Steroids just baseball’s latest scandal
By Punch N. Judy
BaseballBigMouth.com baseball news
After wrestling to and fro with the whole hoopla of Barry Bonds and the number 755, I think I may have reached a level of that too much used, 2000 era term, “closure.” It was a recent article I read by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated that made me realize that to bedamn Bonds and his impending record is to pretty well cast a pall over the last 20 years of Major League Baseball. And to do that you must also call into question other factors that over that period were perhaps equally as scandalous.
Collusion
Although the old reserve clause bounding a player to a franchise for eternity does in fact fly in the face of the term democracy, I gotta say I wish free agency never happened. Even though my Tigers and Red Sox do rank in the halves portion of the equation, the economics of the game dictate that ultimately, you and I foot the bill for salaries that eclipse the term exorbitant. Yeah, when a team performs well the fans show up, the owners make a mitt full, it trickles down to the players, and we’re more than happy to pay for a winner. But when the chips are down, the owner cuts his losses by slashing payroll, yet somehow we’re left holding the bag by still over paying at the gate for a diminished return. I’m no curmudgeon here, just another sucker stating the facts.
When the Tigers signed Fat Evans in 84’ it marked one of the few such impact free agent signings that I can remember from that era. In fact, it was Tiger ace Jack Morris who I remember more for peddling his services in a gaudy fur coat, only to have the door slammed in his face repeatedly by the likes of even George Steinbrenner, who at the time let the cat out of the bag by telling Morris’ agent that he would love to sign Jack, but his “hands were tied.”
When Morris and a host of others were later compensated in a billion dollar payoff, it wasn’t long before the Twins of all teams, ponied up $3 million a year for Kirby Puckett. Basically it turned the game of halves and have-nots over to the clubs who had the moolah, rather than the team with the savviest GM and scouting network. Call me a commie, but I think were it not for a few loose lips, collusion was a scandal that would have worked.
The Strike
Let’s face it; were it not for the labor stoppage in 94,’ MLB wouldn’t be in this steroid scandal in the first place. Even though Jose Canseco was obviously on the juice to anyone halfway in the know – I still remember the right field fans at Fenway chanting S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S while Jose laughed and flexed a bicep in the playoffs – during his 40-40 year in 88,’ a blind eye was more easily cast when the game didn’t need “saving.” It was the Sosa – McGwire home run race in 98’ that pissed off Bonds enough to enhance the frame of the game’s best everyday player to a point where a slump was 0 for 1 with three intentional walks.
Did ‘94 strike eventually cost Maris’ his record? Ask Punch
I’m no Bonds apologist; I just believe he’s one of the all-time greats regardless. Those journalists like Reilly, who now act like a smoking gun was recovered in a manhole, are either blind or downright stupid. It’s easy to stand on a soapbox when the facts of a grand jury enquiry are leaked, but where were the lily white journalists when the better story was the pursuit of Roger Maris’ record? Shhh, I’ve got a secret guys, the reason NFL players have put on more than 30 pounds a position (including kickers folks) over the last decade isn’t in the water. However “clear” it may be.
For more on the Rick Reilly story be sure to check out Baseball and Eggs which — for this week only — will appear on Friday as opposed to Thursday. Calm down! It means ya get more coverage, not less! Easy Tiger!! - Editor
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Maris photo used with permission of Early Era Baseball Photos.com
Tigers photo copyright BaseballBigMouth.com and the Heckler
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