This article about baseball made me smile. It’s spot on and it has implications across sports. In baseball, amphetamines and then steroids made the game more compelling for fans. In cycling it was the dominance of Lance Armstrong aided by sophisticated blood doping. The violent collisions are a big part of why people like football but they come at a severe cost to the long-term health of some players. What is the right balance between clean and compelling? How can leagues navigate their way towards a healthy equilibrium?
Fans Sick of the Steroid Era Shouldn’t Complain Now
by William Rhoden for the New York Times
“You can’t have it both ways,” I said, pointing to the television screen as another batter grounded out. “You can’t tell baseball to get rid of steroids, rage again at so-called steroid cheats, and then complain when you get this.”
Baseball’s conundrum is how to present a clean game, and a quicker one, too, for that matter, that can attract more young fans. Nine-inning games that last nearly four hours are not the answer.
As to whether baseball is a sounder game now than it was when balls were flying out of the park not long ago — that’s a matter of taste.