I love baseball. I always have.

I hate cheaters.

Sadly, the sport I love has been spoiled by cheaters. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time and that makes me really sad. Maybe sad isn’t the right word. It definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Houston = cheaters. It seems very likely that Boston will also = cheaters. Possibly the New York Yankees and New York Mets will be found to = cheaters. How far does this really go? Will we ever really know?

This whole thing about stealing signs isn’t really a new thing, per se, but it’s how they did it. Secret cameras, analysis, and then relaying that information to batters is really underhanded.

There have been cheating scandals before. Steroids. Corked bats. Pine tar. “Foreign substances” on pitcher’s uniforms. It’s all been done before. But, in most cases, those were really done by individual players and often (we assume) not at the approval of management or others on the team.

That’s why this is different. This was organized, and systematic. It may have been “player driven,” but management approved it and implemented it.

I am headed to spring training in Arizona at the end of February for the first time. It’s been a goal of mine since I was little. I am looking forward to the trip because of the people I’ll be with and for the baseball, because I love the game.

But, I have to admit there is a little bit of me that thinks the pop of the glove, the smell of the grass, and the crack of the bat just don’t have quite the same appeal as they did before.

What do you think about the whole thing? Is it a big deal or not?