Columnist Steve Carp: Welcome to the latest pastime

Steve Carp

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998 | 10:39 a.m.

WITH ALL the great things happening, you would think this is the best baseball season in decades, maybe ever.

Apparently, on-the-field success isn't enough to carry the day. There have to be a few flies in the ointment.

One day, it's Mark McGwire being accused of tainting his pursuit of Roger Maris' home run record by using an over-the-counter supplement, which is legal from Major League Baseball's perspective.

Now, it's umpires receiving autographed items from ballplayers and using them to allegedly enhance their lifestyles. Don't ask what's next. You probably don't want to know.

But here's something you should know. These practices have been going on for years. Yet all of a sudden, they're issues. It's as if we're not happy unless we have something to complain about.

Instead of a great story like the Anaheim Angels' dogged determination to win the American League West, the big news is how AL ump Al Clark allegedly received a dozen signed baseballs from Yankees pitcher David Wells following his perfect game, and in turn sold them to a sports memorabilia dealer.

Instead of focusing on McGwire's chase of Maris' record of 61 home runs, we get a lesson in "Chemistry for Dummies." Doctors are coming out of the woodwork saying androstenedione is harmful, though nobody knows for sure what it can do to a person's system in the long run -- because it hasn't been around long enough for anyone to really find out.

Besides, just as you can find a doctor to say it's no good, you can find one who will tell you just the opposite. Happens in court every single day as "expert" witnesses are flown in to testify in hundreds of cases.

And haven't players tried various things over the years, legal and illegal, to give them a leg up on the competition? That's not to condone anyone or anything but to merely point out this isn't a new phenomenon.

As for the umps, it has been a common practice for years to ask a player to sign a bat or a ball. Usually it goes to the ump's nephew or something like that. Or maybe a charity benefits from the item, if he decides to donate it.

But apparently, it's for personal gain. All baseball has to do is treat the umps like others. On the back of every media credential, it explicitly says -- "No Autographs Permitted." And it is accepted as law. Let the umps know the policy is in effect for them, too.

In both cases, you can say it's morally wrong to look for a competitive edge or seek out favors with the veiled threat of retribution lurking. If baseball wants to avoid such negative images, all it needs to do is tighten the rules, instead of playing ostrich and sticking its collective head in the sand.

Ban the andro. Put the kibosh on the signed bats. Hold everyone accountable for their actions. Of course, that means standing up to both the Players Association on the andro and creatine and the umpires union on the freebies. So don't look for that to happen anytime soon.

That said, let's stop making federal cases out of insignificant matters and get back to putting the focus on the field, where it should be. Or are we that cynical that we can't accept someone or something enjoying a little success?