Don’t Be Flip With Fans

In what there was of the 1994 season, Chicago White Sox pitcher Jack McDowell, once superb, was mediocre. And even though he sold his talents to the New York Yankees for $5.4 million, he’s mediocre again this year.

Last Tuesday, mediocre would have looked good. McDowell was miserable, and the fans booed.

How easily do overpaid performers forget that it’s public interest that makes celebrity so profitable.

Out came Big Bird. McDowell flashed the tall-man salute to 21,118 fans at Yankee Stadium. He even spun around so all could see.

In the high-stakes world of professional sports, athletes who market themselves as Cadillacs but perform like Yugos should learn to take the jeers graciously. They’re lucky anyone’s there to boo.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Doug Floyd/For the editorial board