I used to love baseball. Watching and following the Yankees was my passion, even in the 80s, when they sucked. Don Mattingly, Dave Rigetti, Reggie Jackson. I loved baseball. But something’s gone wrong.

A part of me still does too. There’s something about a game that has the tradition and the depth that allows for someone to act his way into a beneficial call and still get his props from a legend of the sport, like this, that just gets me in the gut.

But I can’t get into Major League Baseball anymore. Sure, I watch the playoffs and still root for the Yankees, but not with the same passion or pride any more? Why? Because like so many other businesses in this world, Baseball does shit like this: 

Dominican trainers, who had had little oversight from their government or baseball, say Commissioner Bud Selig and Sandy Alderson, whom Selig appointed to revamp operations in this country, are trying to push down the cost of players and have, in effect, shifted the market to Venezuela, where there is less oversight.

They point out that bonuses for Venezuelan prospects reached a record high this year, with the average about $292,000, up nearly $100,000 from 2009.

“Venezuela had nothing, and all of a sudden, they have something and have all these big bonuses,” said Victor Baez, a trainer with five of the top 40 Dominican prospects. “Teams don’t want to see the truth, and it’s easier there, so they go to sign players there.”

dammit.`