A Rod

A Rod took steroids. Not shocked.

Bonds, Clemens (still in denial) Palmeiro (denied until he got caught red-handed) Giambi, Pettitte (out of the closet) and McGwire (awkwardly half in/half out of the closet) also all took steroids. Not shocked.

The list could (and eventually will) go on and on (Eric Gagne, Bret Boone, Mark Prior, Brady Anderson, many others). Does it really matter?

Kudos to Giambi, Pettitte and most recently A-Rod, someone taught them a lesson in PR 101- when you screw up, 'fess up and say you're sorry... the American public is remarkably forgiving...

Point is, from 1995 when baseball returned from its strike shortened season until 2004 when performance-enhancing drugs were cracked down on, MLB played its 'Steroid Era.' Some years from now, when perspective is gained, it will be judged for what it is, just as the following eras below are today...

1900-20 was the dead-ball era, extremely low power numbers compared to post-1920

1941-45 was the War era, where the talent level was down because of players fighting for the free world

1947-began integration, black players allowed in MLB, competition level surges

1973 began the Designated Hitter era (AL), offensive number surge

in 1995, baseball turned a blind eye to steroids.

the game needed a boost after droves of fans were turned off by the first World Series cancellation since 1904. The Sammy Sosa-Mark McGwire HR race of 1996 was the answer.

Steroids were taken by players of all positions for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Baseball is unique in its obsession with numerical records. No one knows by heart the number of TD passes the NFL record-holding quarterback has for his career or the NBA record-holding point scorer, ditto NHL goal scorer...

But every sports fan knew 755 for Hank Aaron and 61 for Roger Maris.

Baseball fans and historians are outraged at the notion that someone trumped Hank and Roger with an illegitimate boost.

This is what makes the case of baseball so unique. From a championship standpoint, its not likely that any one team won a World Series based on its players usage of steroids. The drugs were all over the league, highly doubtful any one clubhouse was binging significantly more than any other.

The outrage, in my humble opinion, is based mostly on how individual accomplishments and records should be reconciled in the light on the revelation of the performance-enhancing drug use, league-wide. Fans feel cheated that 61 and 755 went down to 'cheaters'. How dare they cheat the record book!

{Interesting side note, when you look up weightlifting world records there are often two categories listed 1. Clean and 2. East German (oops, I mean "untested'')}

40 years from now, it's safe to say Barry Bonds' 73 will not be measured on the same scale as Roger Maris' 61. Just as today it's absurd to measure Jack Chesboro's 41 wins in 1901 versus Cliff Lee or Brandon Webb's 22 in 2008. The eras are totally incomparable.

I will write on this topic further in coming days, dealing with the topic of who was clean, and how clean players should be judged in the 'Steroid Era'