Open Letter to Bud Selig re: Pete Rose

Warning: this is not a comedy post.  It contains nothing funny, so, in a lot of ways, it's just like my act.  Rim shot! Thank you! I'm here all week, try the veal. 

Pete Rose has been out of baseball for 25 years, serving out his life time ban for betting on the team he managed to win.

Commissioner Bud Selig is retiring in January, 2015 and has basically shelved Pete Rose's reinstatement appeals, all but refusing to address the issue.

Recently, Selig said he has five months to deliberate on the issue, but says he has to do what he feels is best for the game and sometimes you have to live with people not liking your decisions.

So, Commissioner, how is keeping perhaps the best ambassador baseball has out of the game, while hundreds of players used (and many still use) PED's only to be suspended for a certain amount of games, what's best for the game?

Heck, ARod is so guilty he got multiple suspensions wrapped into one sentence and still only missed a little more than a year.

Whether or not one understands the reason behind it, players who take PED's are knowingly cheating.

Where's the integrity of that?

Commissioner, you stated your office was created specifically to deal with the Black Sox scandal of 1919, which, of course, dealt with gambling.

One thing, however, sir:  the Black Sox were paid to THROW their games.  The intentionally did bad so they would lose.

Side bar: Shoeless Joe Jackson did NOT throw games and should be reinstated, as well.

Pete Rose is guilty of betting on the team he managed, TO WIN.

Yes, betting is betting, but it's been 25 years.  Let him in.  The all-time hit leader deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.  Rather, it's a black eye to baseball that the Hit King ISN'T in the Hall of Fame.

By the way, I know there is a difference between reinstatement and election into the Hall of Fame, but one would most certainly beget the other at some point.

Commissioner, we all know your disdain for Home Run leader Barry Bonds.  Yet, even though he was indicted for perjury, indicted and convicted of Obstruction of Justice and has been the central focus of the Balco investigation since 2003, you turned a blind eye to Bonds, letting the chips fall where they may, so to speak.

I just don't think you can use words and terms like "integrity" and "best interests of baseball" if you have different levels of cheating when it comes to knowingly taking PED's to get an edge and gambling.

Pine tar, spit balls, etc. are all to get an edge on that particular game and should we dealt with as such.  PED's are for a season or career.  Much different.

But let's talk gambling, if you would.

Around the time of the Black Sox, America was different.  Baseball was different.  There were no computers and no multi-million dollar contracts.

Gambling was looked on as a tool of the Devil, and only bad people were associated with it.  Today, America has two major gambling cities, one of which has LEGAL sports betting.

Back in 1919, $10,000 went a long way, and made a huge difference in a player's life.  Today, in order to get just ONE player to even consider throwing a game, you'd have to come at them with tens of millions of dollars. 

Owners were cheap and had a strong hold on players.  There was no free agency and the MLPA didn't even exist until 1953.  The previous incarnations of a players union obviously weren't very strong.

Even twenty five years ago, one would still had to have offered at least a few million dollars per player, if players would even entertain the idea.

In 1919, the criminal element moved freely throughout baseball and other sports.  It was easier to get in touch with players, make deals, etc.  Twenty five years ago, and certainly today, its much harder to keep company with a bad element without getting found out.

I'm not so naive to think that some players aren't associating with "bad seeds" today, but it's so much easier to bet sports legally or online, that it really doesn't matter anyway.

But, again, we're still talking apples and oranges, or at least different types of apples.  Pete Rose gambled on the team he managed, TO WIN.  The Black Sox THREW the World Series for money.

Clearly, those are completely different items.

So, now, at least once a year, Pete Rose gets all of our attention, and people wonder why he isn't in baseball or the Hall of Fame.

You've actually created this issue, Commissioner.  Okay, maybe you didn't create it, but you keep it going.

If you reinstated Pete Rose, it would be a HUGE positive publicity event for Major League Baseball.  Think of the ratings and ticket sales when you parade the Hit King around to every major ball park for a Welcome Back to Baseball Tour.

If you think that's too much, because you just don't like Rose, then let him in, let the publicity die down and then he either does or doesn't get into the Hall of Fame.

Then, guess what, he goes away. 

You see, if you let him into baseball everything stops.  If he's hired as a coach or manager, so be it, now he's just a part of baseball.  If he's not, then so be that, too.  If he's elected into the Hall of Fame, then he gives his speech and everyone goes home.  If he's not elected, well, then so be it, at least he was given his shot.  It's not on you, or baseball.

Either way, the issue is dead and no one can complain, no one puts Rose on TV, it's over.

This is a win-win for baseball, Commissioner.  The public gets their Hit King back, you get to leave a great legacy behind and baseball gets to move forward instead of being constantly reminded of the worst of it's past.

Please reinstate Pete Rose in the best interest of baseball.

Sincerely,

Scott Friedman
Linwood, NJ

Robin Williams - What Dreams May Come

Like many of you, I opened my web browser and saw the headline about Robin Williams' death.

My six year old daughter had just come off her Aladdin rotation a couple of days ago.  You know, when the kids watch the same movie over and over again for a week straight.

I was marveling at his Genie, secretly wondering which parts were improv and which were scripted, if any of it was scripted.

I don't know if any one entertainer has had an effect on my life such as Robin Williams.

As a child and pre-teen, I reveled in his antics watching Mork & Mindy.

As much as I ultimately came to love everything George Carlin, it was both Eddie Murphy's first two albums and Robin's An Evening at the Met (1986) that sealed my standup fate.  I just didn't know it yet.

