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CNN Saturday Morning News

The Development of Baseball Over 100 Years

Aired June 02, 2001 - 08:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: So far it's quite a season in Major League Baseball. The Minnesota Twins are leading their division with the lowest paid players. The Texas Rangers spent $25 million on a single player. And on this 100th anniversary of the American League, we can see a bigger picture of the game in a new book. It's called "Baseball: 100 Years of the Modern Era," and it was compiled by "The Sporting News."

Steve Meyerhoff is the editorial director of "The Sporting News" book division and he joins us this morning from Chicago.

Good morning, Steve.

STEVE MEYERHOFF, "THE SPORTING NEWS": Good morning. How are you?

LIN: Good to see you on this very important anniversary.

MEYERHOFF: Yes.

LIN: We were talking about this milestone here for the American League, 100 years. When you take a look at the American League's role in baseball, how do you think it changed the face of the game?

MEYERHOFF: I think the American League, really, really in two ways. First of all, in 1901 it opened up, you know, a considerable number of additional teams and markets for baseball to market itself into and it really expanded. You talk about the way the game is today in an expansion mode, that's really the way it was in 1901. So you had more teams and you had more players.

And then I think, of course, in 1969 with the advent of, you know, the kind of expansion and then '73 with the designated hitter. I think in a real tangible way that rule really has changed baseball and the way baseball is played.

LIN: You know, and it's still controversial with the fans. We were talking about it this morning and I was asking my co-anchor Miles O'Brien here, isn't it so much more interesting to watch the National League game, you know, not really knowing what was going to happen up at bat? I always felt like when I watched the Oakland As when I was up in San Francisco that I wasn't getting the fullness of the game and the suspense. MEYERHOFF: Right. Well, I'm a National League guy and I can't agree with you more. I think it's changed the game considerably. You know, it's taken defense and pitching out of the game. And I'm a purist and I just prefer National League baseball.

LIN: Well, there you go. OK, now that we've laid our biases out...

MEYERHOFF: Right.

LIN: ... on the 100th anniversary of the American League, when you take a look at the past 100 years, it really is, it's not a sporting story so much as a human story. Can you think of any moments, as you were editing this book, that stood out for you personally?

MEYERHOFF: Well, you know, personally, you know, a couple of things. Maybe not so personally because I wasn't around. But -- and I look back at history and say, you know, if I had been there what it would have been like. I think Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier...

LIN: Oh, yeah.

MEYERHOFF: ... must have been a truly memorable -- and it is a momentous moment for baseball. It really changed the way the game was played. And I look back over the last couple of weeks with all the discussion and TV about Pearl Harbor and the war and you go back and look at baseball and the context of what was happening there, it really has changed the way I looked at those war years.

Personally, the most changing moment in baseball for me was pretty recent, in '98, having the opportunity to see Mark McGwire finish off a season where he hit 69 and 70 home runs, is truly incredible and to try to look back and put him in context with Ruth in '27 and Maris and Mantle in '61 was really a personally rewarding moment for me.

LIN: Yeah, it was a sea change for fans, too, who are still disgruntled over the baseball strike and, you know, the higher ticket prices and all of that. What do you think Jackie Robinson and players of yesteryear would think about what players are being paid today?

MEYERHOFF: I think they would support it. I mean that's what this game is about.

LIN: So for them the salary caps wouldn't be controversial in terms of what teams are going to get which players because who can afford whom down the line?

MEYERHOFF: No, I think, you know, when Curt Flood kind of opened up the free agency, I think players got what they deserved. They're entertainment, entertainers on a free market and being able to go where they want and to ply their trade. I think Jackie Robinson and all the predecessors clearly would appreciate that. And when you look at players like Ruth in his time and what he was paid in relation to other players and to other performers, to other people in society, clearly they were some of the top paid people in America.

LIN: Yeah, good point.

MEYERHOFF: So I think that clearly they'd support that.

LIN: Good point. Good point. All right, well, one player I'd love to see play forever but likely not possible, Cal Ripken. Do you think this is going to be the year that he's going to retire?

MEYERHOFF: It seems to go on forever, doesn't it?

LIN: Yeah.

MEYERHOFF: You know, I think baseball needs players and people like Cal Ripken and I think Cal Ripken needs baseball. And, you know, I don't know. My personal feeling is I'll probably see Cal at least one more season. The whole, I think, the fact that we don't know about the is labor situation and if there is a stoppage at the end of this year, what this is going to do for Cal deciding whether or not to come back, or McGwire whether or not to come back. We've heard a lot of things in that regard.

LIN: Well, the thing about Cal Ripken, though, is he represents so much beyond just his ability to play the sport. You know, just seeing a guy in his 40s and his work ethic and...

MEYERHOFF: Right.

LIN: ... all that he brings to the game really is very uplifting for anybody who sees baseball as the all American sport. Thanks.

MEYERHOFF: Right. He plays baseball a different way.

LIN: Yeah, he sure does. Thanks so much, Steve Meyerhoff. I really enjoyed the book.

MEYERHOFF: Thanks, Carol. I appreciate it.

LIN: Good luck with it.

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