Sportwswriters In Glass Houses

There was a wonderful article in the times about the man who lives in the home in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where the Duke lived in back in his Brooklyn Dodgers' days. It brought back those fond memories when players lived amongst their citizenry and not behind gated fences. Today, of course, the players are selfish SOB's ruined by free agency. Len Berman is among those "journalists" who go with the popular tea bag flow to pile on an attention grabbing story to gain readership. I say, don't blame free agency or unions, which have given the average Joe a fighting chance in this country. Go blame a system that has given tax breaks to the rich, which causes the rest us to fight over gvt revenue scraps . When the Mick was making a hundred grand he probably paid 50 grand in taxes.  The superstar society hasn't done too badly for Len. Bet Marty Glickman didn't have a house like he does (top left). That's Jeter's on the top right.
from Len's "newsletter"

With the passing of Duke Snider, you guys reflected on growing up in Brooklyn, where the Dodgers were "normal people" who lived in the neighborhood.
*Subscriber M.F. was the polar opposite of me. I hated Duke as a kid, and learned to regret it as an adult. He writes, "I hated Mantle & Mays and ripped up their cards when I got them in a Topps pack. Stupid. Could have sent my kids to college on the Mantle cards."
*From Subscriber J.R. "The Duke and his family lived on Marine Avenue in Bay Ridge, near the entrance to the Belt Parkway. We used to drive past, hoping to see him and his neighbor Pee Wee Reese on the stoops of their houses. Compare that to where Derek Jeter (and other players) have their living quarters today, usually behind gates or doormen."
*And subscriber M.L. related a story about a friend of his. "Families used to invite the Dodger players for dinner. The players weren’t multi-millionaires and lived, in part, on community support." One night Duke Snider came for dinner. His friend's mom made her best kosher chicken dish. "During dinner, the Duke asked for a glass of milk, which was heresy." But since he was "The Duke" they relented even when Duke said, “What about the kid? He needs milk to grow-up to become a ballplayer.” It was the first time the kid had milk with meat.
Talk about another world.