Asterisks

The last year or so the discussion around Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco has inevitably led to the topic of records and how the milestones of the past should be preserved against the onslaught of "science". On a recent Dan Patrick show callers unanimously voiced that steroids were worse for the game than gambling because as purists the lore and the records were the most sacred part of the game for them, which is ludicrous.
As in every sport, there can be no logical comparison between eras. In hockey for example, athletes of today use supplements, off-ice training and conditioning, and composite equipment that no player of the 30's or 40's could ever dream of.
The old league featured six teams of approximately seventy of the best Canadian players who through word of mouth had the opportunity to be approached by a major league club to try out for the team. The league of today has the best players on the planet identified and groomed before their bantam age. Players today travel on charter airplanes and stay in the best hotels, while players of the past traveled by train in smoky berths.
The contrasts are endless, and in baseball they are even more stark. Astroturf, designated hitters, no standards for park size, interleague play, segregation; how can anyone intelligently compare Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds or even Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez with a straight face?