And also, hate to burst the bubble, but guys cheated back then too. Greenies were widely available and accepted in every clubhouse in the 60s and 70s. You’d also be crazy if you think players of old wouldn’t have taken steroids if they had the opportunity. The steroid era is more a product of the MLB offices, media and fans than it is the players. People were enamored with the longball, so everyone turned a blind eye. When records came into jeopardy, that’s when the sanctity of baseball had been tarnished. The truth of the matter is that steroids weren’t banned by baseball when most of these players used them. They were against the rules only in the way that they were illegal drugs being used by players much like the cocaine epidemic in the eighties or alcohol in the twenties. Just because steroids happened to help these players get stronger or faster doesn’t make it a worse offense.

Also, I love the sweeping generalities of the old baseball players as men who cared only for winning and high character and today’s as boys who care only for money. Babe Ruth was a drinker and womanizer, the 1919 White Sox threw the World Series for money (but that doesn’t count because they didn’t make as much then? Obviously those guys cared more about money than winning, not that I blame them, just stating a fact) , Ty Cobb was a racist as were many players in the early part of the last century, Joe DiMaggio beat women and tried to complain his way out of the army and on and on. It’s easy to laud players through an incomplete historical lens, but who are you to say Beltran doesn’t play as hard as anyone else whoever played? He was in an horrific collision and came back 5 days later to finish out his worst season as a major leaguer. He also played meaningless game on a cartilage-less knee in September 2009, does that not warrant your praise?

And finally, I find it amusing how Rodriguez’s homers are “tainted” when he used a substance that many other players, including pitchers he faced, used but Mays, who used “red juice,” and Ruth and Gehrig, and to some extent Musial, who didn’t have to face some of the best available talent, i.e. players in the negro leagues, aren’t.

But whatevs, I’m not gonna change your mind on anything. I just loathe when people reminisce the good old days when men were men and women were in the kitchen and separate but equal was teh awesome.

I wish I could have seen these good old days of baseball. One of my teachers told me about his first baseball game, he told me that he had never seen such green grass before, given that at the time TV was still black&white. But anyway, he told me he saw Mickey Mantle play and I was extremely jealous Haha.

There are just so few of those types of players left. The old fashion, nose to the grind type-players are few and far between. Guys like Derek Jeter and Roy Halladay are the closest thing we have to those players of old.

Babe Ruth may not have played against the best of the best, but he completely dominated his competition. He hit more HRs than entire teams, lead his lead in ERA and wins as a pitcher has the the 10th highest batting average of all time and would have made the Hall of Fame as a pitcher had he not become the greatest hitter of all time. He would dominate in ANY era.

As for taking steroids and being tested, you feel A-Roid is clean because he’s under scrutiny and tested regularly. May I mention Lance Armstrong or any of a string of 100 meter runners who all took steroids and were never caught because the chemistry is way ahead of the testing? Are you really that naive to believe there aren’t players out there right now taking PEDs that avoid the current testing methods? I am not saying A-Roid is taking PEDs, but I am certainly not SURE he’s not taking them. His reputation took a hit to be sure, but not nearly to the extent that you posit.

You get guys that practically jog to 1B on any groudball hit. What happened to making the infield rush their throws? Now if i’m an infielder and I know who’s up and I know they don’t hustle i would be more relaxed and take my time throwing the guy out. The lack of hustle in today’s game is an absolute disgrace and doesn’t make me want to hustle to go buy a ticket either

And don’t get me started on which era knew how to play the game the right way. The modern ballplayer doesn’t move the runner, doesn’t bunt and most of them don’t hit to contact. They swing for the fences because they feel their paycheck will be higher with more HRs. The basic fundamentals are a lost art to most of the players today, and the game has suffered severely because of it.

And if you’re a pitcher, don’t you dare even come close to throwing near one of today’s prima donnas. Don Drysdale must be rolling over in his grave, the way modern ballplayers scream and charge the mound every time a ball comes withing 2 feet of them. And today’s players wear armor around their arms and legs! The stars of yesteryear would have laughed them off the field.

