Strike Four: A Baseball Novel

What would normally have been the All-Star break, the time during which the best baseball

talent in North America gathered to put on a show for the fans, came and went without any

baseball activity. The votes that had been cast all season long by the fans were counted, but this

year’s All-Star selections would not be found on the playing field. Instead, they took the route

normally reserved for the also-rans: they relaxed, fixed up the house, did things with their

families and generally felt miserable that they weren’t outside playing baseball.

Some ballplayers, foreseeing a long strike, planted the seeds for other employment. Others

literally planted seeds. The big stars and local heroes continued reaping residuals from prior

commercial endorsements, but new spots were hard to come by. The major brands did not want

to be seen as irrelevant, nor were they in any hurry to alienate consumers who happened to side

with management.

Younger players, once secure with their big league salaries, now had newly acquired and

massive home mortgages to worry about. For them, interim jobs were more than a distraction

geared toward occupying time and supplementing interest. Finding a job was a must, in order to

maintain a standard of living. As one bitter rookie was quoted to say, within earshot of several

teammates, “Not all of us are millionaires. I’ve got a wife and kid to support. I’ll have to find

another job.”