Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 2016 Casey's Hope: A Communication Ethics Response to Baseball's Fall and its Future Matthew aD vid Fazio Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Fazio, M. (2016). Casey's Hope: A Communication Ethics Response to Baseball's Fall and its Future (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/532 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CASEY’S HOPE: A COMMUNICATION ETHICS RESPONSE TO BASEBALL’S FALL AND ITS FUTURE A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Matthew Fazio May 2016 Copyright © Matthew Fazio 2016 CASEY’S HOPE: A COMMUNICATION ETHICS RESPONSE TO BASEBALL’S FALL AND ITS FUTURE By Matthew Fazio Approved February 26, 2016 ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Ronald C. Arnett Dr. Janie Harden Fritz Professor of Communication & Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies Rhetorical Studies (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ Dr. Calvin Troup Associate Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. James C. Swindal, Dean Dr. Ronald C. Arnett, Chair The McAnulty College and Graduate Department of Communication & School of Liberal Arts Rhetorical Studies iii ABSTRACT CASEY’S HOPE: A COMMUNICATION ETHICS RESPONSE TO BASEBALL’S FALL AND ITS FUTURE By Matthew Fazio May 2016 Dissertation supervised by Dr. Ronald C. Arnett. Baseball was once seen as America’s pastime, but somehow lost its way. Baseball was inherently American, and stood for more than a game. Yet a number of events caused baseball to fall from grace. Using Ernest Thayer’s poem “Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of Republic Sung in the Year 1888” as a frame work, this project identifies three events that caused baseball’s fall and three additional events that currently threaten the game, which will be evaluated according to Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean. Understanding the game’s past and present will help to develop a methodology to apply to threats of the game to ensure baseball’s future. To begin, this project identifies three events that originally caused baseball’s fall: the Black Sox Scandal in the 1919 World Series, two franchises moving from New York to Los Angles, and the Labor Strike of 1994. Each event creates distance between the game of baseball and its idealized past. The first chapter also propels the following three chapters by viewing the iv current threats of the game as three imaginary pitches for Casey with the goal of attempting to change his original fate from the poem, in which he struck out. Chapter II, Casey’s first imaginary pitch, deals with the steroids crisis. The home run era helped to revitalize the game after the Labor Strike, but the success was short-lived. “The Mitchell Report” was first published on December 13, 2007. The report was the culmination of a 21-month investigation of anabolic steroid-use in baseball, and identified 89 MLB players linked to steroids. Although the records and statistics were put into question, the harshest result of this event was that it called into question the ethics of the baseball – with the ongoing suspicion and a lack of trust toward the game, baseball no longer fosters havens of trust. Additionally, the lack of an immediate response by the league showed a delayed reaction, one of deficiency. This is the first strike to Casey in the imaginary at bat. Perhaps propelled by the Steroid Era, the next event that continues to threaten the game is the sabermetric movement, marked by the publication of Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (Lewis, 2003). Sabermetrics in general attempt to provide new and more technologically driven metrics to better understand the game. Although learning more about the game is good, dismissing old statistics causes people to lose ground and connection to the past. The over-emphasis of sabermetrics shows excess, again causing Casey to swing too early and miss another pitch. The final event that threatens the game of baseball is the implementation of technology, namely instant replay, into the game, which occurred in 2008. The game of baseball assessed the successes of other sports’ uses of instant replay, withheld implementation over 20 years later than the NFL, and originally made modest additions to the game. The focus on the past helps to v preserve tradition and helps to foster a good connection for the game in the present game. With the third pitch, Casey found the balance between deficiency and excess and hit a home run. The final chapter lists ongoing problems to each of the three events identified in Chapters II-IV, provides a detailed critique of progress as understood through Modernity, assesses the ways in which Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean can be used as a philosophical framework to deal with ethical issues, theorizes various uses of this methodology, and finally discusses the ways in which baseball can be preserved for the next century. The afterward revisits the original poem of “Casey at the Bat” and provides an updated version, “Casey’s Hope.” vi DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my dad: Thank you for teaching me about baseball, life, and love. You will always be my hero. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The path we envision is rarely the path we take. This dissertation project is a prime example of that fact. Although the route was circuitous and contained a fair number of detours, I am humbled to see this project through to its completion. I could not have completed this project without the love and support of those around me. Thank you to my dissertation advisor, Dr. Arnett, for guidance and enthusiasm through every step. It is through his model of scholarship that I aim to emulate. In addition to being a brilliant professor, he is a truly wonderful person. Additionally, thank you to Dr. Troup and Dr. Fritz for providing constructive feedback as a part of my dissertation committee. Thank you to Duquesne University and the School of Communication and Rhetorical Studies for leading by example. The books and the classes were only a part of the education I received. Also, a special thanks to Rita McCaffrey for all she does for the department and the school’s community. To my family, your endless support is unparalleled. Thank you for listening to my rambling on baseball and ethics, encouraging me when I couldn’t see the finish line myself, and supporting me in every facet of my life. I would not be where I am today without my parents. Thank you both for being my teachers, both inside and outside of the classroom. Thank you to TJ, Jenny, Mister, Nico, and Talia for continuing to show me the importance of family. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. O and Emily for welcoming me into your family. Thank you to my friends who have continued to root for me to succeed, specifically Josh, Dave, and Doug. The subtle encouragement throughout the years has meant more than any of you likely realize. viii Finally, thank you to my best friend, wife, and the love of my life, Erica. Every sacrifice I have made since beginning Duquesne’s program in 2009 has directly affected you, so thank you for all of your sacrifices. You make me want to be the best version of myself. And just when I thought I couldn’t love you any more, we had Thea Mae together and truly began our family. I promise to always love and support you, just as you have done for me. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page iii Abstract iv Dedication vii Acknowledgements viii Chapter I: The Lasting Effects of Casey’s At Bat 1 Chapter II: A Communication Ethics Response to Steroids and Other 22 Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Baseball Chapter III: Advanced Metrics and Communication 52 Chapter IV: Technology in Baseball 77 Chapter V: Where Does Baseball Go From Here? 110 Extra Innings: “Casey’s Hope” 141 References 143 Notes 163 Appendices 165 x Chapter I: The Lasting Effects of Casey’s At Bat Baseball was once seen as America’s pastime, but somehow lost its way. Baseball was inherently American, and stood for more than a game. In 1936, after baseball’s rise to success, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said the following about the game: Baseball has been called the national pastime and rightly so because it stands for fair play, clean living and good sportsmanship which are our national heritage. That is why it has such a warm place in our hearts. The President’s words were not just speaking for him; instead, at the time, the majority of the nation identified baseball as America’s pastime. In many respects, baseball was our nation’s salvation. The game endured World Wars, the Stock Market Crash, the Civil Rights Movement, and 9-11. Baseball can be seen as the little red thread that has tightly tied the seams of our country’s traditions together. However, at some point, that changed. The “warm place in our hearts” that President Roosevelt spoke about has been replaced with feelings of skepticism toward the game and those who profit from it. There have been dramatic shifts in baseball over its history, but many aspects do remain the same. The mound has been 60 feet 6 inches away from the plate, the bases 90 feet apart forming a diamond, and the games have been nine innings for over a century (The Baseball-Almanac).