Two Sad Days for Baseball
The hearts of baseball fans everywhere were saddened by the death yesterday of Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett. Puckett, a Hall of Fame center fielder who played his entire career for the Minnesota Twins, led his team to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. He had a career batting average of .318, won 6 Gold Gloves, and was a 10-time All-Star. He had 2,040 hits in his first 10 seasons, more than other player in major league history. He was forced to retire after the 1995 season after glaucoma caused him to go blind in his right eye.
But these brilliant statistics are only part of the story. Kirby Puckett's exuberance, his love of the game, his ever-present smile, and his team leadership were respected by players and fans alike. It was a joy to watch him play.
Kirby Puckett died yesterday in Arizona after suffering a stroke Sunday. He will be missed by baseball players and fans everywhere.
Baseball is unfortunately suffering another painful death. Baseball itself is dying. Tomorrow, Sports Illustrated is publishing a report detailing the extent of steroids use by San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds. The report is taken from the upcoming book Game of Shadows, by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. The report details how Bonds, intensely jealous of the adulation of Mark McGuire, allegedly began using steroids in 1998, transforming him into the most feared slugger in baseball.
Regardless of whether all of the book’s allegations are true, what is true is that whatever was left of the unpopular Bonds’ reputation is tarnished for good. His records will either be erased or viewed as illegitimate. And Bonds is certainly not the only steroid user in the game. All of Major League Baseball will be tarnished as well. Players suspected of steroid usage will be viewed as guilty until proven innocent. And, if Baseball doesn’t take decisive action, performance enhancing steroid usage will continue to be one of the means of getting ahead, provided you can escape detection.
Sadly, Kirby Puckett is gone. May he rest in peace. And Major League Baseball? It’s alive, but headed into the ICU. I’m not sure what therapy will be necessary to bring it back. But they’d better think of something soon.
posted by Scott @ 3/08/2006
2 comments
2 Comments:
As a non-baseball fan, I'm about as upset about this as non-hockey fans were about the strike last year. I actually did like Bonds back when he was in Pittsburg, but the way he has conducted himself over his career, regardless of the truthfulness of the current allegations, has certainly not endeared me to him.
Neal, I don't get upset about any sports strike. I don't think that baseball players or football players or hockey players are "laborers" in any sense of the word, and each one has a contract, so I can't make sense of how collective bargaining applies to the sports and to the leagues. I was mainly trying to contrast the effect that 2 individuals had on the sport. One Barry Bonds can undo the positive impact of 10 or more Kirby Pucketts.
Scott, your point on SI's hypocrisy is a good one. But I don't agree that there are no sports heros and I don't agree that professional sports don't matter (although I do think that they are taken way too seriously.) I'll address these points in my comments on your blog entry.
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