenue or 24-7 news-cycle hype to survive. It only needs 10,000 baseball fans - young and old - and two major league teams for one day a year. That's all it takes to greatly impact a deserving community, and remind spectators and participants alike that baseball is a glorious game, and an undeniable part of American culture and identity.
Please take a few minutes out of your day to help keep an almost 70-year tradition alive in the home of the national pastime.
Connolly writes from Washington, D.C.
We launched savethefamegame.com to give you the chance to make your voice heard, and to convince Major League Baseball that it needs to reverse its decision and continue celebrating baseball - with major league teams - in the sport's celebrated home. Your participation alone would go a long way toward saving the Hall of Fame Game. But you undoubtedly have friends, family, etc., that you can ask to participate as well to help make this campaign a resounding success.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has always been fond of noting all of the many accomplishments he has achieved during his tenure as commissioner. One black mark on his legacy will be the death of the Hall of Fame Game. First, MLB ended the AL vs. NL format. Then it separated the game from Induction Weekend before finally killing it last month.
The Hall of Fame Game has survived a world war, player strikes, steroids and more for almost 70 years in order to help maintain what is right and true about our national game.
Don't allow Major League Baseball and others to kill one of the few remaining pure events in all of professional sports. The Hall of Fame Game doesn't need TV ratings, ad revenue or 24-7 news-cycle hype to survive. It only needs 10,000 baseball fans - young and old - and two major league teams for one day a year. That's all it takes to greatly impact a deserving community, and remind spectators and participants alike that baseball is a glorious game, and an undeniable part of American culture and identity.
Please take a few minutes out of your day to help keep an almost 70-year tradition alive in the home of the national pastime.
Connolly writes from Washington, D.C.
