A quote from a local sportswriter from the Champaign-Urbana News Gazette:
“There’s not much to love about this Rafael Palmeiro mess but maybe it gets us a step closer to asterisks for baseball’s cheaters.”
Seriously, as a sportwriter, do you really want to go there? We already have the North Dakota Senate (who must have already solved all of the state’s problems) passing a resolution asking Bud Selig to re-instate Roger Maris’ 61 homeruns as the major league record. This attempt to write and amend baseball history goes overboard, in my opinion.
Do I favor the use of steroids in baseball? No. But to institute an asterisk system would be a logistical nightmare if nothing else. To do so now is too late. Major league baseball should have nipped this in the bud when they suspected it was happening years ago instead of closing their eyes and hoping the fans wouldn’t care.
Now it’s too late. Crack down now. Make them pay. But what has happened, happened. Don’t close your eyes again.
I agree 100%. I absolutely hate the fact that most of the records set in the last 15 years (at least) are most likely tainted. But it’s impossible to go back and rewrite the record books. Who is to say Maris wasn’t taking any illegal substances? What about Nolan Ryan? Yes, pitchers take ‘roids, too. It’s too late to go back. What’s done is done.
In fact, I still think Palmeiro should make the HOF. It’s the same concept – if you aren’t going to take away records from possible (and definite) steroid users (including Caminiti’s and Canseco’s MVP seasons), then why should you discount all the Palmeiro has done?
There has been a deadball era, a “juiced ball” era (1987, probably not a big steroid year, but you never know), and a steroid era. Hopefully from 2005 on, we’ll see a clean era where players actually succeed based on skill.