Of course you know Barry Bonds finally broke the all-time home run record but now let us address the continual discussion of whether Barry Bonds cheated to achieve this goal or not. Yeah, he cheated. But everyone else cheats too. It is unfair to discuss Barry Bond’s steroid usage but not those of his opposing pitcher.
I may regret saying this in the future but, if Hank Aaron faced pitchers who were juiced up, he would probably consider juicing up to compete.
In every aspect of business, when the industry changes, one must be able to adjust accordingly to compete in the market. If a large majority of the Major Leaguers were taking steroids, why would I not want to take steroids so that I can put up good numbers with the rest of my fellow marquis opponents?
Imagine if Ken Griffey took steroids. He would regenerate from all of those injuries faster, and would probably have broken the homerun records years ago. Instead, he is making a “comeback” after so many years of being invisible in the public eye. He didn’t cheat in a league of cheaters, and his career went from being a guaranteed hall of famer, to being an “every once in a while” all-star.
Bud Selig is a whole other issue. Bud knew that all of these players were taking steroids. The reason Bud Selig did not do anything about the steroid issue at the time is because the MLB was going through a rough time.
Sales were declining and the overall scope of baseball became irrelevant to the American market. Once Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa started hitting those home runs, money started rolling in. Steroids not only rejuvenated player injuries, it rejuvenated Major League Baseball.
Now, so many people hate Barry Bonds, but some of those people love Mark McGwire, who is in no way comparable to the talent of Barry Bonds.
Let’s compare the stats.
Mark McGwire batted over .300 only three times in his career, with one of those he only had 84 at bats due to injury. Barry Bonds, on the other hand, batted over .300 eight times during the same time span and 11 times at bat. The year Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs he batted .299, while Barry hit 73 home runs and batted .328. Yet everyone still loves Mark. The fact of the matter is, baseball players would still be taking steroids with no problem if it were not for the recent health trends. People now seem to be more conscience about their health issues than in past years.
Even as you read this, the steroid issue is still making Major League Baseball money. Let us all think about that when we listen to Bud Selig talk about how terrible steroids are, and when we hear Jose Conseco rat everyone out.
Thomas McLeary is a four-year business administration student from Chicago. He can be reached at thefamuansports@hotmail.com.