How to wreck a perfectly good game (like baseball)

[krygny]

In 1921 Babe Ruth set a record by hitting 59 home runs. That stood for six years until he broke his own record by 1. All he had to enhance his performance was beer, hot dogs, and cigars. Imagine if he had lived clean and taken care himself.

His record of 60 home runs in 1927 stood for 34 years, until the first year they added eight games to the season and Roger Maris broke it by only 1. So, they put an asterisk next to Maris' record and, at least for a time, there were two separate records. The * is eventually removed and that record ultimately stands for 37 years.

All of a sudden, in 1998, the record is not just broken, it's shattered like it wasn't even there, and by two players in the same season. Then just three years later, that record is broken significantly by 3.

It just doesn't stand up to reason. You can rationalize all you want about the designated hitter, lowering the mound, dilution of talent (twice as many players/teams), and changes in the ball. Most of those things came about more than 30 years ago.

The single season home run record used to be the "Holy Grail" of all sports records. DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak is talked about a lot, but it's practically unattainable and it has never been seriously threatened. The home run record was attainable. Not every year, but every few years someone went on a tear, gets hot, and they start tracking the record game-by-game in the sports pages. Nothing created interest in baseball more than a run at that record. So, MLB juices up the balls and the players and it gets out of hand. Now the record is basically meaningless. Be careful what you wish for because MLB got what it wished for.

Gambling, throwing games, corked bats, Vaseline on balls, emery boards in pitchers' pockets have been dealt with in the past because cheating is cheating. But I doubt MLB will have the raisins to restore integrity to the game this time. The in-mates are running the asylum.

Ah, who cares. I can no longer bring myself to watch a game that routinely takes 3-1/2 hours for 9-innings anyway. (And as a Yankees fan, I've got a lot of reasons to watch.)

[kemosabe]

The infamous before/after picture of Jason Giambi, who is knee deep in this streroid controversy...

[ramirami]

dont forget sammy "I the man" sosa