Professional Baseball

[Cowboy]

A couple of questions to start some discussion.

1. how many of you are baseball fans?
2. does the steroid scandal affect your enthusiasm about baseball either positively or negatively or not at all.
3. do you feel there should be asterisks next to certain individuals accomplishments whom are known steroid users?

[JavaJunkie]

1. I AM I AM IAM!!!!!! [img]smile.gif[/img] i'm a little enthusiastic when it comes to baseball
2. the steroid scandal doesn't affect any enthusiasm i have for the sport- maybe that's just because i'm only 20 so everything i know about baseball is only 15 years old and people were using performance enhancing drugs since as long as i've been able to understand baseball
3. good question, i'm not really sure. i have questions about it - is it just sterorids or would it include bats that have been altered? how far does it go?
what about you cowboy? what do you think?

[Cowboy]

I am personally not really excited about baseball until the end of summer. actually I find it quite boring until then. I do watch baseball tonight to get the highlights, but rarely do I watch a full game early in the season.
as far as steroids go, they have lessened my enthusiasm for the sport. it is becoming more like track everyday. however, I wish they would adopt a policy similar to the NFL or The track federation. The policy MLB currently has, albeit better than before, is still ridiculous.
as far as an asterisk goes hmmmmmmmm yeah why not. they put asterisks next to jumpers names in wind aided events. surely roids aided in some of those homers. just a thought. the difficulty lies in proving it. any thoughts?

[TennesseeGentleman]

Originally posted by JavaJunkie:
1. I AM I AM IAM!!!!!! [img]smile.gif[/img] i'm a little enthusiastic when it comes to baseball
2. the steroid scandal doesn't affect any enthusiasm i have for the sport- maybe that's just because i'm only 20 so everything i know about baseball is only 15 years old and people were using performance enhancing drugs since as long as i've been able to understand baseball
3. good question, i'm not really sure. i have questions about it - is it just sterorids or would it include bats that have been altered? how far does it go?
what about you cowboy? what do you think?

Interesting perspective. your post almost reads as some shape or form of enhancement is acceptable, because that's all you have ever known.

[RedLefty]

1. I could answer, or you could just see my avatar. [img]smile.gif[/img]

2. Yes, unfortunately. I played in college and was clean, but saw the impact of steroids even in college, and still today in semi-pro leagues. The game is very different now at the pro level with all the hitters' advantages. Between the steroids and the greed (every offseason gets more ridiculous watching the contract negotiations), America's pasttime may not be as big a part of my children's life as I once imagined.

3. Not sure. There never really has been a "clean" era in baseball. Whether it was pitchers doctoring the ball, hitters loading up their bats, or lots of players hitting the amphetamines (70s and 80s) or juice (90s and today), illegal tactics to gain an advantage have been around a long time. Hence my answer in #2.

What we need is a few more guys like good 'ole John Kruk. No steroids, no prima donna attitude, no contract holdouts -- they just wanna play, make a living, and retire on the field after hitting a perfect double in the gap.

Actually, there are plenty of guys like that in baseball today. They just get no media exposure b/c they're deemed a cancer to tv ratings and publication ciruculation.

[JavaJunkie]

quote:Originally posted by JavaJunkie:
1. I AM I AM IAM!!!!!! [Smile] i'm a little enthusiastic when it comes to baseball
2. the steroid scandal doesn't affect any enthusiasm i have for the sport- maybe that's just because i'm only 20 so everything i know about baseball is only 15 years old and people were using performance enhancing drugs since as long as i've been able to understand baseball
3. good question, i'm not really sure. i have questions about it - is it just sterorids or would it include bats that have been altered? how far does it go?
what about you cowboy? what do you think?

Interesting perspective. your post almost reads as some shape or form of enhancement is acceptable, because that's all you have ever known. "

i'm not sure that it's acceptable- it's just all i've ever known as a sports fan. i never knew joe dimaggio as a player (i'm not stating that any of these players were "clean" in any way/shape or form i'm just using them to make a point), i never knew mickey mantle, stan musiel etc. etc. I never knew what baseball or sports in general were like before inhancement drugs. it just bugs me a little that it's gone on this long. i wonder where it'll stop but that's just me. sorry i wasn't more clear!

[jc228]

Originally posted by Cowboy:
1. how many of you are baseball fans?

Baseball is my favorite sport. Unfortunately for me, I am a HUUGGEE Pirates fan.

Originally posted by Cowboy:
2. does the steroid scandal affect your enthusiasm about baseball either positively or negatively or not at all.

Does it affect my enthusiasm? No, it doesn't. That said, I really wish steroids were not a part of today's game, since that creates an uneven playing field for everyone in the game. And, being a fan of a small-market team, I know all about uneven playing fields. So, either make sure that everyone is clean, or start handing out syringes to each player when they start out in lower-A ball.

Originally posted by Cowboy:
3. do you feel there should be asterisks next to certain individuals accomplishments whom are known steroid users?

Yeah, I do. At least for the home run record. Giambi winning AL MVP in '01? Big deal. The single season home run record? I don't care, really. But to make a mockery of the penultimate record in baseball history by crowning Bonds as the Home Run King is just tragic, and will be a sad day for baseball.