THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: The ugly side of faceless instant comments on social media

Yes, I’m getting older.

The place set aside for age on my driver’s license says: “Geezer.”

Still, my friends hopefully would tell you that I think and act younger than any legal birth date.

Having made that statement, however, I’ve got to tell you that there have been some changes to everyday life that I wish “progress” had somehow missed.

Social media, for instance.

Oh, I understand the benefits, and enjoy many of them myself.

Bottom line, though, it’s become too easy for people to insult each other.

And do it anonymously.

To put this in a sports context, maybe fans “back in the day” were also left steaming when their team’s pitcher walked the bases loaded.

They could mutter to their pals, and call that pitcher ugly names at a party after the game.

But almost always, that’s where it ended.

Most people didn’t bother to send a vicious letter containing their beef about some second baseman who made an error.

Nah, life moved on.

That’s not how society rolls these days, however.

Insulting athletes is now more than common.

It’s part of the sport.

PLAYERS have to put up with being targets.

For the most part, they’re like anybody else and don’t enjoy being called unpleasant names — even if social media allows a thousand angry fans to do it every night.

The problem is that it’s so easy to blow up on Instagram or X or somebody’s blog that the meanest “critics” take it way, way too far.

We could find plenty more examples with just a cursory search, but just in the last couple of weeks, Mariners reliever Tayler Saucedo and Baltimore pitcher Cade Povich have received hate-laced messages that were particularly scary.

There was a different, vile element in these cases.

The Instagram post aimed at Povich specifically mentioned his wife, and the clown who wrote it suggested she should “die of leukemia.”

My God, who in the world can even conjure up a thought like that?

In Saucedo’s case, the writer on X also attacked his girlfriend — presumably because Sauce endured one bad inning that was part of a Mariners loss in Philadelphia.

“I understand wanting me gone after today and this year as a whole,” Saucedo told MLB.com following that game.

“Nobody is more disappointed with how this year has gone for me than myself. Trust me, I want to win just as much as all of you. 

“But messaging me and my girlfriend, and sending this stuff is beyond baseball. 

“It’s insane how comfortable people are, sending this stuff to not only me, but my partner.”

Amen.

Sadly, this is a trend that just seems to be gaining speed.

There are more idiots out there than we guessed, I suppose.

Saucedo also responded to well-meaning people who suggested he simply get off social media.

“I see a lot of people saying turn off notifications, but I’d like to say this: I keep them partially open because I like interacting with fans,” Saucedo said. 

“This was an example of going too far. No matter the reason, we cannot send this stuff — especially to people who are not involved.”

BEYOND the opportunity for mischief that these morons now find on social media, psychologists and other observers of human behavior suggest another reason for hate messages.

Gambling.

It’s now legal in 38 states.

Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito actually brought up that very subject with commissioner Rob Manfred.

“I asked him about something that has been on my mind this year, that’s been a little worrisome for me with the rise of sports betting, and the access that exists now with social media and everything,” Giolito told Yahoo Sports.

“The threats when a player doesn’t perform well — threats to their family, threats to their life — it’s getting very tiring. 

“I worry for guys that are maybe new to the league and aren’t ready for something like that.”

There is a sad backdrop to all these hate-filled messages.

As Saucedo mentioned, one logical option for athletes is getting out of social media completely — and thus cutting off their connection to real fans.

Detroit outfielder Riley Greene chose that route, and feels unhappy about the isolation.

He’d like more interaction with real fans.

“It sucks, but it’s the world we live in, and we can’t do anything about it,” Greene said.

He’s right.

Call it the price of instant communication from your couch.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”