Foul Territory
A sports blog with no specific focus, though I like wrestling and baseball
4.01.2005
Hard to erase what the whole country saw
This kind of thing ticks me off. The North Dakota Senate has unanimously voted to ask baseball commissioner Bud Selig to declare native son Roger Maris to again be the single season home run record holder. They say that this should be done because the record was broken thanks to steroids. They apparently don't care that steroids were not only not banned by baseball but that none of the players to have broken the record of 61 home runs has ever tested positive for a banned substance. They'd rather deal in innuendo and all but baseless accusations.
Senator Joel Heitkamp sponsored this resolution, and he's had some real doozies when it comes to quotes about it:
and
I guess if he believes it, it must be true and require legislative action. Senator Heitkamp has no idea whether the record was bested thanks to steroids or not, but he really must not care. He probably saw the spectacle of the steroid hearings and decided the time was right for a publicity grab. In that sense, he's been wildly successful, as you can be sure I never would have heard of him if not for this stunt.
Perhaps someone should explain to the Senator that there was no ban on steroids in the summer of 1998 when McGwire took down Maris' record. Should he counter that they were still illegal, someone should then mention that so are the amphetamines that Hank Aaron has admitted to using and nearly all players of Maris' era were on. Also, I'm sure Babe Ruth threw back a few beers that were illegal during prohibition, so the legality argument carries little weight with me. Sure, it would be best if steroids were eliminated from the game but this push to revise history is a sham.
Senator Joel Heitkamp sponsored this resolution, and he's had some real doozies when it comes to quotes about it:
In North Dakota when we think something has been wrong, we try to make it right. And when it comes to Roger Maris, and when it comes to steroids, and when it comes to how people have taken this record away ... that's not right.
and
Sen. Heitkamp said he has gotten several messages wondering why the North Dakota Legislature was wasting its time on baseball. However, he felt obliged to speak out because he believes Maris' record was eclipsed by cheating.
I guess if he believes it, it must be true and require legislative action. Senator Heitkamp has no idea whether the record was bested thanks to steroids or not, but he really must not care. He probably saw the spectacle of the steroid hearings and decided the time was right for a publicity grab. In that sense, he's been wildly successful, as you can be sure I never would have heard of him if not for this stunt.
Perhaps someone should explain to the Senator that there was no ban on steroids in the summer of 1998 when McGwire took down Maris' record. Should he counter that they were still illegal, someone should then mention that so are the amphetamines that Hank Aaron has admitted to using and nearly all players of Maris' era were on. Also, I'm sure Babe Ruth threw back a few beers that were illegal during prohibition, so the legality argument carries little weight with me. Sure, it would be best if steroids were eliminated from the game but this push to revise history is a sham.
Andy, 6:27 PM
