Players from the past: their downfall in baseball

Looking through old team programs sold at ball parks 15 to 20 years ago, baseball jerseys, and baseball cards show once reputable names such as Daryl Strawberry, Bo Jackson, Bret Saberhagen, Doc Gooden, Jose Canseco, Darren Dalton, and Joe Carter. They've all experienced their share of glory in the game. Where are they now? That's right, nobody really cares. These players once brought joy to the game, now some are resented and hated with a passion. It's doesn't take long for players to go from being fan favorites to the worst disregarded, uninspiring, irrevelant men in sports. That's not to say that guys like Joe Carter weren't likeable during their career, it's just that the majority of fans today don't hold them in high esteem or ranked them in the top 20 of favorite ball players. Fans get too wrapped up in games sometimes and take out their frustrations on certain players. Aftering witnessing continous bone head plays or displays of pathetic hitting performances fans get heated. Before long this turns into a rage of hosility that builds each game. This is when players are ridiculed over and over in the stands, receive death threats in the mail, and are on the verge of their baseball career collasping.

Bouncing back from criticism and hatred isn't easy and only some of the best athletes can do it. It's seems to be a a pattern in the major leagues with players taking a downward spiral in their elusive careers. A lot of star players from the past used illegal drugs as a crutch, maybe for pain relief, confidence builder, or performance enhancer and ball players still are being caught red-handed breaking the rules. This actually shouldn't come as a surprise when guys who are slim and tall transform into wide-necked, bulky shouldered and tree-trunk-legged oxes and start hitting homeruns in bunches. People sooner or later know something is up. They're impressed only but for so long until they find out that players cheated to gain an advantage over the competition. Names of the game from years past can sit back and watch how baseball remains the same in some aspects and say, "Hey, I got for busted for that too and a few years later my career went down the drain."