It doesn’t matter if you are a casual sports fan or a diehard like me, you will always remember August 12, 1994 as one of the darkest days in all of sports – the day baseball died.

In the midst of one of its most competitive seasons ever, major league baseball shut its doors while both owners and players, instead of worrying about balls, strikes and playoff positions, squabbled over concepts like collective bargaining and salary caps. Players like Ken Griffey Jr., Albert Belle, Frank Thomas and Tony Gwynn – all who were chasing numerous hitting records before the strike – found themselves not at the park, but in hotel meeting rooms.

While the strike finally ended before the start of the 1995 season, many fans never forgave baseball for what it did. A majority of stadiums were filled to less than capacity, and many fans vowed never to return to baseball.

Eight years have passed since that fateful day and as another Opening Day comes and goes today, I continually hear people complaining about 1994 and the selfishness of baseball’s current players. Listen to any sports talk radio station, and you’re bound to hear people point to 1994 as the reason they don’t go to the ballpark or watch baseball on TV.

While I understand these people’s frustrations, I have one simple piece of advice: Stop your whining and get back to the ballpark.

Sure, I’ll admit baseball players are selfish, but what professional athlete isn’t? You mean to tell me that there is a difference in Texas Ranger shortstop Alex Rodriguez signing a 10-year, $252 million contract and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett putting his signature on a six-year, $126 million deal?

No matter what professional sport you look at, you are going to find selfish athletes who make more money than they are actually worth.

But you’ll also find numerous individuals who truly love the game. Over the past eight years, professional baseball has had a number of great stories, which have provided further proof why this game will forever remain America’s Pastime.

Take last season for example. After contraction and another possible strike were avoided, baseball fans were treated to one of the most thrilling postseasons in recent memory. Not only were the high-spending New York Yankees bounced out by the small-market Oakland Athletics, but the World Series featured an all-California flavor when the San Francisco Giants battled the Anaheim Angels. And finally, after a highly contested seven-game series that saw the Giants blow a chance to take home the trophy in Game Six, the Angels, who had been known as the team in the Disney-produced movie “Angels in the Outfield,” walked away as champions.

If that didn’t satisfy your hunger, this year should prove to have even more drama and storylines. One of the biggest questions is: Can the Yankees, after another shopping spree this off season, return to the World Series, or will they be knocked out again by lesser-spending clubs like the A’s or Angels? You know George Steinbrenner hates to lose, and he’ll do almost anything to see his team at the top.

Then there’s Dusty Baker. Baker, who managed the Giants to the World Series last season, finds himself in a new uniform as the boss of the Chicago Cubs. Will Baker be the missing piece this doomed franchise has needed all along, or will the Cubs continue to be the most popular losing franchise in sports history?

If it’s superstars you want, baseball has plenty of those. While there’s the oldie-but-goodies like Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds, it’s a solid core of young up-and-comers who will bring baseball back into mainstream popularity. Guys like Oakland’s Zen-following Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito and Rodriguez will take the game above and beyond what it is today. And you can’t forget about players like Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki and the Cubs’ Hee Seop Choi, who helped transform baseball into a truly global game.

I know memories of 1994 will forever be a black cloud over the game of baseball. But do me a favor. Take some time to go to either Jacobs Field in Cleveland or the new Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. If you can’t go to either, tune into a game from time to time. But if you refuse to forgive and forget, you’re cheating yourself out of countless long-lasting memories from America’s game.

Matt Duval is a junior in journalism and The Lantern sports editor. He’s all primed for baseball season, ordering his MLB Extra Innings package so he can watch up to five games a day. He can be reached at [email protected].