Sosa likely gone for good

[Talking Poker]

Actually, I think it does roll over to the next season, technically.

Sadly, I'm in the same boat as you guys. I was a HUGE baseball fan as a kid and all through high school. But it's just not the same any more... I just don't care.

[junYUN]

i love baseball... although i've had to ride some highs and lows of the sport i still love the game. that said.. sammy is a disgrace to the game really. all the years he was a great hitter he could never lead his team to greatness.. and his bloated contract and equally bloated ego led to the sour taste he left in fans mouths.

that said, sammy was pretty much the best there was from '97-'02

[Dodoubled]

I think Sosa's inflated hat size, biceps and forearms did more damage to the game than his inflated ego. If any of you ever get the chance, check out his '90 Donruss rookie card. While you're at it, check out Barry Bonds' '87 Topps card, too. It's like a Screech-to-A.C. Slater transition over the years. Wow.

Speaking of baseball cards, did anyone here save all theirs hoping to pay for their childrens' college education one day? I think my '87 Topps set is still worth the 22 bucks it was worth back in 1988. Maybe less. By now, I figured it would fetch at least a grand, what with stellar rookies like McGwire, B.J. Surhoff, John Kruk and Raffy, et. al.

[redbank09]

my girlfriend got us weekend tickets behind home plate for the braves and marlins in may for valetinesday. as much as the steroid dumbasses hurt the game, it is still so much fun to get drunk and sit at a game. i dont care what happens ill still enjoy that. of course everything is fun drunk though

[Dodoubled]

True, true. I do still enjoy going to the games for all the cool things to do. The new Phillies ballpark is sweet. I could do without the six-dollar beers, but I suppose that's just the price of convenience these days. I still can go through five or six without a problem, hop on the subway and be at another bar in minutes after the game.

And, every now and then, some great things do happen. I saw several walk-off home runs two years ago as well as an inside-the-park home run, and three years ago, I remember heading to Veterans Stadium one day by myself because I was bored on a nice, balmy Sunday, purchasing a 700 level seat and proceeding to watch Kevin Millwood throw a no-hitter. (I made sure to call ALL the friends who earlier in the day had told me they were too busy with "yard work" to come to the game.)

There are plenty of great things about baseball that will keep people coming back. I just think that over the past several years, it committed the ultimate sin -- cheapening its past for the sake of its present. In other words, selling out the one thing on which baseball has relied: its tradition, unparalled by any other sport. And no matter what Kenesaw Mountain Landis or A. Bartlett Giamatti may have implied, that's more damaging than any Series fixing scandal or Pete Rose betting debacle can ever be.
Like any other baseball fan, I was on the edge of my seat for the HR chase in '98, and even looked at Sosa and a select few others as sure-fire Hall of Famers. Now, I don't even know who to root for. I can make some broad-based assumptions, but then again, that's all they are.

I still play fantasy baseball and enjoy it -- at least until late July when the grind gets really, really tough.

I grew up a Yankees fan, but by the time they lost the Series in 2001, I had gotten so sick of seeing them win that I actually was glad to see Arizona beat them. I root for the Phillies now because they seem pure, at least on the surface.

As the years go on, I wonder if the last, great innocent moment in baseball was seeing Ripken circle Camden Yards after breaking The Streak. Contrived as it may have been, a 22-minute standing ovation is still a 22-minute standing ovation. And, steriods or not, seeing Bonds rip that home run in the 2002 Series against Anaheim into the night sky and seeing the camera catch Tim Salmon mouth, "THAT IS THE FARTHEST BALL I HAVE EVER SEEN HIT" was downright awesome.

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. Oh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come."

I'd like to see it happen again, Terrence. Unfortunately, it's going to take more than a cornfield ballpark to get the magic back.

[GTDawg]

I gotta say, I'm a little biased towards baseball considering my job.

However, I can say that being around the players shows you a love for the game that you can't find anywhere else on the planet.

Those guys eat sleep and live baseball. Before games and after games...most of them find joy in every little aspect about baseball and to see the work that goes in to a single game, let alone a season...it's pretty damn cool.

That being said, the late 90s was a very bad time for baseball. Bonds/McGwire/Sosa...it was rough and the resulting scandals is a big black eye after they recovered from the strike.

Sammy's numbers are quite inflated and he never could get over the hump of Cubs management. It's always been a stigma with the way the team is run. And, suddenly forgetting how to speak english on capitol hill along with cork didn't really help the situation.

I'm hoping the WBC brings some new joy back to the game and, hopefully, with some of the inflated steroid numbers retiring, we can put the past few years behind us (all-star game tie, steroid policy, stupid players association leadership).

The playoffs have been kickass the past few years. The home run derby was insanely popular with the players again.

The sport was damn near dead 12 years ago and it came back. Here's hoping it happens again.

[Dodoubled]

What do you do, GT?

[Hawt]

Yeah I got every box set from like 87 when i was born to 94 from my uncle sadly they are probably worth less now than they were then.