Steroids? Sorry, don't care.

[mountainman]

When will the sports media give it UP and admit to themselves that the American public is largely indifferent to the baseball scandal? Perhaps we never did care, or, more likely, have concluded that most players cheated, thus the playing field was level, so what's the big deal? Really, I feel their pain for all that wasted journalism, but it's time for sports writers and talking heads to get over themselves and stop shoving THEIR agenda down our throats.

[ponyplayerdotca]

I think it's because many baseball writers are of the mindset that players from bygone eras are losing their immortality by losing their names in the record books to modern day players who used drugs to improve their performance.

Mantle, Ruth, Maris, Dimaggio, Williams, et al were all good ole' country boys from the U.S. of A. who grew up with nothin' but talent in their bodies. Not only did they hone their skills naturally, they also acquired all their numbers in gargantuan baseball stadiums of days gone by that would drastically reduce many of the already inflated numbers of today's modern players.

When these heroes of the past hit a home run, it routinely needed to be hit over 425 feet, regardless of what ball park they were in. That takes talent.

Many of the home run hitters from the steroid era (McGwire, Canseco, Sosa, Bonds, etc.) needed drugs to hit balls that were often under 425, but always still as "home runs". To me, that alone makes it like comparing apples and oranges.

Maybe that's why purists insist that Hank Aaron have his name returned to the record books as the all-time home run king, and not Bonds. They are truly skeptical that these players of the last 20 years could naturally approach any of the old records had they been clean. The new numbers will always be dubious at best.

It's also because the modern day players all sought out performance-enhancing drugs to improve their natural skills because of greed for both bigger contracts and easier immortality. These aren't exactly great endorsements to the kids of the next generation to sell the sport on, is it?
And now with reports that the commissioner and the player union reps were all in on the cover up so they too could pocket tons of profits due to the renewed popularity, it casts even a greater pall over the sport than first thought.

The playing field for the era may have been "level" if they were all on steroids, but it certainly isn't level when it comes to the game's legacy for all time. And the inherent greed that garnered all those involved the huge amounts of money from the deception is what casts a dark shadow over the entire era as a whole.

I hope they all get what's coming to them. Just my two cents, from a guy who was shouting "STER-OIDS" with other fans in Toronto at the A's during the 1989 ALCS. We knew back THEN!

Love Mountaineer, Mark... You and Nancy keep up the great work.

[mountainman]

I think it's because many baseball writers are of the mindset that players from bygone eras are losing their immortality by losing their names in the record books to modern day players who used drugs to improve their performance.

Mantle, Ruth, Maris, Dimaggio, Williams, et al were all good ole' country boys from the U.S. of A. who grew up with nothin' but talent in their bodies. Not only did they hone their skills naturally, they also acquired all their numbers in gargantuan baseball stadiums of days gone by that would drastically reduce many of the already inflated numbers of today's modern players.

When these heroes of the past hit a home run, it routinely needed to be hit over 425 feet, regardless of what ball park they were in. That takes talent.

Many of the home run hitters from the steroid era (McGwire, Canseco, Sosa, Bonds, etc.) needed drugs to hit balls that were often under 425, but always still as "home runs". To me, that alone makes it like comparing apples and oranges.

Maybe that's why purists insist that Hank Aaron have his name returned to the record books as the all-time home run king, and not Bonds. They are truly skeptical that these players of the last 20 years could naturally approach any of the old records had they been clean. The new numbers will always be dubious at best.

It's also because the modern day players all sought out performance-enhancing drugs to improve their natural skills because of greed for both bigger contracts and easier immortality. These aren't exactly great endorsements to the kids of the next generation to sell the sport on, is it?
And now with reports that the commissioner and the player union reps were all in on the cover up so they too could pocket tons of profits due to the renewed popularity, it casts even a greater pall over the sport than first thought.

The playing field for the era may have been "level" if they were all on steroids, but it certainly isn't level when it comes to the game's legacy for all time. And the inherent greed that garnered all those involved the huge amounts of money from the deception is what casts a dark shadow over the entire era as a whole.

I hope they all get what's coming to them. Just my two cents, from a guy who was shouting "STER-OIDS" with other fans in Toronto at the A's during the 1989 ALCS. We knew back THEN!

Love Mountaineer, Mark... You and Nancy keep up the great work.

What an eloquent post. Appreciate your perspective.