The past couple of weeks there have been rumblings about players and teams stealing signs from opposing teams. I don't know why this was even a story, because this has been going on for over 100 years. It got me thinking about why steriods was such a big deal, especially when you look at baseball as a whole.
Baseball has always been the one sport where players tried to gain an advantage whenever they could, legal or not. The reward for such behavior for some was the Hall of Fame. Don Drysdale and Don Sutton were caught rubbing vasoline on baseballs. The Niekro brothers were tossed for using the fingernail file. Gaylord Parry hid the vasoline on his zipper because the ump would never check there.
Batters using the corked bat. See Sammy Sosa, Albert Bell and Chris Sabo. It seems that as long as you can get away with it, it's ok.
Ty Cobb sharpened his cleats to a point so that when he slid into a base his intent was to come up high and cut the fielder. These are all forms of cheating. Runners on second base try to steal signs and relay them to the batter. The Greatest HR ever --Bobby Thompson -- was tipped off by a guy with bionoculars in the centerfield scoreboard.
Why is the infield grass at Dodger stadium 1 1/2" higher than that of Fenway Park's? It benefits the pitcher by slowing the ball down and has the opposite effect in Fenway. Why are all new stadiums built with a short fence that benifits their slugger? It is all about having an unfair advantage.
These are just a few examples of widespead cheating that have always existed, and always will. This takes us to the Peds (performance enhancers). Why is it considered acceptable for a player who is losing his vision or wants to improve what God gave him to undergo lasik surgery? But if a player took Peds for a quicker recovery, so that he is able to play longer, or keep his body fresh, that is not ok. I see them both as cheating. He has 20-20 vision and with surgery has 20-15 or 20-10. There is now talk that medicine prescribed for people with ADD/ADHD helps batters concentrate when they are at bat. There has been a very high percentage of high school and college baseball players being diagnosed with this disability.
I'm sick and tired of old timers complaining about how they would never have taken roids or other Peds. Do you think Mickey Mantel would have taken it to help get him back on the field? You bet your ass he would. He took anything and everything to get him back on the field, including horse tranquilizers ... probably a steriod. You think the Great Bambino would have said no if he knew he could stick it to the Yankees by hitting 30-40 HRs after the Yankees dumped him? I don't believe the Bash Brothers were the first. I'm sure Peds were around probably 20 years before. See the Olympic athletes from eastern block countries in the late 60'- thru today. Are you naive enough to believe that none of those drugs found baseball players in the 70's? Of course they did, but no one knew anything about it.
I am in no way condoning the use of Peds in any sport, but I am tired of baseball claiming that their sport was pure before the steriod era. Hey Commish, there was never a problem with speed/uppers in the 60's and 70's, or Coke (blow) in the 80's, right? So the next time you hear about Mac, Clemons, Raffy, Sammy or any other Juicer, just remenber this ... it's just baseball!!
The Sports Wise Guy
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