Search
Recommended Products
Related Links


 

 

Informative Articles

6-Max Texas Limit Holdem : Hand Values
6-Max Texas limit Holdem is a variation from the normal full ring limit games. This variation is played more aggressively and with greater potential profit for the better players. Because more hands are dealt per hour, more decisions are made per...

Baseball Fielding Drills: Bucket Ball
Baseball Fielding Drills: Bucket Ball By: Dave Cole Bucket Ball Bucket Ball is a fun fielding drill that not only gives the kids a lot of practice catching ground balls, but also keeps them interested and motivated. Choose two...

Baseball: Reviving the Sport
Baseball: Reviving the Sport What things are more American than baseball, red, white, and blue, and apple pie? Unfortunately, this revered sport has earned a rather tarnished image over the past years due to strikes, increasing ticket prices,...

Dieting our Way to Obesity
Dieting our way to Obesity: To say that Americans are obsessed with dieting is an understatement! Pick up any magazine, or turn-on any source of advertising and you're bombarded with the latest diet schemes and food fads. More often than...

In baseball, how does a pitcher throw a curveball?
In baseball, how does a pitcher throw a curveball? A successful major league batter gets a hit only 30 percent of the time he comes to bat. One of the ways pitchers lower these chances even further is by throwing a curveball. A curveball is...

 
Does the home run chase mean anything anymore?

The year of 1998 was a banner year for Major League Baseball. It was the year where the fans returned and embraced Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's chase of Roger Maris' single season homerun record that had stood for 37 years. It was the savior of the game at the time, but 7 years later, that chase "exposed" baseball as the game of performance enhancing substances (steroids).

Last night, Sammy Sosa (finally) hit a home run. That two run shot put him ahead of Mark McGwire on the homerun run list at 584, which moved him into sole possesion of sixth place all-time. And while this is going on, rumors are still swirling about the possible return of Barry Bonds next month, who is only 11 HR's behind Babe Ruth and 52 away from Hank Aaron's record of 755. And now, with Victor Conte pleading guilty in court on steroid charges, looks like Bonds is now free to spout his innocence some more, and play the victim role ( who else has pushed you off the bridge, Barry??)

The question I ask you is, " Does anybody even care about these records anymore?" I say we take a page from McGwire's


March testimony in front of Congress. Let's move on and not talk about the past. But, at the same time, we should place an asterik by these "steroid-era" records before we bury them in a grave that they belong. No, I'm not indicting EVERY player from this era, but the overall numbers speak for themselves. Jose Canseco and the late Ken Caminiti's admittals that they took illegal substances also speak for themselves. In a perfect world, everyone who cheated would own up to such, but it ain't gonna happen.

Because of this, today's records are laughable. Baseball wanted offense, the chicks can dig the longball all they like, but these monster, steroid induced numbers have damaged the game more than any work stoppage ever could. It may not show in the attendance figures yet, but the integrity of the game has broken. Looks like Henry Aaron's legit record be the next thing "broken" by Major League Baseball. Congrats Barry

About the Author

John Onan (aka ego74) is sports writer/moderator at the online players union www.playerunion.com and football writer for www.realfootball365.com