At Break, Dodger Fans Looking for Someone to Give Them a Break

I have been a Dodger fan since I was a little boy growing up in the lower income area of East Los Angeles. Being poor, I didn’t have a lot to do except listen to Vin Scully on the radio, watch a few games on television and make it to a game or two when my family had a couple of extra bucks. But I learned a great deal about baseball from the teams of the past, including how to recognize a good player, and one who hustles. I learned that the Dodgers had excellent coaching and scouting. I learned about an organization that cared about baseball.

What happened? All I see now is a team that lacks concentration and discipline and cares more about a paycheck than hustling that extra step or two. I see good players and prospects playing for, and achieving greatness, with other teams, while I see a bunch of falling stars taking up the playing time of the few good prospects in the minors. I see players spending more time selling products on television than practicing in the field. And I see a stadium full of empty seats, where there used to be the most fans in baseball.

Mr. O’Malley, something is terribly wrong. Look back on what your father once had. It was an organization that cared more about baseball than the almighty dollar. It was a lot more fun to watch.

ROD UYEDA

Pasadena