Did steroids SAVE baseball ?

[OldEnglishD]

With all the talk about how they're a black eye to the game - it got me thinking. Baseball was at a real low point when the ball and some players started taking their shots - interested IMMEDIATELY improved.

So, do you think steroids were the correct prescription from the baseball Dr.s' ?

[Robin Yount]

I have only one opinion on this matter and you should edit to put this choice


YAWN

[OldEnglishD]

I have only one opinion on this matter and you should edit to put this choice


YAWN

Apologies for not entertaining you.



People who spend time entering a thread, or engaging in a conversation which topic they are bored with - and then expressing their disinterest.

- YAWN

[Robin Yount]

Let the steroid thing die a sudden death

[Lucifer]

Well, I think that it ruined baseball personally. However, if you're talking about fan interest, ratings, popularity, things of that nature- I don't see how you can deny it helped the game. Since im only 20 I haven't been able to see the before and after of the 'roids era, so I don't really know what the baseball following was like before these guys juiced, but from what im told it was nothing like it is now. Im gonna go with they helped expedite an inevitable recovery for lack of a better option

[Captain Cold Nose]

I would really be surprised if steroids were not part of the sport well before the strike and subsequent recovery. They were prevalent in football, they were prevalent in track, they were prevalent in swimming. Things took off for a couple players at that time, but by no means were they introduced as used as a cure for what ailed the sport then.

[Wade8813]

I'd say another option - BOTH. It's fairly obvious to me that before the scandal was uncovered, the increase in production (and more specifically, Sosa and McGwire's races to 62) helped the game.

Conversely, I think it's just as obvious that there are people now who are disenchanted with baseball because of the scandal.

[SamtheBravesFan]

I would have to say "neither". I may have been just 11 years old when the strike happened, but all I cared about was baseball, and I was very glad even when the replacement players came back and played. Baseball was all I wanted, and I'm sure a lot of people felt the same way.

[ARISTOCRAT]

I say it brought back the fans after the strike, but it may turn the fans off again if steroids aren't handled.

[Old Sweater]

Just look at the post counts of steroid threads, no matter how many times this subject has been covered.

[FrenchyLefebvre]

Watching 9/5/95 and 9/6/95 at Camden Yards (as well as the weeks leading up to it) is what resurrected baseball from the strike, IMO. How many people watching those two nights got through with dry eyes? When Ripken came to bat in visiting ballparks, how'd the fans feel? I know he didn't have to hit a longball to make their nights. All he had to do was take the field.

Say what you want about The Streak and Ripken, but the emotion and "feel good" of that topped, IMO.

[OldEnglishD]

Watching 9/5/95 and 9/6/95 at Camden Yards (as well as the weeks leading up to it) is what resurrected baseball from the strike, IMO. How many people watching those two nights got through with dry eyes? When Ripken came to bat in visiting ballparks, how'd the fans feel? I know he didn't have to hit a longball to make their nights. All he had to do was take the field.

Say what you want about The Streak and Ripken, but the emotion and "feel good" of that topped, IMO.

Eh, the streak wasn't any big deal to me - I know lots of guys that haven't missed any workdays in 15 years (and most of them work harder & for longer hours).

[ARISTOCRAT]

Watching 9/5/95 and 9/6/95 at Camden Yards (as well as the weeks leading up to it) is what resurrected baseball from the strike, IMO. How many people watching those two nights got through with dry eyes? When Ripken came to bat in visiting ballparks, how'd the fans feel? I know he didn't have to hit a longball to make their nights. All he had to do was take the field.

Say what you want about The Streak and Ripken, but the emotion and "feel good" of that topped, IMO.

That wasn't as great as the home run chase and record shattering at that. Ripken wasn't at the top of his game at the time, the thing I remember is when he hit the home run in the All Star game and thinking that was a batting practise ptich. But now fans that know the home run chase between McGuire and Sosa, and Bonds following was chemically enhanced will not be feeling to good if the steroid issue does not come to a close. Betrayal is something I feel right now about knowing what I do now about steroids compared to then.

[Dalkowski110]

I actually thought pretty hard before voting, though the question "did the homerun race almost certainly fueled by steroids save baseball" would have been more appropriate. In the short term, 1998-2000, yes, it did. But from 2001-2007, steroids have been detrimental to baseball in the eyes of the public. A lot of people reference the nearly 50/50 polling numbers regarding Bonds breaking Aaron's record, but when the question "Do you support a much stiffer steroids penalty in baseball?" OR "Is baseball doing enough about steroids?" then the answers are lop-sidedly yes and no, respectively. People are ticked off at steroids, and IMO we're not out of the steroid era. Because of the...for lack of a better word...whiplash caused after the huge surge in baseball interest during the McGwire/Sosa homerun race, no, it didn't save baseball in the long term. In the long term, it proved a setback. Hence, I voted that it was bad for baseball. But if you're looking for an answer regarding "was it a factor that saved baseball during 1998-2000?" then yes, it probably did, despite the fact many people suspected SOMETHING was amiss. At the time, most people thought the balls were juiced, though...not the players.

[sandlot]

Steroids juiced a comeback for baseball that was by no means inevitable. That is why MLB turned a blind eye to steroid useage, even though some players were starting to resemble professional wrestlers. The homerun races and astounding production didn't just save baseball, it salvaged the game from the sporting scrapyard. Those of us who were around during the era of strikes and replacemens will remember what a dark time that was. Many fans turned off and swore never to return. Others maintained an interest but never again with the same passion. I suspect that's why so many fans have become so angry today. They came back to baseball, only to feel they were fooled and cheated by a dishonest suitor. Jilted lovers can be a mean and unforgiving lot.