Wednesday, March 03, 2004
HISTORIANS SHOULD WATCH THEIR WORDS
If Barry Bonds and others used steroids to achieve record breaking levels, than asterisks will and should be next to their names in the books. But each name should have an asterisk because:
• Babe Ruth never played against any people of color.
• Ted Williams missed a few seasons in his prime to fight for our country.
• Bonds uses, arguably, a better/harder type of wood bat. He’ll get two stars next to his name.
• Steve Carlton pitched on a higher mound than Pedro Martinez.
• Curt Schilling extensively use of video allows him to better prepare for the opposition than Tom Seaver.
• Willie Mays never saw a split finger fastball from Roger Clemens.
And let’s not forget park factors. I can go on and on. My point is that the use of steroids should be viewed as just another factor in any analysis comparing players of different eras. The real issue is that “baseball” has deemed steroid use as an unfair advantage and thus, it improperly gave certain players and teams an advantage over others.
If Barry Bonds and others used steroids to achieve record breaking levels, than asterisks will and should be next to their names in the books. But each name should have an asterisk because:
• Babe Ruth never played against any people of color.
• Ted Williams missed a few seasons in his prime to fight for our country.
• Bonds uses, arguably, a better/harder type of wood bat. He’ll get two stars next to his name.
• Steve Carlton pitched on a higher mound than Pedro Martinez.
• Curt Schilling extensively use of video allows him to better prepare for the opposition than Tom Seaver.
• Willie Mays never saw a split finger fastball from Roger Clemens.
And let’s not forget park factors. I can go on and on. My point is that the use of steroids should be viewed as just another factor in any analysis comparing players of different eras. The real issue is that “baseball” has deemed steroid use as an unfair advantage and thus, it improperly gave certain players and teams an advantage over others.