I just have to get this off of my chest.Watch Alex Rodriguez's interview with Peter Gammons where he admits his usage of illegal substances when he was with the Texas Rangers.
I think that A-Rod is handling this PED(performance enhancing drug) issue well. It's too bad it happened, but it did. The thing is baseball back then only really knew that anything with the word "Steroid" directly attached was bad, everything else was justifiable and wasn't considered wrong then. Now the rules are changing and becoming more definite about what is allowed and what isn't allowed.
The culture in baseball has changed. It is now socially unacceptable to not take medicines to enhance your game where as then it was. Now the celebrated guy in baseball isn't the guy that hit all of the home runs, but the guy that showed up every day and had good numbers and was clean to today's definition.
When somebody gets paid a 250 million dollar contract, they had better be the best player in baseball, and they need to do what it takes to have an edge. When somebody wants to be the best player in baseball that person needs to do what the best players in baseball are doing. It's basically an arms race. If you don't build up you sacrifice the shot at knowing if your numbers compete, and potentially your career as a baseball player.
When somebody gets paid a 250 million dollar contract, they had better be the best player in baseball, and they need to do what it takes to have an edge. When somebody wants to be the best player in baseball that person needs to do what the best players in baseball are doing. It's basically an arms race. If you don't build up you sacrifice the shot at knowing if your numbers compete, and potentially your career as a baseball player.
Overall, this was driven by the fans that pay to see the ball games, pay for the jersies, pay for
the baseball cards and pay for concessions. If people didn't want to spend money on the game, there would be no paid professional sports. People pay to see teams win, and lets face it, in the sports world only two things talk: Money and Stats. However, I have no intentions on giving up my love for the hollowed game, as if I had a choice, and no Yankee fan is going to not watch the next time they're in the Series. After all, my dad and I are planning our trip to Coors Field this summer as we speak.
I don't think that there should be a salary cap in baseball. The game would be completely different. There would be no Yankee dynasty or Red Sox dynasty. The offseason strategy would be much different. The teams would all be as balanced as the NFL or NHL. And on top of that, that wouldn't have allowed teams like the Rockies, Rays, Marlins, DiamondBacks, and this year's up and coming small market team to prove that money can't win games, but heart can. After all, look at the 2008 Tigers.
As fans, we can be in shock and awe, and we can deface the names of A-Rod and Bonds all we want, but they wouldn't be doing everything they can if it weren't to gain our approval. We want to see records broken.
Baseball is going through a cleansing process, and we'll see what the next generation of ball players has in store for us learning from the past 15 years. Can the Matt Holiday's, Tim Lincecum's, Mark Teixeira's and Shane Victorino's still fill the seats? I think that baseball is better for it. Watch out NFL, you're next.
Baseball is going through a cleansing process, and we'll see what the next generation of ball players has in store for us learning from the past 15 years. Can the Matt Holiday's, Tim Lincecum's, Mark Teixeira's and Shane Victorino's still fill the seats? I think that baseball is better for it. Watch out NFL, you're next.
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