Perspective: Fans Helped Steroid Era

With the home run derby taking place last night, it got me thinking about the appeal of such an event. It is one of the only events in sports where the ultimate goal is to hit something as far as possible. (I know the olympics have these types of events but I’m saying in the four major sports) Hockey has the hardest shot, which is similar, but the hardest shot doesn’t have the same appeal to fans as do home runs. Furthermore, the home run is an actual measure in baseball unlike the speed of a slap shot.

What’s my point?

We Loved The Long Ball No Matter What

My main point is that everyone hates on the players who took steroids, but, while it is mostly their fault, the fans were the ones who made it seem like it was more important to hit a home run than be a solid ball player. Hitting the long ball is one of the only ways to be widely popular. Think about it, a player who hits 50 home runs is going to get a heck of  a lot more attention than a player who hits 15 no matter what the other stats say. So, I understand that we can blame the players for taking whatever it is they took, but it is us who made it seem like it was the way to become popular.

How else can you compete with that power?

When I look at the home run derby, I see exactly why baseball players started using what they used. For most players, it was the only way to compete with someone like a Prince Fielder, and, hey, if you weren’t hitting it far, it didn’t really matter. People can try to debunk this theory by claiming that players are always appreciated by the little things they do outside of home runs. My counter would be that that belief is true in the hometown. Outside of the local fans though, the only real way to become a popular ball player is to hit the long ball. By doing that, you get on SportsCenter, people write articles about you, and you slowly gain the following from outside of the hometown.

I think things have somewhat changed, but back in the late nineties, I remember the only real thing you would hear about was the home run leaders of the time. Obviously, the fans didn’t cause any of the doping to ocurr, but, let’s be honest with ourselves, we didn’t help prevent it.