March 5th, 2022 at 8:11 am 
by Ron Cervenka There isn’t a baseball fan on the planet who isn’t fed up with the (now) 94-day-old Major League Baseball lockout and the endless bickering between MLB and the MLB Players Association towards establishing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Well, guess what? There isn’t a player on the planet who isn’t fed up either.
There also isn’t a player on the planet who doesn’t realize that the longer the lockout goes and the longer it takes to finalize a new CBA, the more fans will turn their backs on our national pastime … forever.
On Friday afternoon, popular Dodgers right-hander Joe Kelly reached out to baseball fans pleading with them that, despite the ongoing MLB lockout and the failure to come up with a new CBA, to remain loyal to the game and the players. He did so through this statement, which appeared in the LA Times (subscription required) on Friday afternoon:
BY JOE KELLY – MARCH 3, 2022 1:43 PM PT
A plea: Don’t give up on baseball. It’s too important.
I get it. You’re knee-deep in the millionaires vs. billionaires conversation that has dominated this offseason, looking for the signs of baseball stirring to life — images of ballplayers in sunglasses tossing baseballs in the shadows of palm trees, talk of rookies who look promising or players who deserve second chances. But none of those trusty signs of spring are here because of Major League Baseball’s lockout. I don’t blame you. This lockout feels like the last straw and you’re tempted to turn your back on the game. The usual criticisms of baseball have come bubbling to the surface. Baseball is slow, out of touch, selfish, steeped in traditions that no one even remembers anymore. Yes, I get it. The game has been trying to hold onto your loyalty for years now. This is it. Enough.
But it’s time to take a breath and understand, deep down, that baseball is awesome, and the same critics who love to undermine America’s pastime know this. They know baseball can inspire, delight and define three-quarters of a calendar year. They cherish the game, and that’s why they take issue with the way things are being managed. Is it the money that is at stake here? No, it’s the game itself that’s at stake. And I — along with my friends from all corners of the sports and entertainment worlds — am on a mission to save it.
Over his (thus far) 10-year MLB career, the eccentric 33-year-old Anaheim, California native and third-round draft pick in 2009 by the St. Louis Cardinals out of UC Riverside has made $35,844,000 and is in line to make $4 million in 2022; this after the Dodgers bought out his option. He will become a free agent after the 2022 season … if there is a 2022 season, that is.
(Photo credit – Bob Levey)
Regardless of which side of the MLB lockout you are on, you’ve got to respect and give credit to Joe Kelly for having the guts to openly share his take on this mess.
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
A note to Joe Kelly:
Baseball fans have always known that the game is awesome; they passionately love the game whether it is played on sandlots, Little League fields, high school and college facilities, or professional stadiums — but they hate how the business of the game so frequently overshadows the wonderful game. The Players Association and players don’t get a pass from fans’ contempt for the business of the game. Fans remember! They remember how the union and players ended the 1994 season by striking, depriving fans of a thrilling conclusion to that season and the World Series. They remember how veterans over the years have ratified CBAs that paid them extremely well at the expense of rookies, second and third year players. They remember cheating players who were protected by the union.
By no means is this note intended as a defense of the commissioner, or owners — there is no doubt how badly they have behaved. But, Joe, you have cohorts who are pointing fingers at MLB without acknowledging that they are part of the problem,
Exactly. Neither side is without its share of hypocrisy and greed in this situation. I’d like to see MLB contracts like NFL contracts. Non guaranteed. If you don’t perform, your gone. Half or more of the big contract players are not earning their salaries.