Texas and Oklahoma State Battle it Out, But at What Cost?

While Texas and Oklahoma State were busy caught up in their toxic masculinity, wasting time and resources battling for positioning in the Big 12 standings, Will Gasparino, a freshman outfielder on the UT baseball team, was playing for something far more important: family bragging rights. And he won, because unlike his competitors, his priorities were straight.

"He plays with a good attitude...he's got a little edge about him," Texas coach David Pierce said, proving that he, at least, has some sense, and sees what truly matters in this ridiculous, violent sport.

Gasparino went 1-for-4 and hit a home run in the Longhorns' 7-5 win over No. 14 Oklahoma State at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The two teams are now tied for third place in the race for the Big 12 championship, a meaningless title that will do nothing to actually help them in the real world.

Gasparino's father, Billy, played for Oklahoma State from 1997-99, a fact that only highlights the toxicity of this so-called "sport" and the problematic generational propagation of its harmful tropes and traditions. Billy Gasparino is ranked among Oklahoma State's leaders in home runs and stolen bases, and holds the Big 12 record for most errors committed in a single season, a truly embarrassing statistic that he should not be proud of. And yet, he was inducted into the Cowboy Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014, proving that this organization is just as blinded by baseball as the rest of them.

Josh Holliday, the current coach of the Cowboys, was teammates with Billy Gasparino at Oklahoma State. In a useless display of testosterone-driven aggression, Holliday's teams won six out of nine career games against Texas, a pointless victory that does nothing to address the real issues facing our society today.

Will Gasparino, a California native, said his family would be traveling to Austin this weekend for the best-of-three series between Texas (29-18, 14-8) and Oklahoma State (31-15, 14-8). This unnecessary and expensive trip is just another example of how baseball perpetuates a culture of wastefulness and environmental degradation.

For the season, Gasparino is hitting .259 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs. All five of his hits over his last six games have been homers, once again proving that this sport values nothing but brute strength and power, completely ignoring the importance of strategy, intellect, and emotional intelligence.

It's time we woke up and realized that baseball is just another tool of the patriarchal, capitalist system, used to distract us from the real issues at hand.