Yankees must never forget Barry Bonds, the needle, and the damage done

If Your Friends all Decided to Jump off of a Bridge…

First is his view on moral relativism; because others have cheated, there are and by right ought not to be rules. I have already dealt with this deeply flawed theory that seems destined to die by a thousand cuts from reasonable arguments.

My article is just one of many, most by more insightful thinkers than I. But I encourage you to read the full article excerpted from above, Mr. Jaffe’s article, and mine. And then draw your conclusions.

Jaffe’s next argument is that there has never been an even playing field. Hank Aaron might not be the home run king if he had not played against expansion teams in 1961 and 1968, or have such a home run friendly home park. I could believe that.

Nothing New Under the Sun

And I agree that there is no level playing field. How many more home runs might Willy Mays have hit had he not finished his career hitting into an unforgiving San Francisco bay wind? Would Joe Dimaggio’s numbers make him the greatest Yankees player of all time if he had not spent his late 20’s in the military?

Even Babe Ruth’s overwhelming offensive numbers do not reflect the true player. What would his home run total have been if he had played only offense starting in 1914, his first year in the majors? Instead, he was a pitcher first and only part-time position player until 1919.

That’s five lost years. Had he averaged a mere un-Ruthian additional twenty home runs each of those years, he would now have 814. Bonds, with all his steroids, still only hit 762.

When most Yankees fans think of these things, the general conclusion is that life can be unfair but that is what makes struggle and overcoming adversity so meaningful. It makes many respect those who have heroically responded to the vicissitudes of life.

When Bonds and Jaffe think of them, they see justification to lie and cheat to accomplish selfish ends.