If you try to cheat but 45 years later physics proves that your "cheating" actually hurt you, are you still a cheater?
I'm only 35, so Mantle was retired 15+ years by the time I was truly watching baseball, but it seems to me that things like corking, spitballs, etc were a lot more accepted before 1980.
Was anyone actually penalized in a game before 1980 for "cheating"? We can all remember Phil Neikro, George Brett, Sosa, etc... but before cameras recorded every second of every game perhaps it was just part of the game.
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