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| Not Mark McGwire |
Baseball season has begun and already teams are preparing
for post season play. But, they should
be more interested in what is happening today and some events in the distant
past.
A comedian, George Carlin, once did a bit about the
difference between baseball and football.
It was amusing and concise.
Baseball was for the weaker members of society, while football was for
real men.
Not a month goes by without some monumental story about a
football player sustaining a concussion while engaging their sport. Other players whine about back injuries, and
still more complain about how they played injured, given high doses of
pain-numbing pharmaceuticals to keep them in the game.
Now, these guys want pity and financial compensation for
their pain and suffering. Neither will
help. Common sense would have helped,
though.
In any case, they didn’t balk and took their salaries with a
needle sticking out of their arm.
Enter Sammy Sosa and
Mark McGwire, both baseball players who, in 1998, were entrenched in a batting
duel. They each seemed to possess
super-human skills that did not exist in prior seasons.
Each day brought a new stat to the baseball world with each
hitting a home run or two in that days’ game.
The tally was astronomical and nearly everyone – except my sainted wife
– was talking about these feats. Sosa
and McGwire’s goal was to beat Roger Maris’ home run record that has stood
since 1961.
But, in 2005, both men appeared before Congress to explain
why both tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Both denied the accusations.
These guys are not alone in their quest to outdo others in
their sport as other baseball players, football players, bicycle riders,
swimmers, gymnasts, and tennis players have all tested positive for these
banned substances.
In fact, I feel they should be able to use any drug
necessary to enhance their game as they clearly cannot compete with other
athletes that do not use augmentations.
I would love to see a 400 pound baseball player step-up to the plate
with arms so big they resemble telephone poles.
If their use of those substances helps them garner a few
more dollars in pay-for-play, so be it.
But, I don’t expect to hear any crying about how their minds
were turned to mush by steroids, or how they have developed bleeding in their
joints, ruptured tendons, or brittle bones.
Baseball is about as perfect a game as it gets. Big guys that can hit well don’t have to run
the bases quickly. Little guys who can
run don’t need to drive the ball out of the park. And mediocre players can stand in the
outfield all day long to work on their tans.
While you read this, I hope you thought of Pete Rose. He was the fellow who was banned-for-life
from baseball because as a manager he admitted to gambling on games. It should be noted he said he never gambled on
his team losing.
Rose has been denied a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame as
a result, even though he eventually admitted he did gamble.
Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire are
all eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame. All used steroids, all lied about, and all
have been exonerated. It’s time for Pete
Rose.
