DEAR EDITOR:

Do baseball players who don’t run to first base on a ground ball, or who just trot down, and if they hit a long fly ball and then stand to watch it bounce off the wall for a single because they didn’t run, get penalized or given a tongue lashing?

No, they don’t because they are immune from discipline.

Do you think we will ever see baseball players like Rod Carew, Pete Rose, Tony Gwynn or George Brett again? They all batted with averages in the high 300s and got their teams a lot of wins.

Nowadays, if you watch baseball, batters watch two strikes go right down the middle and then look back at the umpire. But on the next pitch, it’s bounced in the dirt and they are swinging away. Or how about the players who bat .185 or .200 and every once in a while hit a home run and get paid millions.

I think ball players should get paid incentives. If you produce and run out ground balls and swing the bat instead of arguing with the umpire, etc., then you get paid accordingly. If you get paid millions and strike out all the time and don’t hustle, then you should have your millions adjusted for your inability to perform.

Managers are really to blame for players’ attitudes. They watch their players act like nuts but never say a word. One manager I know took two pitchers out of the game when they were pitching no-hitters. And guess what? The relief pitchers gave up the winning runs in both games. I wonder if the managers get chewed out by management? I doubt it.

We will never see a Roberto Clemente, a Ted Williams or a Stan Musial again, and as I watch baseball it is really boring.

Remember when the Orioles had four 20-game winners? Today we’re lucky to have one in the entire two leagues.

And by the way, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak never will be broken.

BUD McKELVEY

Hermitage, Pa.