Repeating History

If there is one thing left that baseball has going for it, then that one thing would surely be history. The NBA's past is violent and archaic compared to today's game. The NFL barely resembles the league it used to be, even as late as the 1980s. But baseball, by and large, is the same game now as it was in 1997 or 1897. Except, you know, that it isn't.

For some reason, Major League Baseball, its fans and sports writers as a whole, like to pretend that the Steroid Era didn't change anything; that with "The Year of the Pitcher" and the decline of Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire, the whole black period is behind us. As if somehow we can just slice that piece of baseball's history off like a tumor, and hope that it didn't spread to the rest of the body.

Which is why, I presume, there is outrage when you entertain the idea that Jose Bautista could be on steroids. It's unfair, they say. Just because he is having a career year doesn't mean he should be lumped into a group of cheaters in the 1990s.

But career years aren't usually defined by hitting 250% more home runs than your previous season high, which was 4 years ago, and it's only August. This stands out like a sore thumb. As did McGwire, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa stood out when they started murdering baseballs and breaking decade old records like it was old hat. Nobody stood up then to ask any questions. It's unfair, they said.

I'm not even suggesting that Bautista is using. But shouldn't we at least be asking the question? The reason the Steroid Era was allowed to thrive was because nobody would point out the obvious. I thought the lesson learned was to point out statistical anomalies so that this would never happen again.

Of course, you can't just flat out test the guy because he's smashing the ball. But we should look to next year. If he trends back towards his career average, then chalk it up to a fluke. But if he approaches 40 home runs again, and then again? Time to investigate.

Yes, it is unfair, but the Steroid Era is to blame. The game simply is not the same. Not yet, anyway. And until every sign and stench from that period is washed away, current players will have to suffer the consequences of their predecessors. Either that, or we turn a blind eye and repeat the tainted history that led us here.

Knowing baseball people, pretending like the game is fine is the likeliest of scenarios. They just better pray, and pray hard, that Jose Bautista is clean.