While I don't think any individual player was the problem, they were just doing everything possible to win and that is what they are paid to do. Was it stupid? Sure. As far as I am concerned, somebody at the league office was asleep at the switch. I mean, come on! Do you remember the homerun derby between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa? McGwire looked like a superhero and Sosa wasn't far behind? Where were all the league officials when these comic-book superhero characters showed up on the field? Someone surely noticed.
I am in the camp that would like to put an asterisk on these records - denoting these guys were juiced up. The real casualty is the integrity of the game and - to a certain extent - the integrity of the player. I still think old Hammerin' Hank and Roger Maris are the men to beat.
So, these players went to extreme measures to perform at the highest level; they bent rules and probably damaged their body permanently. These guys are easy to criticize, but isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?
I bet every guy has bent the rules at some point to get the edge.
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I think I am in agreement about putting an asterisk next to the name. It is much like having two lists and two different styles of playing to qualify. A person would never know far into the future who was the greatest of the players, unless they all did steriods, but then again others might have also took depressents or other drugs that did change their abilities without any one, even them selves knowing it. One man can read the Bible from cover to cover but not be a good storyteller, but the other man might just study one person or event and help us to almost live the event by understanding the life and times of that historical event.
I think the thing that bothers me the most is the culture that says, "It's not enough to just be good at something; you've got to be the best." This translates into an "I'll do whatever I have to in order to be the best" mentality.
Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying that we shouldn't strive for excellence in our endeavors. But this "excellence at all costs" mentality ends up motivating people to attain a certain status, even if they have to "cheat" to get there. It becomes more about attaining the status than achieving excellence.
We used to label one's skills and talents as being "God-given." We don't say that baseball players have "God-given talent;" or anyone else for that matter. It's just another example of how we sinners like to pat our own backs and credit ourselves for the things we have and the things we accomplish, forgetting that all good and perfect gifts come from above. Just a thought...
Jeff; I have to agree with your ideas. It seems to today that we have to win at any cost.
What are we teaching our children. You may be talented in one area but don't find it interesting no problem, cheat, lie steal, give up on your values and morals to get something that really won't help in the end.
Values and moral are the most important in all of our lives
I need to add my agreement with Jeff and Oldman. I raised 4 boys through their years of youth sports, particularly youth soccer. I supported the league through coaching, refereeing, and league administration up to the Regional Commissioner level. I became very disheartened by the erosion of the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play as the boys grew in age and skill. As a referee, I saw my role change from ensuring the "little guys" didn't get hurt by playing out of control, to making official judgments regarding genuine disputes of fair or foul, to essentially playing "cops and robbers", the latter being a coached game where the only illegal play is that called by the referee. You guessed it! When a game degenerated to a brawl, the finger always pointed first at the "cop" not controlling the game. It seems to me that the lack of individual moral responsibility that is learned through these examples is the same behavior we now see too often in our nation's political and corporate leadership (i.e. anything goes as long as you don't get caught or exposed). The role of the police is to catch the criminals. It is not to keep us honest. Honesty should be learned behavior from our upbringing including religious teachings.
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