The Ups and Downs of Baseball

I've said it before, baseball is the most beautiful and balanced sport out there... too bad every time something amazing happens something equally destructive occurs putting emphasis on a culture of cheaters and taking away from a pastime of legends. 

This time I am referring to the two major events that have occurred in MLB this week - Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners throws the 23rd perfect game in history, and third this season, but he does it in fashionable style - 12 K's, 68% of his pitches were strikes and the game ended without a dramatic game-changing defensive stand by a team mate. This beauty goes head to head with the recent suspension of MVP All-Star Melky Cabrera, who tested positive to performance enhancing drugs (testosterone to be specific) which have no doubt contributed to his league leading hits (159) and his second best batting average (.346). 

Melky, a hero to young baseball fans everywhere is now tainted with the sport's famous asterisk. He along with a plethora of other stars; Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Bonds and going all the way back to Jose Canseco as an original Smash Bros with Mark McGwire... there are six players on the Top 15 Home Run kings who have been linked to PED's. No other sport has such sad sack statistics. What's worse is that baseball fans have come to be used to this kind of game play, and have thus lost connection to the real shiny accomplishments made by those not proven to have used PED's.

While to each their own, baseball is not nearly as glorious (to me) as it once was - yes, here we go again; no Expos, same Bud and more cheaters than ever. Pitching has never seen a better season, but perhaps in a few weeks a pitcher will be caught for doping. The way I see it, baseball is still in perfect balance - for every incredible feat is an incredible let down. For every anointed hero there is a fall from grace. For every fall from grace there is a lost fan, and for every lost fan there is a lost hope. As long as the beauty of baseball can compete with the ugliness of cheating, this sport should be good for the long haul...or rather the long ball.

xoxo,