Bijan C. Bayne is the author of "Sky Kings: Black Pioneers of Professional Basketball," which was named to the Suggested Reading List of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004. In July 2002 he won the Robert Peterson Research Award for his presentation "The Struggle of the Latin American Ballplayer" given at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown N.Y. Baynes chapter on Black baseball in North Carolina appears in the book "Baseball in the Carolinas" (McFarland 2002). His essay on schoolyard basketball appears in the anthology "Basketball in America" (Haworth 2005). He is currently at work researching a documentary film. Bayne has guest lectured on the social significance of the life of Jackie Robinson each year since 1996 at The George Washington University at classes and events such as Charter Day 1996 and Unity Week in 1999. His travel articles have appeared in AAA Horizons Family Digest and National Hotel Executive and his book reviews have been featured in Washington Post Book World The Boston Herald and The Crisis. Along with eSports, he also writes for Sports Central. It doesn't take 60 home run seasons and non-stop intentional walks to make baseball attractive. P.E.D. testing has revealed who the real batters are.
Alex Rodriguez. Albert Pujols. Manny Ramirez. David Ortiz. These are the names that dominate Major League Baseball’s offensive leader board in the wake of steroid vigilance. What happened to the "other guys?"
Baseball is in the midst of a revolution. Gone are the days when good players, such as Bret Boone, Brady Anderson and Luis Gonzalez posted seasonal numbers that Harmon Killebrew and Reggie Jackson only dreamed of reaching.
Talk has quieted as to who will dethrone all-time home run king Hank Aaron. The routine 60 homer campaign, which was ever suspect, is now a thing of the past. The market appears to have experienced a correction.
This return to normalcy has not hurt the old pastime -- fans still fill seats from Wrigley to Fenway to revamped RFK. We still have superstars, only instead of being named Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, they are Miguel Tejada, Alfonso Soriano and Vladimir Guerrero.
We still have amazing 40-something hurlers (The Rocket and The Unit), surprise teams (the ChiSox and the Nats) and budding talent (Mark Teixeira and Michael Young).
Baseball is as alive and as well as ever. Some even maintain that a Bonds return would taint the game and cast a shadow over its most hallowed records.
While Messrs. McGwire, Bonds, Sosa, and Bagwell have succumbed to nagging injuries and falling statistics, Rafael Palmeiro, Pedro Martinez, and even the fragile Ken Griffey, Jr. are aging gracefully.
What's in a number? Where there's smoke, there's fire. In retrospect, how many fans think LuGo and Bret Boone were capable of years beyond the best efforts of Willie McCovey, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle and Johnny Bench?
Ruben Sierra and Julio Franco both disappeared from MLB for several seasons. Statistically speaking, so did Jose Canseco and Juan Gonzalez (at his early 1990s pace, Juan Gone would have 600 homers plus by now).
Several years ago, everybody and their batboy was launching 40 jacks a season. In 1996, Andres Garralaga of Colorado led the National League with a mortal 47 dingers. Barry Bonds managed 42.
Then all juice broke loose. Roger Maris and Babe Ruth fell. Hammerin' Hank was threatened. The intentional walk to Bonds became the Hack-a-Shaq of MLB. Borrr--ing!
Bud Selig and his minions, happy with attendance and attention, turned a blind eye. Not until last year was a steroid policy instituted, and the first one had no teeth. The current one still overlooks human growth hormone. But oh, how the mighty (bats) have fallen.
Last season, Adrian Beltre's 48 homers paced the NL. We can again watch the game and not wonder what marvels of chemistry are afoot. Announcers no longer compare contemporary players to Willie Mays and Ted Williams. And players such as Manny, Pujols, Miggy and A-Rod get the credit they are due.