Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Realization

Today I am sufficiently convinced, like many other baseball fans, that there were players who decided to secretly take advantage of an illegal drug to enhance their performance. Now I could go into all the reasons this is wrong but that discussion has been had and at the end of the day either you agree or you don’t.

As time passed I watched ESPN and other baseball broadcasts in hopes of hearing that the statistics of the steroid era must be taken with a grain of salt. I waited to hear that there is integrity in obeying rules and that those who cheat will, in the end, not prevail. I waited for the truth. But to my surprise I heard mostly silence. Nothing. Crickets.

There they were, the same baseball announcers and ex-ballplayers who were so verbose about juiced baseballs and shrinking ballparks. Those same talking heads that went on and on about… where does the mud that baseballs are rubbed down with came from? Where were the balls made? Corked bats! And now those television talking heads were silent. Like the people in that basement back in Illinois. I waited for them to talk about the stain that had been placed on the game. I waited for a voice in the wilderness to stand up and say…”this is wrong”. And what I heard was silence. Even today ESPN and FOX baseball voices only apologetically cover the issue of the steroid era. And the Clemens issue has only made them more defensive.

Off in the wilderness, on HBO, one brave soul spoke up. Bob Costas took on the challenge with aplomb. But overall dissenting voices were muted. Just watch highlights of Barry Bonds and the Giants play on the road. There is no serious coverage of how baseball fans really feel. There is no voice from the stands. And if Clemens comes back will we get to hear the voices in the stands, or will they be muted as well. Muted. Like in that basement back in Illinois.

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