﻿What Are We Going to Do About Our Baseball Scandals?

What Are We Going to Do About Our Baseball Scandals?

2/28/2015

John Cusack and the real Pete Rose

THIS JUST IN
My friend Ron Swoboda has some thoughts on the steroid-era players. Now a broadcaster in his long-time home in New Orleans, Swoboda admits that he and other players from the 60’s have no idea what decisions they would have made if the stuff had been available back then.

If I was the new commish coming in the front door I'd try to figure out how to bring all of God's wayward children into the Hall. Even if it meant admitting that baseball was lax on steroids when Sosa and McGwire were bringing fans back to the game after the stupidity of 1994. Of course, the players would all have to own up to their transgressions as well. Then after the truth has set us all free, we have the players in the Hall who belong there and a good set of rules and blood checks to go forward with.

Since I'm not in any danger of becoming commish, these musings come cheap.

Your thoughts? (Comments Below)

PREVIOUS POSTING

I couldn’t wait for a baseball game so I popped in a DVD for one of my favorite baseball movies.

I love “Eight Men Out” for the Dixieland music and vintage suits and funky hotel lobbies and ball parks – also for the loving look at the game even in a dirty time, the Black Sox scandal of 1919.

Well, I guess all times are dirty. Baseball currently has two separate scandals hanging over it. One involves Pete Rose, who bet on games while managing, and then lied about it. I am conflicted about Rose, a total knucklehead who gave me a great amount of enjoyment as writer and fan.

I think Pete played honest, although we all knew he had a major gambling jones and ultimately broke the major rule of baseball – No Gambling. I wish Rose the player were eligible for the Hall of Fame – but I don’t know I would make that decision if I were commissioner.

Then there is the whole steroid generation, when the union fought testing, for reasons I am sure the union leaders understood. No player identified or suspected as a steroid user has later been voted into the Hall by the writers. Some come back as coaches and guests at old-timers’ games and some just vanish with bloated home-run and strikeout totals.

Now Alex Rodriguez, the ghost of scandals past, is haunting Yankee camp, yawning his way through first-base practice. What a chump. But the Yankees and baseball are legally stuck with him, no doubt hoping he breaks a leg taking grounders, and the insurance kicks in.

What are we going to do with all those specters? A friend of mine says baseball writers of the past generation will never vote for suspected users because of guilty consciences for not breaking the story. Fair enough. I do not vote because the Times does not want its writers making news; I also never had proof of anything, except what my eyes told me about body sizes, and what common sense said about union stonewalling.

Apparently, some writers did suspect some White Sox players were throwing the 1919 World Series. I love “Eight Men Out” because I am a huge John Sayles fan but also because I was there when they were filming it – in Indianapolis, an old ballpark – and also because I wrote about how D.B. Sweeney learned to hit left-handed to portray Shoeless Joe Jackson.

I love the movie for the portrayal of a cheapskate owner and a hanging judge turned commissioner who channeled eight players of varying guilt into a lifetime ban. I love the image of the great David Strathairn as a pitcher, Ed Cicotte, who is cheated out of a bonus, and John Cusack as a tormented infielder, Buck Weaver, who plays it straight, but will not squeal. The gamblers and thugs and cynical sportswriters and innocent wives are all part of a beautiful American period piece.

Today, would Shoeless Joe Jackson (.375 in that Series) and Buck Weaver (.324) be included along with the core fixers? I do not feel any sympathy for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens and A-Rod, great players who got in deep, as far as I can see.

But the game goes on. I helped myself to a seasonal preview in “Eight Men Out” – dirt, grass, finger signals, wood on ball, clunk of ball on an outfield fence, and a Dixieland band. Hang in there.

