Extraordinary...

Last night, 60 Minutes included a piece on an Elephant Orphanage in Kenya, where the return of legalized ivory sales after a 10 year absence also means a resurgence in poaching.  And it's leaving dozens of elephant calves parentless.  This is a lovely story and I hope you have 10 minutes to watch the video below.  While looking for more information on Dame Daphne and her heartwarming mission, I learned that for $50 per year, you can adopt an orphaned elephant.

It occurs to me that Major League Baseball has the opportunity to do a lot of good for these sweet creatures.  With a stroke of the pen Scott Boras could fill the coffers of this and countless other other deserving groups.  1/2 a percent of a year's salary about covers the winter heating bill for middle-class Americans.  But, let's say you're angling for a $20M/year salary like Tex.  His half a percent... $100,000... could buy a 24 day Trip Around The World or foster 200 elephants for ten years.  Leaving lots of worthy organizations for Tex, Manny, Giambi, Dunn, Burrell, Wiggy, and the rest of the gang.  Heck, those 6 could keep GM afloat for a few more months.

Boras is just ticking us off by pitting one Top Tier Free Agent against another in his personal quest for a new all-time record contract.  While the TTFAs play musical chairs with 30 teams, the rest of us are wonder if our own chairs are on the deck of the Titanic. Guys, have a heart. Talk about the elephants you're going to foster,  the Little League Teams you're going to sponsor, or the homeless shelters you're going to keep open this winter.  These are the kinds of things we Average Americans were doing a year ago. We had to give them up to make ends meet.  We know most of you already do a lot of good. Stop yakkin' about the millions.  Tell us how you're gonna use them to pick up us do-gooders with smaller bank accounts.  Seriously.


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