Posted By:
Al C.risafulliBryan, the thing I think is interesting about baseball is the reverence that its fans have for the game.
If you were to ask a fan of just about any sport the question "Who is the greatest of all time?", you will usually get the answer of a modern player. Jordan, Gretzky, Montana, Tiger Woods, etc. But if you were to ask the same question of a baseball fan, to answer with a modern player's name would be sacrelige.
I do find that interesting. When I list Barry Bonds in the top 5 of all-time, I usually get brutalized, and it's not only because of the steroids.
At the same time, I'm one of those people that thinks that baseball hasn't changed much at all. Sure, there have been cosmetic changes to the game - the DH, astroturf, weight training, raising and lowering the mound, bigger gloves, et. al, but the rules of the game are largely the same. I really think there have only been a couple of major changes to the game over its history:
1) Adopting 4 ball/3 strike counts
2) Replacing dirty balls during the game and outlawing the spitter
3) Letting everyone play, regardless of melanin content
I know that the above will probably generate a little ire, which is not my intent - I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that I agree, it's entirely possible to compare players of all eras, and although a fan might make allowances in his mind for a hitter in the deadball era, or a pitcher in the steroid era, it's still possible to get a rough picture in your mind of how Pedro Martinez might stack up against Dizzy Dean.
That's why I love baseball. It's like a huge novel, and each season is like a chapter that works both as a story unto itself and as a part of the bigger story.
-Al
EDIT: Yowch Peter, that's a pretty broad brush you're painting with.