If you are a Texas baseball fan, you probably know that recent years have involved state teams going to the World Series multiple times. Some teams can pull off a win and others -- i.e. the Rangers -- may have a harder time. If you were anything like me back in 2010 and 2011, a Texas Rangers fan, one of the most amazing things to do would have been to throw out the first pitch of a game. Forty-five thousand fans cheer you on as you finally understand that 60 feet is longer than you thought.
Major League Baseball (MLB) fans have probably seen some recent news about the all-star game that was going to take place in Georgia. Usually most people watch sports to avoid politics, but the MLB recently threw all of us a curveball. In the past few weeks, the MLB decided to move the 2021 All-Star game out of Georgia to another location This move was made due to the State of Georgia changing its voting laws to require citizens to show a valid ID to vote. For an organization where you must show your driver's license to purchase tickets, this, for some reason, did not sit well with them.
This created some waves in both baseball and politics alike, the focus points being our good ol’ Texas Rangers and our own Gov. Gregg Abbott. The MLB’s decision to move the All-Star game due to Georgia's voting laws did not muster approval from the governor of the Lone Star State either.
"I was looking forward to throwing out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers' home opening game until @MLB adopted what has turned out to be a false narrative about Georgia's election law reforms," Abbott tweeted Monday. "It is shameful that America's pastime is being influenced by partisan politics."
For everyone hoping to steal some more time for sports instead of politics, you may end up being thrown out at the plate. As of the time this article is being written the MLB does not know where the All-Star game will be held, but we do know that Gov. Abbott will not be participating in any other MLB events for the foreseeable future.