The game still looks like this (but with uniform numbers) / Eight Men Out

Brian Savin

2/28/2015 01:18:51 pm

Great column that hit it a nerve. So, I guess there is nothing pure and holy in this baseball world stripped of self discipline. I don't blame Baseball, because the game is beyond the ken of the average humans who run it. But I don't need to contribute my dollars to it, either. I will not go to a Yankee game as long as A Rod is on the team. I may see the Mets this year if the Manager can inspire whatever he gets and they gives fans some confidence of caring about teamwork. If not, I'm happy enough with this last year of the New Britain Rock Cats, or whatever they will call themselves.

I heard an interview with the new Commissioner yesterday on CNBC. He gives me zero confidence he can deal with the world he faces and that you describe so well. He answered no hard question including one or two posed by your column today, and would only talk about speeding up the game within the bounds of not offending commercial sponsors. Not my kind of guy,

Maybe I'll tune in to my own personal favorite...Redford's wonderfully revisionist version of "The Natural" and that beautiful lady-philosopher played by Glenn Close.

George Vecsey

3/1/2015 02:08:29 am

Brian, it's a different style, for sure. The most inside commissioner yet, a business guy. Selig was a fan, an owner, a car salesman. He grew on me...well, except for the steroid era.
As for A-Rod, Girardi got testy when asked if he was glad A-Rod was back. Love to have a polygraph on that one.
The Mets have always played for Collins. It's been very impressive.
But minor-league BB in person may be the way to go, anyway, given the hideous prices for MLB. (except when the Mets are discounted to single-digits on EBay.)
GV

John McDermott

2/28/2015 02:04:31 pm

I love this film too. I'm a big Sayles fan, and Strathairn is one of my favorite actors. The portrayal of cheapskate Comiskey was terrific. And there was even a real newspaperman, Studs Terkel, playing the real newspaperman who blew the whistle on the whole scandal. What's not to like?

3/1/2015 02:15:19 am

John, not only that but Eliot Asinof, who wrote the book, has a brief appearance as Heydler, NL president.
Asinof played minor-league ball. My friend Ray Robinson talks about him all the time.
I have been a Sayles fan since I saw The Brother From Another Planet...a classic. Big dude. Played four sports in Schenectady, NY.
GV

John McDermott

3/1/2015 01:43:30 pm

I loved Brother from Another Planet(mostly due to Joe Morton, and of course the great script). And then Matewan and Sunshine State. Sayles' films have exposed us to a lot of really terrific actors before they were really well known.

bruce

3/2/2015 02:58:58 am

George,

very good column.

oddly enough I was thinking about rose last night. my feelings pretty much mirror yours.

I enjoyed watching his love for playing the game. there was a joy to it.

it also came thru even if his team lost. I recall him saying what a thrill it was to be involved in the sixth game of the 1975 series after fisk's home run. and he didn't say it retrospectively. the other memory that always strikes me is when he was challenging the national league's consecutive hits streak and a reporter said it was a tougher feat than it was decades before. he disagreed and said something like. 'I know how tough it was for me and I wouldn't want somebody saying in 50 years that it wasn't as tough for me......'

bruce

George Vecsey

3/2/2015 03:29:30 am

I remember a rain delay, regular season, and we were allowed to stay in Sparky's office and Pete wandered in, swinging a bat, and just started talking baseball....it was so much fun for those of us who love talking baseball and miss it now because managers and players are afraid to talk with all the electronic devices recording their candid moments.
Plus, there is the remark Bernie Carbo once made: (I paraphrase): The funniest thing he ever saw in baseball was Pete Rose';s greenies kicking in during a rain delay.
I don';t think that was the case the evening I mention. He just loved the game so much....
GV

bruce

3/2/2015 03:54:13 am

George,

funny comment by carbo which also reminds us there were things going on before steroids.

bruce

George Vecsey

3/2/2015 04:58:30 am

you think?
"red juice?"
"major-league coffee?"

GV

bruce

3/2/2015 05:02:28 am

George,

every generation thinks they've invented or discovered something new, I reckon.

