There’s a lot of Blame to Go Around for Baseball’s Steroid Era
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...