'Fan-friendly' baseball.

• Author: Barrett, Wayne M.

"THE BEST TEAM always wins--just look at the scoreboard." This old tried-and-true axiom is what separates sports from the rest of society. There are no blurry or gray areas when a championship is on the line. Inevitably, the contest produces the victorious and the vanquished. However, that is where the distinction between the "real" world and the "sports" world ends, because the rest of the time, their universes collide and overlap in a sea of irreverent ills. Society, seemingly, has lost all respect for itself and its institutions. Sports, meanwhile, has done the same, especially major league baseball.

Usually, when tracing such transgressions, it's wise to start at the top. This time, though, let's begin near the bottom--of the National League standings, the usual residence of the New York Mets, who serve as a perfect microcosm for irreverence. In the wake of last year's strike-shortened season, the Mets, hierarchy promised to make amends with its fans, vowing to provide better amenities at the unfriendly confines of Shea Stadium.

No promise could ring more hollow. The out-of-town scoreboard usually is about one hour behind in updates and doesn't always note pitching changes or rain delays; a fan can wander all three decks in search of a single cup of coffee; and the new concession stand menus on the mezzanine level completely block the view of TV sets, thus leaving those on line completely clueless as to the action on the field. (Fan-friendly, indeed.) Remember, this is the same Mets, brass who vilified the players during last year's work stoppage, claiming that the strike was hurting the "little people" who are employed at Shea and depend on their meager ballpark earnings to get by. So what do the Mets do? They cut food prices in half in May, 1995, as a goodwill gesture to the fans, but, in the process, reduced vendors, commissions on food sales by 50%. Full commissions finally were restored, but only after a public outcry embarrassed the team and its penurious ways.

The Mets hardly are alone when it comes to bumbling baseball decisions. For years, late-night World Series games have served to disenfranchise the next generation of young fans, all in the name of TV's prime-time advertising dollars. Then baseball's owners act completely mystified when these youngsters grow up and choose to follow other sports, substantially dragging down baseball attendance with their switch in allegiance.

The quest for prime-time money also has hurt the...