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A16 sports
Thursday 27 January 2022
Baseball harmed itself more than Bonds ever did

By JIM LITKE wasn’t. Fans alienated by
AP Sports Columnist the truncated 1994 sea-
Whatever harm Barry son and lost World Series
Bonds did to baseball pales that year stubbornly stayed
in comparison to the dam- away from ballparks upon
age baseball inflicted on baseball’s return. At least
itself both at the time and at first. But then, in short or-
since. So say what you will der, Bonds and Sosa and
about the steroids era, at Mark McGwire began rou-
least the games were still tinely launching baseballs
worth watching. where none had gone be-
You can’t say that about fore and people flocked
baseball today, assuming back to watch. Baseball
it’s even available on a didn’t just get its mojo back
TV set where you live. The — remember the Nike ad,
sport’s popularity is buck- “Chicks dig the long ball”?
ling faster than the knees — suddenly it was hip, too.
of a hitter fooled by Clay- Now, of course, we know
ton Kershaw’s curveball. what fueled that rocket
The national audience for ship. There’s still no reli-
last season’s World Series able number for how many
— roughly 12 million view- players used performance-
ers — was less than half enhancing drugs, but
what it was barely two de- Bonds and the rest of the
cades ago. A friend tried inflatable sluggers so domi-
to put the best face on San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds celebrates after hitting his 756th career home run against the nated the screen that no-
that vanishing act by say- Washington Nationals during the fifth inning of their baseball game in San Francisco, on Aug. 7, body thought to look at the
2007.
ing baseball has become a Associated Press players in the background.
“regional” game; that’s just For every slugger like Rafael
another way of saying it’s strike. People on both sides how to throw two pitches Major League Baseball’s Palmeiro who got busted
on the road to becoming a of the labor-management anymore, fast and faster. latest effort to examine while cashing in the big
niche sport. divide got rich, which is Hitters have become a how and where the game bucks, there were plenty
If you drew up a list of things why nobody bothered to procession of strikeouts, could be tweaked to help more Ryan Franklins, then
that would make baseball ask where all the pyrotech- interrupted by the oc- lure back longtime fans a 32-year-old journeyman
better tomorrow, reckoning nics came from. casional solo home run. and attract a new genera- reliever just trying to make
with its past would be lucky In case you haven’t heard, No one bothers to run the tion. The plan is to avoid the one more paycheck.
to make it. Yet it might help we’re already eight weeks bases anymore. If it looks kind of short-term fix that No matter, the owners paid
explain how we got here. into another lockout and as though players are sim- steroids provided last time. them all and looked the
Bonds and a few of his there are precious few signs ply standing around, that’s “No one is looking to re- other way because they
juiced fellow travelers — it will be settled before the because most of them are. invent the wheel here,” kept the turnstiles spinning.
notably Roger Clemens scheduled start of spring “This is a game designed Epstein said in the same Drug testing with penalties
and Sammy Sosa, whose el- training on Feb. 16. Even if to be played by nine men, interview. “This is the great- for positive tests began in
igibility on the writers’ ballot camps open by then, there not two,” is how Theo Ep- est game in the world and 2004 and though Bonds
for the Hall of Fame ran out isn’t nearly enough time — stein, the boy-wonder for- we want to preserve the es- always beat them, three
this year as well — put on a let alone will — to make im- mer general manager who sence. A lot of this is restor- years later not a single
fireworks show that pulled provements to the product ended World Series cham- ing the game to the way it’s team offered the 43-year-
the game out of a rut dug on the field. And the game pionship droughts in both historically been played.” old slugger a contract
when owners canceled the desperately needs over- Boston and Chicago, said Tradition was baseball’s even though he was still
remainder of the 1994 sea- hauling. last summer. strong suit for a century one of the best hitters in the
son after players went on Most pitchers only know Epstein is currently leading or so — until suddenly it game.q

Joshua receives offer to pull out of

rematch with Usyk

allow the Ukrainian to fight see the sense in it,” Hearn is in suspense while Fury,
Tyson Fury for the title of said on the DAZN Boxing the WBC champion, con-
undisputed world heavy- Show. “But with Anthony, cludes drawn-out nego-
weight champion, his pro- it’s never been a case of, tiations with Dillian Whyte,
moter said Wednesday. ‘Here’s some money, does the mandatory challenger,
Eddie Hearn said it might it tempt you?’ Because over a world title fight.
make sense for Joshua to he’s not about that. He’s The Fury and Whyte camps
agree to step aside and a throwback fighter. It’s have been unable to come
then fight the winner of about legacy.” to an agreement over the
Usyk-Fury. Hearn didn’t reveal the split of fight revenue and
Anthony Joshua of Britain waves to spectators after his defeat
to Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine in their WBA (Super), WBO and IBF “If the plan makes sense value of the offer but said the WBC granted them
boxing title bout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, from a development point it’s ultimately Joshua’s de- an extension of the nego-
on Sept. 25, 2021. of view — working with a cision: “AJ is the boss — he tiation period until Friday,
Associated Press new trainer, maybe hav- will rule it out or not rule it when purse bids will take
LONDON (AP) — Anthony fer to pull out of his rematch ing a fight first, going into a out.” place if no agreement has
Joshua has received an of- against Oleksandr Usyk to much bigger fight — I can The heavyweight division been reached. q