The Sacrifice Might Be a Lost Art in Baseball, but It’s a Big Hit in NBA

I am thinking about taking a cut in pay, so my company can afford to go out and hire somebody else.

I want to make this organization as good as it can possibly be, even if it means giving back part of my paycheck.

I want to be like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.

When their basketball teams did not have enough money, under the terms of the NBA’s salary cap, to go out and purchase a couple of necessary new players, Magic and Michael donated portions of their salaries to make the acquisitions possible.

That’s right--basketball players, giving rebates.

Boy, I’d hate to think my employers couldn’t afford to buy another baseball reporter, or a crossword puzzle, or Erma Bombeck or Beetle Bailey just because some greedy pig in the sports department was getting too much money.

Magic Johnson, a man with a heart of gold as well as a vault full of it, gave back something approximating $75,000 for the Lakers to meet the salary needs of Terry Teagle of the Golden State Warriors, who will be coming south this season to weave baskets.

Now, I know what you are thinking. What’s 75 grand to Magic? He’ll get that back with one Diet Slice commercial.

Well, it’s the principle of the thing, not to mention the interest. Earvin Johnson dug into his own purse and fished out 75K for the sake of the Lakers. Teagle is now on the team, and Magic, as usual, gets the assist.

Same thing happened with Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Back on draft day, the Bulls were interested in acquiring Dennis Hopson. The salary cap, however, stood in their way, partly because Jordan costs more than a tanker of crude oil.

Since the only way Chicago is ever going to win an NBA championship is for Jordan to get some more help, Michael saved the day. He deferred some of his income so that Hopson could be paid what he supposedly is worth.

No matter how much Jordan already has in the bank, this was a significant gesture on his part. By NBA standards, Michael happens to be underpaid. When you take a minute to consider what Hot Rod Williams and Jon Koncak make, it’s amazing that the Bulls don’t have to pay off Michael Jordan in uranium.

And yet, he gave money back.

I respect this. That’s why I am willing to do my share, to give till it hurts. That’s why I am planning to give back $10 from my salary every two weeks for the next six months so that, by God, this newspaper can go out and pay what it takes to hire somebody else who is worth every bit as much as me.

After all, we are all in this together, and because of people like me, wonderful people like me, caring people like me, the world can be a better place for all of us, the united way.

Oh, sorry. Somehow I slipped into a Georgia Frontiere commercial there.

Anyway, I wonder what would happen if baseball tried a salary cap. Every time somebody in that sport signs a contract for $3.5 million a year, making him the highest-paid player in the game, somebody the next day signs for $3.6 million, whereupon the first guy says he was cheated and wants his contract renegotiated to $3.61 million.

I had a dream the other day where Rickey Henderson, rounding third and headed for home, refused to run the final 45 feet unless the Athletics did something about his contract.

“OK! OK! You get the damned Ferrari! Now slide! Slide!”

The Angels could use a couple of hitters, but you can’t expect Mark Langston to spring for them. The White Sox could have used Willie McGee and Harold Baines, but it wasn’t Carlton Fisk’s job to free up the necessary dough.

If Magic Johnson had been playing for the Dodgers, they would have won the division. By September, he would have given back enough of his salary that they would have gone out and gotten the players they needed most--like, oh, you know, Franklin Stubbs.

The Lakers needed a shooter. Magic, being Magic, made one appear. He made sure the Lakers were able to get Eagle-Eye Teagle.

The Bulls need a center. Michael, being Michael, probably will offer Akeem Olajuwon every penny of his salary and play for free, just to win a championship. Michael would scrub Chicago Stadium with his tongue to win a championship.

This NBA salary cap is unconstitutional, if you ask me, but darn it anyway, I like it. I wish this newspaper had a salary cap. There’s one guy around here who makes way too much.

All summer, I’ve been thinking that this is finally the season the Lakers slip to third or fourth place. But I did something I almost never do. I underestimated Magic Johnson.

Now I estimate that by November, Magic will be playing for about $7.98 a game, but the Lakers will have All-Stars at the other four positions. Poor Earvin. He’ll have holes in his socks, but at least he’ll have another ring on his finger.