A Baseball Rarity

That annoying baseball trading deadline came and went on Sunday and now we can at least get back to watching the pennant contenders and pretenders slog through the rest of the baseball season. 

I alternate betweeen chuckles and cringes every year as this day brings about a flurry of news and non-news from so-called baseball insiders/assholes as Jon Heyman, Buster Olney, and Ken Rosenthal.  Who's going where?  What team can add payroll for their pennant push?  Who's dumping salary?

Yeeech.  Enough already.

And this is why the Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda (pictured above) looks a little special to me this morning. 

Kuroda was one of those pitchers coveted by teams going for post-season gusto.  A veteran who gives you solid innings and can help your rotation in October.  A Dodger for the past four seasons, he certainly did so during Los Angeles' playoff years of 2008 and 2009.  And, given he's currently on a one-year contract of multi-millions in 2011, Hiroki was appetizing to teams like the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees, both with the pitching shorts this year.

Teams came a-calling.  Except Kuroda had a no-trade clause in his contract and had the right to approve a team he would be swapped to.  No problem, right?  Who wouldn't want to leave the lowly 2011 Blue Crew for a chance to pitch post-October 1?  A no-brainer, right?

Wrong. 

Kuroda ultimately enforced his no-trade waiver and, despite the fact that he was being giftwrapped for a trip to Fenway Park and post-season baseball, he chose to stay with the Dodgers for the rest of the season.  This was the team he signed to play with in 2011.  This was the team he wanted to finish the year with.

Wow.

Admittedly, Kuroda, who speaks Japanese and only converses with reporters through an interpreter, is a quiet guy.  A veteran of many years playing in his homeland, he find comfort with his family in Asian-friendly Los Angeles.   But, still, the loyalty he showed over the weekend is remarkable in a sport which is noted for players chasing the big bucks and the even bigger glory for their wallet and ego fulfillment.

Take, for instance, perhaps one of the biggest baseball shitheads of all time.  Roger Clemens.  Forget for a moment the fact that he's a liar, a dirtbag, and a steroid user/abuser.  This is a guy who bolted the Toronto Blue Jays years ago, specifically because he wanted to go to the New York Yankees.  After all, he deserved to pitch in a World Series, didn't he?

Roger Clemens didn't deserve crap.  But thought he did.

Meanwhile, let's think about the old days.  Pre-free agency.  When players were on one team for all of their baseball lives.   Look no further than Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks.  He spent a lifetime in the sport and never left the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.  Did he want to be in a World Series?  You betcha your cleats.  Did he ever get a chance to?  Nope.

Did Ernie Banks bellyache for a second?  Nah.

There's that baseball taffy pull again.  Loving the sport today, but remembering the days of old when players were teammates first and foremost.  And delighted to play before the fans of their chosen city, win or lose.

Hiroki Kuroda, for a brief moment, reminds us of the day when the most important stat on the back of their baseball card was not their salary and contract length.  Next time, I'm there at Dodger Stadium and it's his turn to pitch, there'll be a special cheer from me.  

Because, on a rare occasion, it's great to find a baseball player who realizes that it's not always about winning and losing.

Yes, indeed, it's about how you play the game.

Dinner last night:  Leftover pasta salad.