It’s been a while since baseball was the top sport in America. There are a million reasons for that. With that said, baseball has always been held to a higher standard. Baseball has earned that right. 

Whether it was dragged to the point by outside forces, baseball has always been at the forefront. Despite its racist past, including the absurdly named “Gentleman’s Agreement,” baseball was the first major sport to integrate whwn Jackie Robinson began his Hall of Fame career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Baseball ensured we would never forget this moment by forever retiring 42 and by every player on every team wearing it on every April 15th. 

It’s part of the reason why when steroids became an issue, it was baseball, not football, that was dragged before Congress for very publicized hearings. Sure, the NFL were subject to the same hearings, but there was much less fanfare. 

The reason is that baseball has been held to a higher standard. It’s why people are still angry with Barry Bonds has every homerun record with the help of PEDs. It’s why people roll their eyes at the Steelers dynasty being fueled by steroids. There’s a higher moral standard applied to baseball than any other sport. 

Personally, I look at baseball being held to a higher standard as being good for the sport. It means baseball is still relevant in the public consciousness. It also puts itself on direct contrast to the NFL, who has seemingly had a rough year from a PR standpoint.  The last thing baseball would want to do is to take something that makes it unique and completely abandon it. The Aroldis Chapman trade threatens that. 

The NFL got beaten up over the Ray Rice scandal, and the Cowboys signing Greg Hardy. The NFL was linked to domestic violence. At the same time, MLB was being lauded for its new domestic violence policy. Again, MLB was attempting to establish itself as the league with a higher moral standard. As you can see, they seem to accept this responsibility. That’s why the Chapman trade is so baffling. You would think teams wouldn’t want to touch him with a 10 foot pole. Keep in mind here’s what has been alleged:

Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman allegedly fired eight shots in the garage of his Miami-area home following an October argument with his girlfriend in which she told police he “choked” her and pushed her against the wall, according to reports obtained by Yahoo Sports. 

In all seriousness, considering MLB’s domestic guidelines contain no maximum penalty, MLB should really consider a season long penalty. As with Jose Reyes, MLB cannot come out weak in this. To put it in perspective, people went nuts over Ray Rice being suspended 12.5% of the season, which would equate to 20 games. They weren’t happy with Greg Hardy being suspended 25% of the season, which would be 41 games. 

Now, we don’t know if the Dodgers backed out of their trade deal with the Reds due to moral grounds or due to the uncertainty of the length of the suspension. What we do know is that the domestic violence allegations didn’t deter the Yankees. No, the marquee franchise in baseball, perhaps in a of pro sports, traded for him. Not a joke of a franchise like the Marlins. No. He was obtained by The New York Yankees. In making the deal, the Yankees “did their due diligence”:

Cashman said Yankees did "due diligence" in researching Chapman's alleged domestic violence issue. Wouldn't speculate on possible suspension

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) December 28, 2015

What constitutes due diligence in this circumstance?  Can Chapman help the bullpen?  Does Chapman still throw 100 MPH?  Do we have to give up a lot to get him?  Do we care that he beats women?  

That’s it in a nutshell. The Yankees don’t care about what he did. They don’t care as long as he helps them. If the Marlins do this, we roll our eyes at the despicable Jeffrey Loria. However, these are the Yankees. Look, even as a Mets fan, I can appreciate what the Yankees are.  They’re the model franchise. They’re the gold standard. 

They’re now tarnished. Sure, this doesn’t take away the 27 championships. However, what it does signal to the world is that baseball’s most important franchise doesn’t care about domestic violence. That’s not good for baseball. Really, it’s not good for anybody. 

Of all the major pro sports, baseball is held to a higher standard. When the Yankees traded for Chapman, baseball failed to live up to that standard. I was a bad day for the Yankees. It was a bad day for baseball. 

The only way to rectify this is for Rob Manfred to hit Chapman with a massive suspension. How does one month for each gunshot sound?

Note: photo was from prior arrest for Chapman speeding with a suspended license. It was not from the domestic violence allegations.