Media Needs To Recognize and Honor MLB’s Real Superstars

Over the last few years, many great and well-respected Major League Baseball players have been humiliated and have suffered tremendous embarrassment after it was revealed they had, at some point in their careers, used steroids or some type of performance enhancing drug.

One by one, important names in baseball were being “outed” and their status as heroes to kids and legends to baseball fans either crumbled completely or were severely tainted.

MLB’s most valuable commodity, its players, have been left unprotected and exposed, causing a continuing slow and deep tear of the game’s image and once wholesome American brand.

So when the New York Mets held an on-field ceremony Saturday night at Citi Field honoring the 40th Anniversary of the team’s 1969 World Series Championship, it was refreshing and important for baseball to see the great Nolan Ryan make an appearance and participate in the event.

Ryan, of course, is considered by most to be one of the best pitchers of all time – probably one of the top five in MLB’s illustrious 140 year history, being elected to its Hall of Fame by 98.8% of the vote.

However, of Ryan’s 27 seasons in baseball only his first four were with the Mets. He was not a very important part of the team’s championship season in 1969, pitching in only one playoff game and one World Series game.

Ironically, Ryan’s biggest post season performance in his career came years later against the Mets while pitching for the Houston Astros.

Ryan’s selection to eight all-star games and his record seven no-hitters (not to mention his 12 one-hitters and 18 two-hitters) all occurred after the Mets traded Ryan (with three other players) to the California Angels in 1971 for Jim Fregosi – arguably the worst trade in MLB history.

Today, Ryan is the president of the Texas Rangers and is credited with turning around the struggling franchise and rebuilding the team into a playoff contender for the first time in 10 years.

So all in all, Nolan Ryan is one of the great names and most respected men to ever be associated with MLB.

What made Ryan’s appearance at Citi Field even more impressive was that he wasn’t even a big part of the show. He didn’t address the crowd or receive any more attention or adulation than any other returning old timer.

Tom Seaver played the role of team hero during the event, being introduced last and the lone ’69 member to deliver a speech, and Ryan clearly had no problem with blending in with the rest of his former teammates.

In fact, if you weren’t a big fan of baseball and were at the ceremony Saturday night you probably would have no idea how big of a deal Nolan Ryan is.

Honestly, what other former athlete, with even half the resume of a Nolan Ryan, would fly halfway around the country to attend an event celebrating a championship he played a very small role in?

Ryan hadn’t made a single appearance on the Mets behalf since he was dumped by the organization 38 years ago. But Saturday’s event was important for the Mets and important for baseball, so Ryan attended and said and did all the right things.

During a press conference for the event, Ryan answered a question about being traded by the Mets by saying, “I really think the reason I was traded was because the Mets were trying to repeat what had happened to them in ’69 and they felt like they needed a right-handed bat to play third. They probably felt I was the furthest away from being a contributor on a regular basis, so that’s why I became expendable.”

Talk about taking the high road.

The Mets did work with Ryan and his schedule to insure his appearance for Saturday’s event. So for a season where just about everything has gone wrong for the organization (both on the field and off), the Mets made one thing go very right – so a lot of credit also goes to the Mets.

Today’s baseball era will most likely be remembered as the “steroid era,” a sad and dark time in MLB’s history.

So it makes it even more important for baseball and sports to recognize acts of character and class by its superstars. And there’s no bigger class-act and superstar than Nolan Ryan.