Baseball Cards Reminding Us Of Good And Bad

For all the stigma attached to the steroid era that baseball has endured. For all the negative talk about substance abuse and how it changed the game of baseball. The truth was we needed heroes like Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire just to list a few and just about anyone else that helped us get through 2001 as a grieving nation from the 911 terrorist attacks. That year we as Americans endured the toughest year in the history of this country, and it became even tougher to focus on sports a large part of our heritage. But Major League Baseball was there to help heal the wound, as much as it could. That is true, and I will never forget the end of that Summer, as most people that were around would agree they won’t. A wound that I must admit has not yet healed almost 12 years later, just the thought takes us to a dark place.

In lieu of all that happened that year, all the loss, the heartache, even though we were numb America’s favorite past time helped out with the slow healing process. I can remember rooting for Barry Bonds, and who can forget the Mike Piazza Home-run for America in NY. Looking both back and ahead there had to be something of value to the steroid use in baseball in healing this nation, I agree a twisted thought, but as Americans we have made a living turning something ugly into something pretty. Although it is quite funny to think that in the last few years, no other mammoth home-run hitting baseball player like Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Josh Hamilton, Alex Rodriguez, and a few continue to fail to reach 50 home-runs, something that was the measuring stick back in the early turn of the century years. Now that baseball lost its juice, no pun intended, the game has lost some the monsters of the diamond too.

I guess the steroid use good for about 20 or so home-runs? Maybe more. I mean to further my point, we just had a triple crown winner in Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers) and the fanfare just was not there. Maybe because he played for the Tigers and not the Yankees, but it just was not there. I believe the proof is in the pudding as far as the productivity of baseball players and substance abuse. But in lieu of the greatest American tragedy ever, and we shall never forget the memory of the lost, those baseball years sure were crazy fun.