I was already a radio DJ wanna be when Good Morning Vietnam (1987) made it official; I was going to be on the radio no matter what...and, like many people, I could recite almost all of Robin's Adrian Cronauer riffs.

Dead Poet's Society (1989) both made me cry and made me proud of my unknowing friend, Robin.  I had never met him, but I was so proud of him as the world had to stand up and take notice of the Club Paradise comedic actor.  Everyone had to give his acting credit, if they hadn't already with Moscow on the Hudson.

I remember being in awe of him in Good Will Hunting and What Dreams May Come.

I loved that I could share him with my son, going back to Aladdin, then with Hook, Mrs. Doubtfire, Flubber and Bicentennial Man.  Man, my son wouldn't stop watching Bicentennial Man for months.  I think I'm going to go watch it when I'm finished writing this.

And, of course, along the way there was Comic Relief.

Robin Williams represented legitimacy to comedy.  He was a comedian first, last and always, but he was so much more.  He was a legitimate actor, a legitimate star.

He was also an alcoholic, drug addict and severely depressed.

I don't know if there are more than two people on the planet that could tell you if his depression caused him to start the drinking and drugs, or if his addictions caused his depression.

It doesn't really matter; either way, it's tragic.

Is there any good that can come out of this?  Can we take something away from this horrible tragedy?

I think, first, a death of this magnitude brings to light a very difficult subject: depression.  And, as cliche as it sounds, if even one person decides to get help, rather than take their own life, then there was some good that came out of Williams' death.

Please, I implore you, if you even think you might be depressed...get help!  The stigma that you're weak if you admit you need help is so over and so, well, stupid.  It's your LIFE we're talking about.  So, you need therapy or medication, or both.  So what?  Get it!  Get the help you need.  Talk to someone, anyone!  Talk to me if you don't have anyone else.

The other thing is much less important in the grand scheme, but not any less true.  Robin Williams set a standard.  He set a standard that all us performers should strive to achieve.

I hope that you and I can win an Oscar, Golden Globes, have 102 credits on IMDB.com and get all the accolades Robin received.  But that's not what I'm talking about.

Robin worked really hard.  He made his comedy look effortless, with his stream of consciousness rantings, but those in the business know he practiced all of that.

He could have easily gone the route of the comedy movie guy, bouncing around from silly movie to silly movie, but he didn't.  He stretched himself and did dramatic roles that will be remembered forever, and he was rewarded with an Oscar.

He also received the Cecil B. DeMille award in 2005.   The previous ten winners of that award were: Sophia Loren, Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Barbara Streisand, Al Pacino, Harrison Ford, Gene Hackman and Michael Douglas.

Not bad company to be in.

When you think about your career, think about working as hard as Robin Williams.  Give it your all, like he did.

Goodbye, Robin.  May you Rest in Peace.  You will be sadly missed.

Nanu, nanu.

Are you a douchey comic?

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Please check out my satire articles on absrdcomedy.com here: Scott Friedman author page.
Also, here's a satire article from whatexitnj.com I wrote: Boring Pleasantville, NJ
Now, on to the douche bags...
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I've met a lot of great, funny and nice comics in this business.  I like to think I've made some good friends.  I mean, if it came down to me or them for a gig, I'm sure they'd happily step on my neck to get the gig themselves, but other than that, they seem like nice people.

Really, I've been lucky in that I've run into very few mean comics.  Either that, or I'm getting stabbed in the back and thrown under the bus and just don't know it.  Could be.

I started writing this post in the middle of a week long gig in Atlantic City.  It was my first time working with comedians Michael Aronin and the legendary Joey Kola.  Michael and Joey had known each other for years, but I had never met either of them.

We all had our own things going on, so, outside of the show, we didn't get to spend a lot of time together.  And most of the time when we did get to hang out, it was only two of the group, as one of us wasn't available (i.e., Joey and me, Mike and me, or Joey and Mike).

For whatever reason, we all clicked with each other.  We enjoyed hanging out.  We enjoyed each others' acts.  We shared stories, pointers, ideas, punchlines, tag lines, etc.

We became friends.  We became friends who truly want to help each other.

Now rewind to the beginning of the week.  A newer comic I was about to work with friend requested me on Facebook, and then she inboxed me a "looking forward to working with you" message (we had Thursday off from the AC gig and I had gotten booked to close a show in North Jersey).

The comic let me know she was very new, so after I joked that I was just as new as she was, I began asking her some questions.  In her responses, I found some things I could share with her to help her along.  In short, I'm an egotistical know-it-all who gives out unsolicited advice, but she didn't seem to mind.  No harm, no foul.

After the show she introduced me to her husband, and told him I was very generous, gave great advice and wasn't one of the "douchey" comics she seemed to have been meeting.

The next day, I inboxed her some words of encouragement and some general ideas as to how she can move forward.  Tape your act, trim the set-up fat, etc.

Again she thanked me for not being one of the douchey comics.

Are there really that many douchey comics?  Are you a douchey comic?

I only know how to be one way: nice...and friendly.  Wait, I know how to be two ways: nice, friendly...and helpful.  No, wait...

All references to Monty Python aside, what the hell?  We're in this together.  Why not be nice to your fellow comics?

You don't have to give advice, you don't have to help them get booked, you don't have to buy them a drink.  But, why wouldn't you at least be friendly, or, at the very least, pleasant to your fellow comics?

In an earlier post, Hell of a Nice Guy, I wrote about how you heard one thing over and over when John Pinette passed away:  how extremely nice he was.

I encourage you to read that post.  I'm about to stop writing this post at the risk of repeating everything that's in that post.

I just don't understand why me being nice and helpful to a fellow comic was hailed as unique.

It shouldn't be.