A few years ago, I signed up with Major League Baseball to participate in one of their outreach programs.

Fans At Bat is a survey device that MLB sends participants via email to gauge fans’ support (or lack thereof) for various baseball-related topics. The League and its owners want to take the pulse of public reaction to some of their programs and events, ostensibly.

I have received surveys on what candidates should qualify for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and what TV station is broadcasting the All-Star game (and in what city will it be played). I have even been asked about the sponsors supporting the transmission of the game.

The other day, I received a survey about my favorite topic…sports gambling.

Having watched the exploits of Shoeless Joe Jackson and his contemporary ghosts play baseball in a cornfield in Iowa, the history behind the Black Sox scandal has always struck a chord. Baseball at that time was so concerned with maintaining the integrity of the game and having fans continue to value their product, that they made a special effort to punish the players as well as appointing the first Commissioner of Baseball in the person of Kenesaw Mountain Landis, AKA Judge Landis.

Landis was a federal judge who quickly applied law and order to professional baseball. He was appointed in 1920, and so ingrained was the goal of keeping Baseball free of gambling and gamblers that even in the 1970s, two of baseball’s all-time greats were banned from baseball activities, eg, Old Timers Day.

Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were banned for merely serving as greeters at gambling casinos. They were later reinstated when they stopped serving in this capacity.

But now? The gamblers are not only allowed into the inner sanctum of America’s Pastime, but they are also welcomed as sponsors and collaborators with sports gambling companies.

Odds are posted on MLB broadcasts, and fans are encouraged to bet on whether Aaron Judge will get a home run or a particular pitcher will get six strikeouts.

Judge Landis is spinning in his grave.

It seems that making money has now displaced Baseball as America’s Pastime.

That is why I take every opportunity to slam MLB on their surveys when they ask for a comment, even if the topic has nothing to do with gambling or the companies that provide an opportunity for some fan to lose money he can’t afford to lose.

I know…I have a case of the cranks. But really, I just can’t tolerate hypocrisy.