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Cheating isn't new, so give these guys their due
By Jack McDowell, former MLB pitcher
Here we go again. Everyone is jumping on the new wave of baseball players. Sammy Sosa corked his bat so let's put an asterisk next to all the offensive records that have fallen in recent years or will fall in years to come.Instead, let's get this straight: Cheating has been around as long as the game.Major league hitters don't accidentally bring their batting practice bats to the plate. Bats are shipped in boxes of one dozen. Hitters examine each shipment find the bats with the best grain, which are game-ready. So Sammy cheated. He will serve his suspension, face the embarrassment and hear the questions about his records and performance. But he's not nearly the first.Pitchers will scuff balls, use pine tar, practice balk pickoff moves and occasionally even quick pitch. Hitters will cork bats, take steroids, groove their bats' grain, peek at the catcher to see where he's setting up and get relayed signals from the runners at second base. If these are new techniques, someone let me know. The biggest surprise to me is that there are no new ways to cheat. There has to be something better in today's world than cork. There must be an undetectable substance pitchers can put on a ball to make it move like no ball before. We aren't living in a world of cheaters in baseball. Best we can do is tip our hats to the cheaters of old!
There's no greater need for asterisks to be placed next to today's records than in the past. Not many people do it. I'm sure Sammy hasn't brought a corked bat up to the plate very often if ever before. It's just too easy to get caught. People forget that the only reason the White Sox checked Albert Belle's bat in the early '90s was because he shattered a bat in batting practice the prior series in Minnesota for all to see. Word got around and we took a guess.So let's all relax on protecting baseball's precious records of old. Today's athletes deserve the same glory as those in the past. Records are made to be broken, right? Let's let them fall and stop searching for excuses why.
Cheating isn't new, so give these guys their due
By Jack McDowell, former MLB pitcher
Here we go again. Everyone is jumping on the new wave of baseball players. Sammy Sosa corked his bat so let's put an asterisk next to all the offensive records that have fallen in recent years or will fall in years to come.Instead, let's get this straight: Cheating has been around as long as the game.Major league hitters don't accidentally bring their batting practice bats to the plate. Bats are shipped in boxes of one dozen. Hitters examine each shipment find the bats with the best grain, which are game-ready. So Sammy cheated. He will serve his suspension, face the embarrassment and hear the questions about his records and performance. But he's not nearly the first.Pitchers will scuff balls, use pine tar, practice balk pickoff moves and occasionally even quick pitch. Hitters will cork bats, take steroids, groove their bats' grain, peek at the catcher to see where he's setting up and get relayed signals from the runners at second base. If these are new techniques, someone let me know. The biggest surprise to me is that there are no new ways to cheat. There has to be something better in today's world than cork. There must be an undetectable substance pitchers can put on a ball to make it move like no ball before. We aren't living in a world of cheaters in baseball. Best we can do is tip our hats to the cheaters of old!
There's no greater need for asterisks to be placed next to today's records than in the past. Not many people do it. I'm sure Sammy hasn't brought a corked bat up to the plate very often if ever before. It's just too easy to get caught. People forget that the only reason the White Sox checked Albert Belle's bat in the early '90s was because he shattered a bat in batting practice the prior series in Minnesota for all to see. Word got around and we took a guess.So let's all relax on protecting baseball's precious records of old. Today's athletes deserve the same glory as those in the past. Records are made to be broken, right? Let's let them fall and stop searching for excuses why.