KL Bob

3/3/2015 12:19:00 am

I hate the steroid guys for how they robbed a generation of kids from growing up on baseball stats, the .367s, 714s and 755s, the 60/61s, and so on. How does one explain to an eight-year-old why nobody got too excited about Bonds, let alone how big Aaron was to congratulate him.

Eight Men Out was a simpler cheat to explain - great movie. Thank you for the enjoyable read, as always.

George Vecsey

3/3/2015 02:02:31 am

Thank you so much. I agree, I was a young reporter in 1961 and got to see Maris quite a bit. And I love Ruth. So I am a 60/61 fan., Given the sour look on Selig's face the day Bonds broke the record, I know he is an Aaron man, too.
I guess if you are going to cheat, it is nice to be memorialized by Asinof, Sayles and Strathairn.
GV

KL Bob

3/4/2015 01:29:41 am

Thanks to you both - and agreed. Not sure where it's all headed, but more kids on fields and fewer on social media couldn't be a bad thing.

Don't know if you saw the Curt Shilling story a couple of days ago - maybe baseball will win in the end!

bruce

3/3/2015 04:37:48 am

kl bob. I agree. i'm guessing tho that eight year old boys, per capita, are way less interested in baseball than they were when I was a kid.

George Vecsey

3/4/2015 02:34:30 am

KL Bob: You mean where he went after jerks who picked on his daughter on line? Got one fired, apparently. (Heard it on the radio.) I'm not a fan of his, but I agree with anybody who protects his daughter in an ugly social time. Lot of weird people with over-active thumbs.
They should be outside tossing the ball around.

GV

bruce

3/4/2015 02:40:35 am

George,

or outside being tossed around.

bruce

KL Bob

3/4/2015 11:29:55 pm

Yes, that's the one. Amen.

Onward and upward!

Haruko Hasumi

3/6/2015 09:48:51 pm

If I will be named a commish, I'm going to.......
1. Making "Drug User's Hall Of Fame”.
2. Ordering to write "He was a drug user." on a HOF plaque, like as "61*".

George Vecsey

3/7/2015 08:47:18 am

Dear Haruko: You are much tougher than our friend Ron. I think you would make a very good commish. You could tell the story about being at the Nolan Ryan no-hitter. GV

Alan Rubin link

3/17/2015 05:41:09 am

George,

Our move has delayed my responding to your recent rapid fire postings, but I cannot pass up responding to John Sayles and his movies.

I've been an avid fan of movies since 1945, which includes both going to the theaters and watching reruns. After seventy years of watching, my list of favorites is extensive.

However, Eight Men Out, Matewan, Brother from Another Plant, The Natural and the Coal Miner’s Daughter are in my top ten.

Like many of you, “ Brother” was my first exposure to John Sayles. In addition to the great zany story, I related to the “A” train.

I lived at 190th Street and Fort Washington Avenue in Washington Weights. My mother allowed me to travel alone by subway since I was ten. The “A” train was my express route south to the Upper West Side, Mid-town and occasionally the Village. Each trip was an adventure that I still cherish today. However, I was warned not to get off at 125th Street, which I did not understand why at the time.

Although I have a strong sense of what is ethical, I have always been troubled by the Black Sox and the 1950 NYC basketball scandals. Although they all should have been held accountable for their actions, I believe that the punishments were too harsh.

Charles Comiskey, of the Chicago White Sox, was a particularly cruel and cheap owner. His players were routinely intimidated and cheated. Many of his fellow baseball owners were not much better.

In the years before the 1919 World Series scandal, it was common for players to make extra money arranging outcomes of games. I’m not a lawyer, but some crimes can be justified by circumstances. Josh will probably correct me on this.

Judge Landis was hired as baseball’s commissioner because he came down so hard on the players. Baseball was concerned about its image and the integrity of the game, but the role of the owners was ignored.

The 1950 NYC basketball scandal occurred my sophomore year in high school. I was an avid CCNY fan since my older sister’s boyfriend went there. College basketball in the east, particularly the NY metropolitan area was terrific, but CCNY was something special. As good as they were, they were poised to be even better as their 1950 freshman team was undefeated.

