Fans really need to stop throwing things at players. I don’t really have anything else to add to that.
Anyway, here’s a review of everything from Undrafted this May:
A Failure of Central Planning in Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers’ dissatisfaction with Green Bay’s front office is an epic screwup by the franchise, who have basically squandered one of the best careers in NFL history. It’s a useful reminder that “central planning”—that is, decisions with huge consequences and little accountability—happens under capitalism all the time, even the phrase is associated with the Soviet Union. It’s only in sports, though, that those decisions are visible and publicly scrutinized.
“No Ethical Team Ownership Under Capitalism”: On Lefty Specialists, James and I talked about how sports teams are “owned” and what that can teach us about the ownership class.
“Booing the Astros”: Another pod ep, this one on whether or not the players were thrown under the bus in the Astros cheating scandal.
How To End a Career: A reflection on how the end of Albert Pujols’ career—which did not actually end!—exposes yet another problem with baseball’s salary structure. If players were paid fairly early in their careers, they could perhaps age with more dignity.
Play Your Way In: How the NBA’s play-in tournament, in addition to being fun, playfully undermines the capitalist conception of “merit.”
“A Socialist Guide to the NBA Playoffs (East)”: Part I of a two-part NBA playoff preview podcast.
“A Socialist Guide to the NBA Playoffs (West)”: Part II
The Real Problem with Unwritten Rules: On the Tony La Russa/Yermín Mercedes incident. Specifically that the problem with “unwritten rules” is really the “unwritten” part.
The Importance of Crowds: An appreciation of live crowds—obviously I wrote this before those crowds started throwing things at players’ heads.