ethics

Now in order to fully understand cheating in baseball and the impact it has had on

baseball, we must first fully understand how cheating is viewed in the ethical world of sports.

There are many books that discuss the ethics involved in sports. One is from author James H.

Humphrey, whose book Issues in Contemporary Athletics. (New York: Nova Science

Publishers, 2007), looks out how this code of ethics plays out in intercollegiate sports, and

examines, “what are the criteria for an effective code of ethics.” Humphrey states his own

view, that “codes of ethics vary in their impact on behavior in a variety of contexts.” This

displays his view that there is no one true set of ethics, its varies from sport to sport.

The book Sport, Play, and Ethical Reflection. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006), takes things a step further, as author Randolph Feezell goes as far as to suggest that, “ cheating maybe be acceptable” in sports, going so far as to state that he feels ,” cheating is a central part of sportsmanship.” Feezell’s reasoning is that it is hard to define what exactly counts as cheating. He mentions how, “there are all sorts of subtle illegalities that are not only accepted but recommended as suitable strategy.” Feezell backs this with examples of varies sports, such as golf, in which “golfers are allowed to rub the front face of his driver in Vaseline for better control.” As Feezell suggests, in any other sport this would be considered cheating. When it comes to baseball, Feezell makes the point that men like Gaylord Perry and on Sutton were pitchers known to “throw a spitball –actually a doctored ball- for many years, and are now Hall of Famers.” Feezell makes a lot of great points about h...

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...ting in baseball. Through the literature surveyed there is this clear notion of the importance that integrity and purity play in the game. There is no question that cheating scandals like the Black Sox have changed the game in ways both good and bad. After reading so many various opinions, there is no doubt that many of these subjects, such as Joe Jackson and Pete Rose, are still controversial to this day. Another discovery is that while ethics play an important role in sports, there is no clear cut definition of what is defined as ethical, and that is important to realize when trying to determine the effect of cheating on not only baseball, but sports in general. Therefore, through surveying this paper, one should get a clear understanding on the works available on this subject, as well as an overview of the ideas and themes intertwined amongst them.