Charles H. Bradley III: Big Money stole childhood appreciation of World Series

To The Daily Sun,

Oh, baseball World Series time again. Seventy years ago, baseball was America’s favorite pastime. I played baseball with my friends all day in the summer. We all looked forward to fall and the World Series to root on our favorite team. Mine was the Yankees.

As a little boy on our way home from school in October, we ran to the Chevy dealership on Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware, to watch intently through their large showroom window a small TV inside showing the mighty Yankees defeating the most recent National League Champions. We hoped to see Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Moose Skowron win the game. Whitey Ford was on the mound, striking out the other side. What a great joy of our childhood.

Today, Big Money has stolen that childhood joy from our young girls and boys. Big money Scrooges have all sports, including the World Series games, broadcast on limited cable channels for those parents who can afford it. Games are played in what they call primetime, with one recent game ending after midnight when children are fast asleep.

Wouldn’t it be nice if watching a child’s favorite sports team as a family would be the night’s entertainment instead of smartphones and video games? Of course, there is more behind what has happened, but that is how this little boy sees it.

Charles H. Bradley III

Laconia