The fact that you didn't get paid to play ball is irrelevant. For whatever reason, no one was willing to pay money to see you play. I do lots of things for free that other people get paid for...sex, for example. Just because no one is willing to pay me for it doesn't mean that no one else ever should get paid for it.

If people are willing to part with their money to spend their free time watching someone play ball, shouldn't the ball player get some cut of that? I don't see any coercion here.