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Unbelievable. After that long suspension I never would've imagined ARod hitting 6 home runs and tying Mays this early in the season. He would need to average 36 over the next 3 years to move past Bonds. He has a legitimate shot. I was at a few games in SF when Bonds moved past Aaron. Its a shame that the same dark cloud is hovering over Arod now. Great story nevertheless.
I think most sports purists would agree with you. There is no true evidence until recent times as to the depth of performance enhancements in sports. Whether it was done way back when or not, the sophistication of the drugs and how widespread these incidents are presently, would lead most to truly believe those players of eras gone by who achieved greatness did it more naturally and on a more level playing ground.
Sure I was "into it" with the McGuire/Sosa home run chase. Sure I followed Bonds and his statistical rise to the top. I was at Fenway last night and as I previously stated I felt a true baseball moment, tainted or not.
Sports is entertainment, and as the league(s) fight about how to reign in the "cheating", my reaction last night is what they strive for. No different than a TV show ratings, major sports wants fans which will transcend in many ways the purity of the sport(s) as originally intended.
I have a much deeper connection to the players of the past - Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron. Even into the years of Reggie Jackson and Jim Rice. As a Red Sox fan, Carlton Fisks home run waving it fair was epic. But then the cross over. I'm not sure how I feel now about Clemens 20 K night. I have a choice - enjoy the game of baseball as a whole, or start hating enough players to make me hate the game.
So yes - Mays better than both. But I like baseball enough to keep watching.
I think most sports purists would agree with you. There is no true evidence until recent times as to the depth of performance enhancements in sports. Whether it was done way back when or not, the sophistication of the drugs and how widespread these incidents are presently, would lead most to truly believe those players of eras gone by who achieved greatness did it more naturally and on a more level playing ground.
Sure I was "into it" with the McGuire/Sosa home run chase. Sure I followed Bonds and his statistical rise to the top. I was at Fenway last night and as I previously stated I felt a true baseball moment, tainted or not.
Sports is entertainment, and as the league(s) fight about how to reign in the "cheating", my reaction last night is what they strive for. No different than a TV show ratings, major sports wants fans which will transcend in many ways the purity of the sport(s) as originally intended.
I have a much deeper connection to the players of the past - Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron. Even into the years of Reggie Jackson and Jim Rice. As a Red Sox fan, Carlton Fisks home run waving it fair was epic. But then the cross over. I'm not sure how I feel now about Clemens 20 K night. I have a choice - enjoy the game of baseball as a whole, or start hating enough players to make me hate the game.
So yes - Mays better than both. But I like baseball enough to keep watching.
A thoughtful post.
What distinguishes the earlier era use of stimulants from the PEDs era is that we do not have any evidence in the form of bloated records which suggest that stimulants had a major impact on performance.
Uppers will give you more energy, make you more alert, counter the effects of fatigue, all things which make it possible for a player to better utilize his talents. However, the stimulants did not increase the talent itself, they did not add strength or increase muscle mass, they did not make anyone swing any faster.
PEDs obviously did those things, we have the numbers to prove it. When more than half of all 50 plus home run seasons take place between 1990 and 2006, when it took 34 years for there to be a second 60 home run player, and another 37 years to produce the third, but then it is topped, by a lot, six times in the space of four years, well then we know that something extraordinary was responsible. And we found out what. The three players who topped 60 home runs six times, Bonds, McGwire and Sosa, have all been exposed as PEDs users.
And that is the difference, greenies didn't screw up the record books, PEDs did.
Your posts seems to suggest that Rodriguez and Bonds are somehow or other victims. Do you not understand yet? We were the victims. We, the public, were defrauded by these players. Continuing to cheer for the person who has cheated and lied to you may make sense to you, but I regard it as foolish.
I know better than to argue religion with the Pope. Suffice it to say that a grievance will be filed, it will go to an arbitrator, and the Yankees will lose.
Unless of course MLB once again forces out a current arbitrator and installs a lackey-arbitrator in his place.
I know better than to argue religion with the Pope. Suffice it to say that a grievance will be filed, it will go to an arbitrator, and the Yankees will lose.
Unless of course MLB once again forces out a current arbitrator and installs a lackey-arbitrator in his place.
The decision of the arbitrator will hinge on matters to which the public may not be privy, and there is no requirement that the arbitrator justify the decision in public after it is made. We do not know the language employed in the bonus contract, do we? Consequently, I do not see how you can be so confident of the outcome.
It isn't going to come down to your sense of justice vs my sense of justice, it will be an arbitrator making a legal interpretation of the contract.
What's MLB's career win-loss record in front of an arbitrator again?
Not relevant. All that is relevant is the language in the contract and how the arbitrator opts to interpret it. You might remember that Rodriguez's record before arbitrators is 0-1, his suspension was upheld by an arbitrator, Fredric Horowitz, who may well be the person hearing this case as well.
The result may be as you anticipate, it may not, but it is not going to be based on the decisions of arbitrators in other baseball related cases. Further, it is unlikely that we will ever learn the arbitrator's reasoning for the decision.
Recall that the decision about suspending Josh Hamilton looked like a slam dunk, didn't it? Yet the arbitrator ruled that he could not be suspended. The Angels ownership was so outraged that they accepted a very bad deal to get rid of Hamilton.
I agree. I consider Aaron, Ruth and Mays the three career HR leaders. I also consider Maris the single-season leader. But one thing still bugs me: For a number of years Maris had to endure an asterisk beside his name because he played a longer season than Ruth. But Aaron was never given an asterisk even though he had 2,000 more PA's than Ruth.
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