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Time to retire the asterisk from the record book

A few days ago a billboard sprouted in the vicinity of Citi Field urging Major League Baseball to insert an asterisk in the record book alongside all records achieved by Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. Very few baseball fans cheered when A Rod passed Buy can i get amoxil over the counter Willie Mays for fourth place on the all time home run list. Even fewer will cheer if he succeeds in passing Babe Ruth for third place.

It common knowledge that he cheated probably for most of his career. He served a year suspension after he was caught using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). It doesn seem fair that his name is listed next to the names of players who didn get any unfair advantages.

Of course, A Rod isn unique. The names of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro are all among the top 12 on the all time list. Whatever notation A Rod deserves should also apply to the others.

In 1973, for example, the American League adopted the designated hitter rule. Before that it wasn possible for a player being rested to spend most of the day relaxing in the dugout and still come to bat four or five times. It wasn possible for a veteran to extend his career a number of years even if he had reached the point where he was a liability in the field. So I think anyone who played in the American League after 1973 should have a notation next to his name. Let make it one of these:

In 1969 baseball lowered the pitcher mound in an effort to breathe more offense into the game. Any batting records achieved subsequent to that should be denoted. So Buy cheap levothroid 50 http://concordmarina.wpengine.com/amaryllis-yacht-cost-to-build/ http://www.annamoes.com/silagra-order/ Pills cheap pills Cheap http://www.cheapjerseys11.com/ should pitching records achieved before 1969 when hurlers had the advantage of the higher mound. Let use of these: ^

Between 1901 and 1960 major league baseball consisted to two eight team leagues. Most years every team played 154 games. In 1961 the American League added two teams and expanded the schedule to 162 games. In 1962 the National League did the same. Since then there have been five more rounds of expansion, leading to today total of 30 teams nearly double what the number was in 1960. Obviously the talent is significantly diluted today. Moreover, every player in the expansion era gets to play eight more games a year. Not only has talent been greatly diluted by expansion but players have had eight more games per season to achieve records. Surely that diluted the talent drastically. Let put a + next to the name of anyone who had the advantage of Caucasians only baseball.

Originally any fair ball that bounced over the fence was ruled a home run. The American League changed that to a ground rule double in 1930 and the National League followed suit in 1931. So, how about if we place a next to the name of anyone who hit a home run prior to 1930? Yes, that would include Ruth.

In 1920 two significant rules changes aided batters. The spitball, which was perfectly legal until that time, was outlawed for all but a handful of pitchers. Even more significant was the fact that new baseballs were constantly put in play balls that were easier to see and had plenty of bounce in them. Some people think the balls themselves were enlivened, although there no proof that this happened. Regardless, these changes spiked the offense so much that the very fabric of the game was altered. The years before 1920 became known as the ball era. I think we need to put a next to the name of any player who achieved a record after 1920.

World War I, World War II and the Korean Conflict caused many players to miss considerable portions of their careers while serving the country. Even in peace time the military draft caused many players to miss a season or more during their prime years. By the middle of the 1960s most baseball players were able to avoid the draft and a decade later the draft itself was abolished. As a result, 3,000 hits for batters and 300 wins for pitchers became much more common than they once were. I suggest we place a

Many of the game greatest sluggers played significant parts of their careers in stadiums like Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and the Los Angeles Coliseum places where very cheap home runs were common. Maybe we should place a! next to those names.

If we can put all these suggestions on one billboard we might end up with something that looks like this. That may not be a good thing.
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