Okay, so the news is out. A-Rod was a user. I love how they (the sports media outlets) call them PEDs -- performance enhancing drugs. Whatever happened to "steroids?"
Anyway, I have an opinion on all this. As a nearly life-long fan of the San Francisco Giants, you can imagine steroids have been a part of my recent life -- really since 1998. That was the year Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa fought to beat the home run record in a single season. It was amazing and was reported to have been the turning point in Barry Bond's decision point of whether or not to juice up. And juice up I believe he did. And I think he did it knowingly.
But I also believe that there were more than 104 players in MLB who took steroids during the 2003 baseball season (the time when A-Rod tested positive). It truly was the culture of baseball and it's completely (!) unfair for baseball to rake a few big-name players through the coals. Baseball loved it when McGwire and Sosa and Bonds juiced up to inflate home run numbers, and now they are using all those players as poster children for all that's wrong with baseball. It's unfair.
I don't think the records set by these players should be discarded. I don't think there should be any asterisks. While I certainly don't condone their use of steroids, I don't think baseball (or the Hall of Fame snobby baseball writers) should suddenly pretend they are above all this. You have your cake and eat it, too.
I just wish people like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmero, and Mark McGwire would have come out like Jason Giambi (and A-Rod) and admitted the steroid use. Giambi came back and played after his admission. None of those other guys did. The admission goes a LONG way toward a future job.
2 comments:
As much as I loved watching Mark McGuire play, it broke my heart when he was accused of taking steroids. I guess I disagree with you, Jess - I think it should be a fair game with all equal - so should all take steroids? As a fan, I was gravely disappointed in those I admired for their strength, agility and ability to play this game. I have become so soured by the "cheating" if you want to call it that, that I don't even care about baseball anymore. I have no desire to watch it and I used to be a big fan.
If you let them in the hall of fame, knowing that they used "enhanced" drugs, it wouldn't be fair to those who don't use it.
That's just my opinion and one that doesn't count for a whole lot.
Mom
Well, perhaps I'm a cynic, but I doubt any of the "great players" right now are clean. Those are the ones who would be going in to the Hall of Fame anyways. I view the Hall of Fame as a representation of baseball. It just so happens that baseball has been dirty lately.
My real problem is with MLB and the union, not the individual players, per se.
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