Many of baseball historians will tell you the sport has evolved in the past century and can be broken down into different eras. The Dead-ball Era, “The Pre Jackie Robinson Era” the time period before African Americans were allowed into MLB , The WW II era during this period many of the sport's greatest players, including Joe Dimaggio and Ted Williams went off to fight in the war while in the prime of their careers. In 1968 Bob Gibson recorded a 1.12 era the lowest ever for any pitcher pitching 300 or more innings in a year. The following year the mound was lower thus decreasing the pitcher’s advantage. Now we are stuck with The Steroid era.
This era I blame on the players. Previous eras were not in the players control. Societal factors and rule changes incorporated by MLB forced all players to play “on the same level playing field”, and the statistics of those eras were by products of the influences outside the players control.
But steroids are different- no-one was putting a gun to these guys’ heads to take a needle and stick it in their behind. Players voluntarily looked for and administered these performance enhancing drugs to increase their chance to make it to the big leagues, inflate their stats, and cash in. Anyone using steroids after 1991- yes-1991violated the edict sent out by Fay Vincent, placing steroids on the banned substance list.
I fell in love with the game of baseball in 1967 - the “Impossible Dream” season of the Boston Red Sox,when a guy named Carl Yastrzemski – “ Big Yaz Bread” as we called him- was winning a Triple Crown and carrying the Sox single handedly on his back
The first memories I have of watching any sporting event are from the second to last game of that season when Sox and Twins tangled for the AL title It must have been a big deal I was almost seven; my bigger brother all my uncles, my grandfather and even my mother ans sisters were watching it.
The Sox were a game behind the Twins and needed to win the last two games of the season and pray for a Detroit loss to win the AL pennant. Yaz went 7 for 8 in those last 2 games with a HR and 6 RBIs. Even though the Sox went on to lose the WS to Bob Gibson and Cardinals in 7 games against I was hooked on baseball.
For my First Holy Communion gift I had to have a baseball uniform. I wore it every time we would play pick up games. I probably looked rlike a real idiot but I didn;t care I was Yaz in that uniform!
Since then I have gone to hundreds of games , burned away hours of emotional energy. and spent enough money on tickets, MLB merchandise, tv game packages, and other MLB licensed products to fund the payroll of a small market team.
Much of Baseball’s heritage and history is in its records and numbers. More so than any other sport Now In the midst of this steroid era, with the all the records being challenged and broken by cheaters like Barry Bonds Mark McGire Roger Clemens, and now AROD I think it’s fair to say that you and I- the fan- have been “Bernie Maddoffed”
We’ve been victims of a fraud perpetuated by the players, owners, the Players union and those two crooks who run the union Gene Orza and that fat pant load Donald Fehr.
Chicks dug the long ball so everyone looked the other way when HR numbers were escalating at rate faster than my 401 (k) is plunging. We fans were duped by the great HR race of 1998 featuring Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire who now doesn’t want talk about the past.
Bonds going on trial for perjury pertaining to steroid testimony is our new HR king. Clemens was supposed to be the greatest pitcher of his generation is looking at a similar fate. Now AROD, who was supposed to be the guy to put a clean face on the sacred HR record has admitted to using steroids. I don’t know about you but I as a fan am pretty ticked and feel like I have been screwed and ripped off by MLB- now MLB’s credibility ranks right up there with that of professional wrestling. At least with wrestling everyone knows it’s staged.
Bernie Madoff and mlb: two peas in a pod
Somehow those day from 1967 seem even longer ago than they really are and for that I am really pissed off. I want a refund! Mr. Obama, can you send me a stimulus check and bail me out too?
- Steve
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