The major league regular season ended yesterday, and so did the 9th season of the Iowa Farm League fantasy baseball competition. I have been the commissioner of the league since its inception back in '96. The participants are mostly people I know from past jobs at Parsons Technology and Rockwell Collins, as well as my dad and brother.
The hardest part of being the commissioner is when your own team does poorly. That was the case this year. Out of 12 teams, I finished a very distant 11th. From about the third month of the season on, I had no chance. Injuries to key players made it impossible to be competitive, and a few trades that I made didn't have enough positive effect.
The baseball season, in general, wasn't much fun to watch either. The season started with the shadow of Barry Bonds and the congressional testimony concerning steroid use dominating the headlines. The Cubs lost their starting pitching and shortstop, and were not in contention after the All-Star break. And then, likely Hall of Fame 1B Rafael Palmeiro is tested positive for steroid use -- use that likely occurred prior to his congressional testimony, during which he was adimate about playing clean all of his career. All of this, and with so many teams that due to salary issues and small city markets will never make it to the Series, make America's pasttime past its time.
Ratings indicate the professional football has long overtaken baseball as the #1 watched sport in the US. It wouldn't surprise me if college football is 2nd. In order for baseball to right the ship, there should be a tougher drug policy, and a salary cap.
As for the Iowa Farm League, there's always next year.
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