Can Congress Save Baseball?

When I was nine years old, I told my dad that I was going to be the first female pitcher in the majors. Never mind that the only thing I'd ever pitched was a fit; I knew even then I loved baseball.

When my youth group gathered in our church's basement in 1991 to watch the Atlanta Braves take on the Twins, the girls spent most of their time hoping Josh or Bob or whomever noticed how their little Braves t-shirts showed off their newly developing curves. I, on the other hand, wearing my lovely black United Colors of Benetton sweatshirt had only two concerns: where was the pizza and what time did the game start?

On October 14, 1992, I sat in the floor of my parents bedroom rocking back and forth, eyes glued to the set. My three other siblings were sound asleep. How, I'll never know; so much was on the line. In the bottom of the ninth inning, my Atlanta Braves had one last shot. Francisco Cabrera stepped up to the plate, a moment I'm sure he'd rehearsed since his little league days. Seconds later, Sid Bream was sliding and my mom was rushing into the room to quiet my excited screams. With tears in my eyes, jumping up and down, I shouted over and over, "We did it! We did it!"

Just a few examples of my love for the game. Let me repeat. I love baseball. Love it. And, yes, I am as upset about the recent findings of the Mitchell report as the next fan. That is why it might shock you to find out that it hasn't tempered my love of the sport or my excitement about the upcoming season. Why? Because I believe that most of those who play baseball respect the game and do not abuse performance enhancing drugs.

That being said should those who do abuse be punished? Sure. Should the game be cleaned up? Absolutely. Is it Congress's responsibility to do so? NO! Someone please tell me why the leaders of the free world are sitting in a room grilling baseball players and trainers about whether or not they abused steroids. Have they nothing better to do? If they are itching to clean something up, have you seen the U.S./Mexican border...has anyone watched prime-time television lately...been inside a school house?

Are we so above real-life problems in this nation that instead of trying to figure out how to prevent terrorism, our leaders are trying to clean up baseball. Really?! Baseball. Um...that is what keeps me lying awake at night...is Roger Clemens lying? No, actually, what keeps me up at night is worrying about whether my 2-year-old daughter will one day be offered meth by some creepy dealer on her way to school. Or am I safe within the borders of my own country? I'll bet if you interviewed any Joe off the street the state of American baseball would not top his list of great concerns.

And who is paying for these investigations, these plights into the depths of the nation's baseball problem? You are my friend. Your hard-earned tax dollars are being spent to try and figure out whether Roger is really lying, if Petite used, if McGwire's abused. Please don't misunderstand. I am not being flippant about drug abuse. I just don't think that Congress should be the one wielding the broom that is going to sweep baseball clean. They nab Clemens and Bonds on perjury charges; do they now go after Sosa, McGwire, and all the other scoundrels who knowingly lied under oath?

Is Congress really worried about little Johnny using because Clemens did or are they protecting their own investment...the game of baseball? Who knows, but instead of hunting for witches on the diamond, let's hunt for the real ghosts and goblins that hide beyond the alleys of our school yards looking for kids to hook. I think baseball can take care of its own with an actual drug policy that includes true consequences for breaking the rules. And Congress, could we please focus on more important things, like your 11% approval rating?

And the winner is....

Perhaps you've heard that Barry Bonds is poised to hit home run number 755 any minute now, matching Hank Aaron's record, but did you also know that this particular record is the "most hallowed record in all of sports"? I didn't until I was listening to Fox Gametime Saturday on my way home from running errands. That is when I heard the news, that the home run record had been crowned "most hallowed". Since then, in all of the endless chatter about why Bonds should or shouldn't receive credit for the record, I've heard almost every other expert give it this title, as well. Why is that, and will there be an ESPY?

Perhaps I need more to do, but I've just been pondering why this particular record is the most hallowed. Is there a specific set of criteria that makes one record more hallowed than the next? Is most hallowed also the most important? Does it mean it is the most difficult record to break? Would the home run record be receiving that solemn title if everyone's favorite hero, not baseball's favorite villain, were about to break it?

If it is degree of difficulty, then why is Joe Dimaggio's impressive 56 game hit streak record not a contender for the title? The closest anyone has come to breaking that was Pete Rose's 44 hits in 1978. And come on, Ted Williams's .400 season has never been duplicated. Why is the most hallowed title given to a baseball record? It isn't even the most popular sport and is probably losing popularity as I write this.

Football and NASCAR seem to be the juggernauts of popular sports, so why aren't any of their records up for the challenge. It seems that winning the most races of all time is a pretty big accomplishment, and most rushing yards, sacks in a season, touchdowns scored, all impressive records. Let's not leave out our less popular but equally difficult sports. Will anyone else ever match Lance Armstrong's 7 Tour de France titles? It could be the doping scandal cloud hanging over baseball, I mean cycling, that keeps this record from becoming the most hallowed.

It is just food for thought. We tend to jump on the chance to declare one athlete better than another, one sport more difficult than the next, and now our records compete for most or best. Will the home run record continue to hold this honor the closer Alex Rodriguez gets to breaking whatever Bonds's magic number is when he finally retires? Will it some how lose its hallowed-ness the more often it is broken? Before I'm convinced and award it my most hallowed title, I think I'll just put an asterisk beside this one and see if something more impressive comes along.