What’s more impressive: Barry Bonds smacking 73 home runs in a season while smearing on “the cream” and “the clear,” or Babe Ruth swatting 60 dingers while draining Jim Beam and beer?

Well, if you’re a typical baseball fan, you can argue that one for hours, and at the end you’ll remain a baseball fan. As ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd said, “Baseball fans are like crack addicts.” Major League Baseball and the players union know this and have demonstrated the conscience of a drug dealer. How do they know this?

In 1972, a players’ strike delayed the start of the season by 13 days. In the middle of the 1981 season, the players walked out for 50 days. In 1985, the players struck for two days. In 1994, the players walked out in August, and the World Series was canceled.

Each time the fans grumbled but returned for their fix. It didn’t matter that their concerns were ignored. It didn’t matter that the players grew more obnoxious and less law-abiding. It didn’t matter that ticket prices skyrocketed. Just like junkies, baseball fans shed their dignity just to catch another buzz, no matter the cost.

And, as it turns out, the very heroes they cheered were also on something. Mark McGwire jolted baseball back into the forefront with his 1998 assault on the single season home-run record. Never mind that he was taking a substance that’s since been banned. Ken Caminiti was the National League’s best player in 1996. He later admitted to using steroids and having a drug addiction. He died this year of a heart attack at age 41.

In recent days, leaked grand jury testimony reveals that Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds have used performance-enhancing drugs. This was a bombshell only to those in deep denial, only to those hooked on the juice of a superhuman home run.

Bonds’ body went through a radical transformation as he approached age 40.

His head and face look like they’ve been pumped full of air. And yet, the denial was rampant. He crushed longtime baseball records and collected the game’s highest honors. And now we know he cheated.

Will fans care? They should, but the only way they can save the game is to go cold turkey.

The rigged feats would stop if few people were there to witness them. But are fans strong enough? Or, will they allow themselves to be used yet again?

It’s tempting to say that honest baseball players – “our guys” – don’t deserve the black eye they’re getting from this scandal, but that is false.

The players’ union has aggressively fought off the type of drug-testing that has exposed track athletes and prevented steroid scandals in football and basketball. Until the honest players can stand up to their brethren, they should share the blame.

Pete Rose was banned from Major League Baseball not so much because he gambled but because he damaged the integrity of the game. Barry Bonds and other sluggers have diminished the game, too.

Fans need to watch closely what happens next. If history is any judge, they’ll need to sober up and walk out on baseball.