("Why Baseball Still Needs Barry Bonds")
There may be myriad rationale why Mr.Bonds, Mr. Clemens and Mr. McGwire have found their way back into baseball's good graces. Maybe it is the power of mercy, or that time heals all wounds, While these reasons, or others, might resonate with those who love the game, the premise of the piece of Mr. Costa seems to be a three base error.
Who among us attended a Major League contest last year for the chance to see Mark McGwire emerge from the dugout? And while the sight of Barry Bonds in uniform, even that of the Miami Marlins, may pique some curiosity, it will not alter the attendance figures in any meaningful way. A blip on the radar screen at best. Mr. Clemens in the front office. So what.
If Mr. Costa feels that penance has been done by Mr. Bonds, Mr. Clemens and Mr. McGwire for their dalliances with steroids or that the punishment did not fit the crime, those are position well worth our contemplation. And if the long suffering Mr. Rose should be be given a reprieve by the baseball gods, I for one would consider this a welcome and long overdue response..
But Mr. Costa should not hide behind the fiction that baseball needs these gentlemen for its very survival. There is, and will always be, a new generation of superstars who will take center stage and shine brightly. The game endures not because of its past heroes or villains but because there has always been, and always will be the next Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens or Mark McGwire. He is there in front of our eyes and if Mr. Costa can't see him, he is missing the point and the bigger picture.
There may be myriad rationale why Mr.Bonds, Mr. Clemens and Mr. McGwire have found their way back into baseball's good graces. Maybe it is the power of mercy, or that time heals all wounds, While these reasons, or others, might resonate with those who love the game, the premise of the piece of Mr. Costa seems to be a three base error.
Who among us attended a Major League contest last year for the chance to see Mark McGwire emerge from the dugout? And while the sight of Barry Bonds in uniform, even that of the Miami Marlins, may pique some curiosity, it will not alter the attendance figures in any meaningful way. A blip on the radar screen at best. Mr. Clemens in the front office. So what.
If Mr. Costa feels that penance has been done by Mr. Bonds, Mr. Clemens and Mr. McGwire for their dalliances with steroids or that the punishment did not fit the crime, those are position well worth our contemplation. And if the long suffering Mr. Rose should be be given a reprieve by the baseball gods, I for one would consider this a welcome and long overdue response..
But Mr. Costa should not hide behind the fiction that baseball needs these gentlemen for its very survival. There is, and will always be, a new generation of superstars who will take center stage and shine brightly. The game endures not because of its past heroes or villains but because there has always been, and always will be the next Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens or Mark McGwire. He is there in front of our eyes and if Mr. Costa can't see him, he is missing the point and the bigger picture.
2 comments:
Imagine Chris Davis, Albert Pujols, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson, or Jose Bautista, to name a half dozen, on steroids. How many home runs would they have had last year? Everyone of them had 40 or more, so perhaps those numbers would have been close to 60 or more for one of them. Would the game be more exciting? Probably. Would attendance be greater? I doubt it. Since 1993 major league baseball attendance has averaged a steady 30,000 per game. I think most baseball fans are content with a purer game. I know I am. The game will endure because there is no greater team sport in America. Period.
J
After 1 go around against NL teams no one will any longer care that Bonds is sitting in the dugout during games. Does anyone even think of McGuire anymore except when he catches the eye of a camera and then how he became so thin! Bonds will soon create the after thought, how did his head shrink so much!!!
M
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