What happened to the good old days of baseball?

What ever happened to the good old days of baseball? The days when home runs meant so much more than they do now, when players did everything in their power to make their team win and were cherished to the point they might be considered gods.

What ever happened to the good days of Hank Aaron's non-stop home run power, Nolan Ryan's no-hitters, Carlton Fisk's game-winning homerun of the '75 World Series, the close one run games, and the days when everyone took joy in playing for the major leagues?

It seems that in the past couple of years, those memories are just distant thoughts in the back of our minds.

With the thought of a strike looming, the ownership and players in constant fights, it takes away from the glory of baseball. That's what the game should really be, and what it was meant to be.

Some people grow up on the game, others just start to grow attracted at an older age.

Along with the other problems baseball is facing right now, steroids is a big issue as well. Rumors abound on who takes steroids and who doesn't. Former player, Ken Caminiti, came straight out and said about 50 percent of baseball players take steroids, but a week later he took that comment back. Should steroids be banned?

The idea that baseball is a fan's game is lost in the constant lack of leadership in the game. Is Bud Selig such a horrible commissioner or could someone really do better? Are the majority of owners just pigs that love the thought of money, and survive off of the welfare of baseball and the stock market?

As a fan, I must ask myself these important questions --

What happened to the good times of baseball? Was the homerun rivalry between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire the last great moment baseball we'll ever see? Will baseball survive another strike?

Are we living the great moments that the next generation of young kids will hear about from their fathers? Will such stars as Pedro Martinez, and Curt Schilling be talked about as much as pitchers such as Dizzy Dean or Babe Ruth in 90 years?

As many questions as we fans have, we know one thing for sure. Baseball isn't what it used to be.

With it's current status now, all we can do is hope someday it will regain popularity, and someday reign with great impact on every American family as it once did.