I know I’m going to sound like the guy who stands on his front porch and yells at the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn, but I’m sick and tired of watching the standards in every aspect of life disappear.

When I was growing up, every team in the major leagues had a four-man starting pitcher rotation, so every pitcher took the mound every fourth day. Today, teams go with five-man rotations, so every pitcher gets an extra day's rest.

When they do take the mound, if they pitch for six innings, it’s considered a quality start, because God forbid a major league pitcher should exceed a predetermined pitch count.

Let me give you a few examples. In 1968, Bob Gibson started 34 games, had 28 complete games, 12 shutouts, and pitched 304 innings. His record was 22-9 with a 1.12 ERA. That same year, Juan Marichal started 38 games, had 30 complete games, 5 shutouts, and pitched 325 innings. His record was 26-9 with a 2.43 ERA. Also, that same year, Denny McLain started 41 games, had 28 complete games, and pitched 336 innings. His record was 31-6, with an ERA of 1.96.

In his career, Gibson had 255 complete games, and Marichal had 244.

The Cy Young Award winner in the American League last year was Tarik Skubal. He started 31 games, had zero complete games, and pitched 195 innings. His record was 13-6. The National League winner was Paul Skeenes. He started 32 games, had one complete game, and pitched 187 innings. His record was 10-10.

The differences are massive, and yet today's athletes have personal trainers, personal chefs, much better travel accommodations, greatly improved medical procedures, sleep in the best hotels, get paid astronomically high salaries, and yet are required to do much less.

Baseball is still popular, especially over the last five years, but that doesn’t mean that the game is better. It’s different for sure; hardly anyone plays small ball anymore, and in my opinion, the designated hitter takes too much strategy out of the game. Now, most players swing for the fences and either hit a homer or strike out, and I don’t care what anyone says, putting a man on second base at the start of any extra inning is one of the stupidest, if not the stupidest, rule change ever.

By the way, that was done to prevent long extra-inning games, another attempt to baby the players.

That mentality isn’t limited to sports, which for the most part are for entertainment. However, when that manner of thinking spreads to the education system, the results can be disastrous.

The University of Michigan has announced that beginning next year, freshmen will have a semester-long break from having letter grades on their transcripts. This decision comes as school officials seek new strategies to address the "mental health crisis" affecting higher education.

Mental health crisis? Are you kidding me? Where is it written that a little concern and even worry at times isn’t a good thing when it comes to developing character?

Not everything is supposed to be easy. Yet starting in the fall of next year, first-year students admitted to the public research university's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) will have their first-semester grades marked as "pass" or "no credit.”

According to the university:

"Our goal is to help first-year students acclimate to the demands of college and allow intrinsic motivations to guide personally meaningful academic journeys--core elements of a liberal arts and sciences education."

The LSA, the largest of the university's 19 colleges, serves approximately 19,700 undergraduate students. It will provide students with their letter grades throughout the semester but will not include the final average on their transcripts.

Transcripts will now display a "P" for pass and "NC" for no credit.

The grades that are covered will not be included in students' grade point averages. University officials say this change will give first-year students more freedom to explore academically.

Freedom to explore what? College is where you learn to really stretch yourself academically. If you choose something that is too difficult, then so be it. This sounds like another liberal way to pass students who don’t deserve to be passed, just so their feelings aren’t hurt.

Listen to this excuse offered by the university and see if it doesn’t sound like how communism would view education.

"For example, they can explore a subject that may not come easily to them or take a course in a new field without the fear that a low grade may have long-term consequences. LSA is investing in students’ well-being and growth by fostering a culture of connection and collaboration--rather than competition."

Should we all join hands and sing Kumbaya, rather than actually learning something?

Under the new policy, university officials will retain students' first-semester letter grades for internal administrative purposes. These purposes include academic advising, eligibility for potential academic awards and scholarships, internship and other professional applications, athletic eligibility, compliance reporting, degree progress tracking, and financial aid determinations.

Translation: Only we will know the truth, and that way we can do what we want with it.

Furthermore, the 2027 policy will apply only to incoming freshmen enrolled in the LSA, with school officials stating there is no option to opt out.

The university clarified the no opt-out option like this:

"An opt-in structure would defeat the purpose of facilitating students’ transition to campus, supporting mental health and well-being, and bolstering intrinsic motivations for learning.”

Michigan isn’t the only school to begin handling students with velvet gloves to protect their delicate psyches. Other schools across the country have implemented similar policies. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Swarthmore College, and the California Institute of Technology, to name a few.

While Democrats think programs like this support students’ mental health, not everyone agrees. Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert believes it runs a very real risk of doing more harm than good. Alpert, who penned the book “Therapy Nation,” told Fox News Digital:

"We’re raising a generation of students to believe that discomfort is dangerous. It isn’t. A bad grade can be upsetting, embarrassing, and stressful. That’s not a mental health emergency. That’s college."

He noted that while the policy was designed to reduce the pressure and stress for students during their first semester of college, it could actually jeopardize their readiness for life beyond the academic setting.

"This is therapy culture invading the classroom. We’ve spent years turning normal human emotions into symptoms. Stress becomes a mental health issue. College should be one of the places where young people discover that they’re tougher than they think.”

"A bad grade isn't psychological harm. Sometimes it's the wake-up call a student needs."

I agree with everything Alpert believes. Not everything is supposed to be easy, and universities should not act like helicopter parents for any group of students.

College is where tough standards are set, and students must work hard to reach them. When they graduate, they will carry that work ethic with them, and as much as the knowledge they have gathered, that mindset will serve them well.

Milt Harris——Bio and Archives

Milt spent thirty years as a sales and operations manager for an international manufacturing company. He is also a four-time published author on a variety of subjects. Now, he spends most of his time researching and writing about conservative politics and liberal folly.