Broadcasts by the MLB Network crew, FS1, and ESPN have continued a campaign to unwrite the steroid/performance-enhancing drug scandal of the early 2000’s. For the Field of Dreams game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins, the MLB Network crew took their show on the road and on Netflix. It was the latest in a series of attempts to make us forget who cheated: the game, their opponents, the real all-time record-holders, and us as fans.

The pregame featured an appearance by Barry Bonds -and not one, but two questions asking almost exactly the same thing. Both were designed to give the disgraced, career-home-run fraud chances to talk about how he really, really loved the game. Twice, he got to tug at heartstrings telling how baseball brought he and his father, Bobby together, while totally ignoring the fact that the younger Bonds was a terrible, selfish teammate, that he isn’t in the Hall of Fame for a reason, nor how his best pal went to prison rather than testify in his trial related to the BALCO PED scandal.

With Bonds part of the broadcast, it might as well be a Field of Schemes broadcast. Bonds’ mug made another appearance during a video montage that accompanied a reading by Field of Dreams actor, Kevin Costner. Hank Aaron -the legitimate all-time home run leader- can be seen hitting number 715 to pass Babe Ruth. Bonds’ 756th is then a blip on the screen, almost like how movie theaters used to show single-frame clips of popcorn and snacks to increase sales in the 1950s. It was shameful. Aaron is still the real king. Aaron Judge is the real single-season home-run-record-holder. Make no mistake. Aaron knew it and said so when he was alive. Judge can’t or won’t say where his rightful place in the record books is. But, the announcers and networks are telling you something different. You are being sold something here, and it’s not the truth.

The attempted white-washing of the steroid era continued when Roger Clemens joined the broadcast. When it comes to “terrific stories,” said Vasgersian, there are “none better” than Clemens and son, Kody, an infielder for the Minnesota Twins. Really? None better? Clemens was named multiple times in the Mitchell Report investigating steroids and was charged with lying to Congress about using PEDs. Bonds was convicted of his charges, but had the conviction overturned on a technicality. Clemens was acquitted of his charges after prosecutorial conduct was unveiled. Though found not guilty, Clemens story is hardly a feel-good story and baseball writers have kept him out of the Hall for a reason. His interaction with his son during the game and his interaction with the announcers was entertaining. But, it also made me angry. I made a living telling the truth and not letting my station’s advertisers affect my judgment. The MLB-paid broadcasters don’t have the independent voice needed to be truly objective. Anyone young enough to not be aware of the PED era would never know the other side of the two former players that were given center stage on a nationally-broadcast event.

The hiring of Pete Rose started all of this. After years of lying to the public about his gambling on games, he finally came clean. FOX Sports hired him in 2015 to weigh in on the sport, even though he had spent the previous 26 years lying to anyone who would listen.

Alex Rodriguez was the next disgraced player to provide “insights” for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. Think MLB isn’t behind any of this? MLB.com made the announcement. His insights aren’t the important thing to this campaign. His steady appearance and constant, “Gosh you were a great player” interactions with David Ortiz are what the people behind this rewriting are looking for. Me? I can’t stand to watch or listen. And when I do, just to see if he’s still a tool, the comments are typically over-generalized with far too many references to how great he was. His participation totally ignores what a jerk he was on the field and how he tried to bully Major League Baseball with lawsuits and attacks until he finally accepted his suspension for testing positive for PEDs.

It’s sad watching professionals fall all over themselves in the presence of “greatness” that has been proven in multiple venues to have been obtained by fraud and deceit. These “professionals” diminish the profession and leave many of us looking for new ways to watch the sport we love without having to be subjected to their ham-handed, vacuous, disingenuous broadcasting.