Are today’s players more athletic? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean they are BETTER ballplayers. And they certainly don’t know how to play the game as well as their predecesors. Back then, players cared about winning and the team. Today, they care about their image and their wallet. There’s really no comparison which was a better game to watch. Today’s game is a shell of what it used to be, which is a crying shame.

Not only that, but teams have systems meant specifically to get this young talent at an earlier age so they can mold it. Teams can do everything now but breed players.

You’ve got the rose colored glasses on here for The Good Old Days, which never actually existed.

There are two big reasons for the difference in the game now and the game of the 1950′s and 1960′s. First, there is expansion. Before 1961 there were 16 teams. By opening day of 1962 there were 20. By 1969 there were 24 teams. Six more teams have been added, two at a time and so now there are 30 clubs. Nearly twice the amount of teams and almost double the amount of players….THAT IS A TOTAL THINNING OUT OF TALENT AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.

MONEY is the other reason…TEAMS NO LONGER HOLD THE UPPER HAND IN SALARY NEGOTIATIONS.

WHILE IT IS NICE FOR THE PLAYERS TO BE PAID WELL…..NOW A MEDIOCRE PLAYER HAS BECOME A MILLION DOLLAR PLAYER IN THIS MARKET….

YOU WANT A BETTER QUALITY OF PERFORMANCE? STOP PAYING RIDICULOUS PRICES TO GO TO THE BALLPARK AND STOP PAYING BIG BUCKS TO WATCH ON TV…..BUT THAT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN!

Or when the O’Malleys headed West for a better stadium deal.

Or when Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees to cover the Red Sox owner’s failed investments.

Or when pretty much anything happened is baseball. Remember, players were property of their teams. They didn’t even qualify as employees. Owners put on games to make money. Not out of the kindness of their hearts.

Clayton, money has always had major influence over baseball. The only differences now now there is more money flowing in from more avenues and the players are getting a better cut of it.

Also, anabolic steroids were first synthesized in the 1930s. There are records of ball players injecting themselves with monkey testosterone back in the Civil War. We even know Babe Ruth used sheep testosterone. We all know guys were popping pills every color of the rainbow just so they could play the next day with no pain. Are you really going to tell me no one was doing steroids until Jose Conseco?

We should remember and be in awe of the accomplishments of the great players of the past. But we should also be aware that they were human and there were many flaws in them and the game. You don’t need to slam today’s players to respect yesterday’s. After all, today’s white players don’t benefit from systemic segregation.

“I do not think the post-steroids deterioration to the body have taken effect yet. Given a few seasons it will likely rear its ugly head.”

Do you understand how steroids work? Because this makes me think you may need a refresher course. If ARod has been off of steroids for 2-3 years lets say… his body would have reacted by now. It’s a cycle for a reason, when you break the cycle… things change. You don’t still have it in your body

The game was different back then. Pitchers didn’t throw as hard, hitters weren’t as finely tuned in athletiscm.

There’s no possible way you can make this argument. The game was different. Are you telling me I can’t find hitters more dangerous than Lazzeri, Koenig, Dugan, Meusel, Combs? They were far better than their compeition… that doesn’t mean they are far better than the talent today.

It’s harder to be successful NOW than it was in the mid 1920′s because the talent on the mound and at the plate is much better. You’re talking about the upper echelon of players.

Was Ruth better than Pujols and Gehrig better than ARod? Sure… but how many players can you name who play today who are better than the mid level guys of the 1920s?

Name me 20 great pitchers in 1927. Walter Johnson and Lefty Grove were amazing… so you can cancel out guys like King Felix and Roy Halladay if you’d like… but who’s gonna step in against Johnson, Wainwright, Price, Oswalt, Ubaldo, Kershaw, Cahill, Johan, Weaver, Cain, Lee, Sabathia, Carpenter, Lester, Gio, Verlander, Lincecum, Jurrjens?

Do you see what I’m saying. You’re comparing Ruth to today but Ruth faced a collective whole of easier pitchers than the talent we see today.

But yes, pitching has become much less of an art than what it used to be. Stamina of that level is a thing of the past.

Just as much as you can’t tell me how Ruth would have faired against guys like Halladay, Oswalt, Carpenter, Lincecum, Kershaw, Jurrjens, Greinke, Gallardo, Johnson, Cain, Ubaldo, etc