Most of the players involved came from poor or working class backgrounds and the “few bucks” they received was enticing. Sherman White of LIU was from Englewood, one town over from Teaneck which I lived. His cousin told me that Sherman lost his NBA chance with the Knicks for $500.

Punishment was necessary in both scandals, but I believe that being barred for life was too extreme. The behavior of many of today’s athletes would probably not survive the so called morality of 1919 and 1950.

movies coming out this week link

4/23/2016 05:56:26 am

www.movies-out.com

Comments are closed.

QUOTES

Measuring Covid Deaths, by David Leonhardt. July 17, 2023. NYT online.
The United States has reached a milestone in the long struggle against Covid: The total number of Americans dying each day — from any cause — is no longer historically abnormal….

After three horrific years, in which Covid has killed more than one million Americans and transformed parts of daily life, the virus has turned into an ordinary illness.

The progress stems mostly from three factors:
First, about three-quarters of U.S. adults have received at least one vaccine shot.
Second, more than three-quarters of Americans have been infected with Covid, providing natural immunity from future symptoms. (About 97 percent of adults fall into at least one of those first two categories.)
Third, post-infection treatments like Paxlovid, which can reduce the severity of symptoms, became widely available last year.
“Nearly every death is preventable,” Dr. Ashish Jha, who was until recently President Biden’s top Covid adviser, told me. “We are at a point where almost everybody who’s up to date on their vaccines and gets treated if they have Covid, they rarely end up in the hospital, they almost never die.”

That is also true for most high-risk people, Jha pointed out, including older adults — like his parents, who are in their 80s — and people whose immune systems are compromised. “Even for most — not all but most —immuno-compromised people, vaccines are actually still quite effective at preventing against serious illness,” he said. “There has been a lot of bad information out there that somehow if you’re immuno-compromised that vaccines don’t work.”

That excess deaths have fallen close to zero helps make this point: If Covid were still a dire threat to large numbers of people, that would show up in the data.

One point of confusion, I think, has been the way that many Americans — including we in the media — have talked about the immuno-compromised. They are a more diverse group than casual discussion often imagines.

Most immuno-compromised people are at little additional risk from Covid — even people with serious conditions, such as multiple sclerosis or a history of many cancers. A much smaller group, such as people who have received kidney transplants or are undergoing active chemotherapy, face higher risks.

Covid’s toll, to be clear, has not fallen to zero. The C.D.C.’s main Covid webpage estimates that about 80 people per day have been dying from the virus in recent weeks, which is equal to about 1 percent of overall daily deaths.

The official number is probably an exaggeration because it includes some people who had virus when they died even though it was not the underlying cause of death. Other C.D.C. data suggests that almost one-third of official recent Covid deaths have fallen into this category. A study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases came to similar conclusions.

Dr. Shira Doron, the chief infection control officer at Tufts Medicine in Massachusetts, told me that “age is clearly the most substantial risk factor.” Covid’s victims are both older and disproportionately unvaccinated. Given the politics of vaccination, the recent victims are also disproportionately
Republican and white.

Each of these deaths is a tragedy. The deaths that were preventable — because somebody had not received available vaccines and treatments — seem particularly tragic. (Here’s a Times guide to help you think about when to get your next booster shot.)
***

From the great Maureen Dowd:

As I write this, I’m in a deserted newsroom in The Times’s D.C. office. After working at home for two years during Covid, I was elated to get back, so I could wander around and pick up the latest scoop.
But in the last year, there has been only a smattering of people whenever I’m here, with row upon row of empty desks. Sometimes a larger group gets lured in for a meeting with a platter of bagels."

--- Dowd writes about the lost world of journalists clustered in newsrooms at all hours, smoking, drinking, gossipping, making phone calls, typing, editing.
***
"Putting out the paper," we called it.
Much more than nostalgia.
---https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/29/opinion/journalism-newsroom.html