Philadelphia Baseball History

I was on Facebook pursuing a group dedicated to baseball when I saw someone had posted a picture of Mark McGwire as a Cardinal. Immediately under the photo, someone posted a comment that said, “cheater pants.”  I posted that I thought McGwire and Sammy Sosa didn’t get a fair shake. My reasoning is that there was a lot of blame to go around for the steroid era, which included the fans. It was amazing to me how many people responded by denying history and hurling insults at me for daring to defend a cheater. But I stand by what I said. A lot of people were complicit in the steroid era, including the fans.  Let’s go back in time to set the context. The baseball strike of 1994 was catastrophic. Not only did we lose months of baseball, but the Commissioner also cancelled the World Series. Once the strike was settled and the players returned, the fans did not. Baseball, losing popularity, was in a crisis.  Then, something amazing happened. Baseballs were leaving ball parks in drov

This year's off-season has been marked by big name free agent ball players remaining unsigned through the beginning of Spring Training. The situation has left some players and their agents crying foul against the owners. In addition, the union has found itself in conflict with the Commissioner over proposed rule changes allegedly intended to enhance the pace of play.  The emergence of these issues raises the question of whether a labor dispute is brewing for baseball. Starting with the issue of unsigned free agents, this is a problem with two root causes.  The first is the way baseball's economic and salary rules operate.  The second is how teams currently value players. From the point of view of the ball player, if he shows his abilities and talents on the field, he expects to be rewarded.  In particular, baseball's rules can keep a player tied to one team for up to six years after being drafted.  Initially, the player has three years to earn a spot on the team's