Columnist Dean Juipe: Pay-for-play may someday be a reality

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, May 9, 2001 | 10:02 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

From Dennis Tito's perspective, it was money well spent.

A California business tycoon with a lifelong interest in space travel, Tito returned Sunday from an eight-day jaunt through the galaxy with two Russian cosmonauts that included a working visit to the International Space Station.

He paid $20 million for the privilege and, by all accounts, appeared to treasure the experience.

Tito, 60 and harmlessly flamboyant, can be regarded as a pioneer, perhaps in more ways than one.

Consider the possibilities.

How long do you think it will be before not only the wealthy but maybe the middle class will be able to pay their way on to a professional sports team, at least for a day?

You may laugh at the notion, or you may want to clip this column out and look at it again in 20 years. By then, you or your offspring, if you have the money and the incentive, might well find yourselves pinch-hitting or playing a few innings in a Major League Baseball game.

It's not all that farfetched.

Just look at the teams in every professional sports league that annually drop from contention early in their seasons and mindlessly play out their schedules while losing millions of dollars. These teams -- the Expos, Pirates, Devil Rays and the like, just to limit our focus to baseball -- could open the doors of their clubhouse just as the Russians opened the doors of space travel to a civilian, and use the added income to pay off expenses or invest in talent.

The initial outcry that the sanctity of the sport has been compromised will go largely unheard or fall by the wayside. If virtual ads, superimposed on your TV screen but absent in the actual stadium, can be tolerated as they are today, then an assortment of Joe Blows taking an at-bat in the big leagues will barely raise a ripple of protest.

As a matter of practicality, teams that are vying for playoff berths or championships may choose to bypass this bandwagon and not offer this pay-for-play amenity to their fans. Buying a spot on the New York Yankees, for instance, might be taboo if they're in the running for their 40th world title and every play of every game is consequential.

But sports teams are always looking for ways to not only increase their income but to remain borderline solvent, and allowing the public -- on a limited and occasional basis -- to take a swing in a game is a gold mine that has yet to be tapped. Give the concept time and the suits in the board room will come to the same realization.

Just as importantly, fans -- even those who aren't inclined to shell out for an afternoon of rubbing elbows with the next Pedro Martinez or trading guffaws with Jason Giambi -- will get a kick out of seeing one of their own in a legitimate game situation. The anticipation factor will be immense and otherwise humdrum or boring games will be enlivened tenfold as that day's Dennis Tito makes his way to the plate.

This is an idea with promise.

If it were available today, a Bill Gates -- or a Bill Clinton -- would hand over a stack of hundreds and pay dearly for the right to look enfeebled as he flails away in a plate appearance neither he nor the spectators would ever forget.