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My Office - Behind the Plate
My Office - Behind the Plate I loved catching - I had the whole game in front of me. I could see everything. Placing the fielders was my job. Seeing whether long fly balls were fair or foul. What the pitcher had or lacked, I saw, as well. Did the...
Oakland NJ - A Great Town for Kids
Oakland NJ - A Great Town for Kids My children, my wife and I have been fortunate to have lived in the town of Oakland NJ, for the past 18 years. The commitment to kids sports programs, especially girls softball, I think would be hard to surpass...
Pitching Machine Safety
While pitching machines are a proven safe and effective tool for hitting and fundamentals development, there are a few safety precautions to keep in mind. What follows is a summary of simple and safe pitching machine practices we have used in our...
The Cure for a Fat Shot
This problem may be easier to fix than you think. You may not realize it, but your back shoulder may be dipping towards the ground. This move forces the club to hit the ground too early. Most of the time it happens when you are really trying to...
What Baseball Could Learn From a Former Skinny Kid!
The baseball season is here and the game’s greatest players are in the news. They have hit the headlines not for their prowess on the field, but for alleged steroid abuse in the locker room. Baseball’s greatest stars could have taken a body building...
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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
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