America loves to hear about scandals, cheating or someone bending the rules to get to the top. It's ingrained in the very fabric of our country. We can talk about our desire for purity in the game all we want, we love hearing the dirt. But, back to our roots and how 'cheating" is ingrained in America from its inception. For those history buffs out there now is the time to recall the Revolutionary War. We here in America used some 'innovative" tactics in our fight with the British. Instead of lining-up one soldier after another in uniform rows, we decided to use more guerilla tactics. Some would say that's a lot smarter than standing in a line in an open field just waiting to get shot and I agree. But, if you ask the British at the time, we were 'cheating", breaking the 'rules of war".

   The point of that brief history lesson is this, as Americans we have a history of doing whatever is necessary to come out on top. Baseball is no different. Since the early days of baseball players have always done things outside the rules to come out on top. But let's start with a scandal in baseball that was the result of players trying not to come out on top, at least not on the field, the 1919 Black Sox's scandal.

   Without a doubt this is the biggest scandal in the history of baseball. That year White Sox players threw the World Series to achieve greater finical rewards. I won't go into all the details of the scandal, since most baseball fans know the basics of this. But, it's amazing that 87 years later we still know about it and continue to talk about it. It involved some of the legends of the game, Shoeless Joe Jackson to name one, and was earth shattering news. Why we love it? In a way we love it and still talk about it because the players did something very capitalistic, they did what they had to, to make the most money they could. That's capitalism, one of the corner stones of our country. Do you really think that the Rockefellers and Vanderbilt's played squarely by the rules to amass their fortunes? No, they some times had to bend or break rules to get where they were.

   One thing I must admit though about those gentleman is that some of the business tactics they used at the time weren't illegal, but rather were made illegal as a result. This is the case of baseball's most beloved icon, Babe Ruth. For those who don't know, The Babe is the reason that such items as the corked bat are illegal in baseball. They became illegal after it was found he used a trick bat during a game in 1923. The bat in question was not a corked bat, it was a lamented bat. The Babe was never caught with a corked bat, but that doesn't mean he didn't use one. Just take this anecdote, 'According to Dan Gutman in It Ain't Cheatin' If You Don't Get Caught, the Seattle players were admiring the bat when outfielder Dave Henderson noticed that the round end of the bat didn't exactly match the wood of the barrel. The end was cracked, but the rest of the bat was not.

   'That's a plug!' said Henderson. ‘This bat is corked.' "

   Having the rules changed to prevent certain types of play that we now consider cheating is not a new thing. Just ask any pitcher from long ago. Doctoring the ball was not the exception, it was the rule. It doesn't make those pitchers cheaters, but today we would consider a pitcher doing that cheating. We love to talk about cheating in Baseball even when it isn't really cheating. Hello, Pete Rose, do you hear me. Betting on baseball, although not smart, isn't necessarily cheating. But even being involved in a position to cheat is enough for baseball to consider you a cheat.

   Baseball made an example of Rose, just like it did the Black Sox. Baseball wants to distance itself from that behavior, but bottom line is that we are still talking about both, and for a good portion of people, those subjects are probably talked about more than anything currently happening in baseball. This brings me to the current scandal, Steroids. I will not say I condone the use of steroids, I certainly do not. It is just the latest attempt for players to get ahead by bending the rules. But even this wasn't banned by baseball until recent years. But, what drama this all has caused and we as Americans love that drama.

   This scandal is so far stretching that even Congress got involved. Maybe so because they are still trying to wipe the stain of their 'original sin" off. Bottom line, America and baseball have always been at least 'innovators" in their attempts to gain the upper hand. We love baseball because it does parallel our country. Whether it is Watergate, Whitewater, Teapot Dome, The Black Sox or steroids, we are always intrigued. Baseball, America and 'Cheating" go hand in hand.

You can reach Derek Miller @ thesaint@featurepresentationonline.com.