The Tyranny of the Stat Card: The 'Purity' of Numbers in Baseball as a Form of Social Control

• In Event: Scholar to Scholar II

Abstract

In the summer of 1998, Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' single season home run record. Initially, McGwire was lauded as a heroic figure. It was only after allegations of steroid usage surfaced that McGwire’s status as champion was challenged. This paper seeks to examine the nostalgic communication that surrounded McGwire both during and after the home run chase to see how baseball’s past has been used as a tool to socially control the present.

Author

• Brian Swafford, Ohio University