In a time where the word "steroids" has become somewhat of a swear-word in sports, it is amazing to look at how differently certain players have been portrayed and treated, based on the team(s) that they are affiliated with. When the topic of steroids is brought up among sports discussion-circles, there are a handful of key names that come up with it. There are the players of the HR era: Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds...and then there are the players of the common era: Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, and Andy Pettite.
The really interesting thing to look at is how the slugger-era players are looked at and treated. Sammy was all-but run out of the game of baseball, the media is already preparing to hound Mark McGuire about his past as he has recently landed a job as the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, and Barry Bonds was essentially black-balled by MLB when he may have had another year left as a semi-productive DH.
Now let me provide a little self-interruption and say that I do not think that any of these players were/are mistreated. I think that steroids has ruined the game of baseball, even worse than the baseball-strike of my childhood did...and that did some damage.
Now onto the second set of players that I mentioned. The Yankees clinched the 40th Pennant in team history last night, and Pettitte was crowned one of the most successful post-season pitchers in history...oh yeah...he did steroids to rehab quicker from an injury didn't he? That has since been forgotten. A-Rod is finally turning into the hitter in the post-season that he always has been in the regular season. Another player who's past is being ignored due to the team that he is playing for, and the success that he is having. Manny served a 50-game suspension this season for testing positive for a banned substance, a drug typically used by steroid-users when coming off of a cycle. Did I mention he was still receiving All-Star votes while suspended and hardly playing the first half of the season?
I think it shouldn't matter if you have a white "LA", a red "B", or a white "NY" on your hat...if you took steroids you should be treated the same way as every other player that took them...no special treatment...
~Golf Czar
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Hey bud, like the blog. A few comments. First, I think you are missing a key component in whether a player is being forgiven or not. And that is ownership by the player that they took steroids in the first place, regardless of how backwards the admission is (A-Rod). Look at the sampling, most players being scorned came out and lied about it, (Mac, Sosa, Palmeiro) Bonds lied but he was also unpopular to begin with so he was just adding fuel to the fire. Clemens has been condemned as well and he was a Yankee, but he lied and the public is tired of being lied to. Second, why is everyone (fans, media, etc.) getting so bent out of shape over steroids. I know it's cheating, but isn't steroids just the newest form of cheating. Look back on the history of the game of baseball and you will find every era had it's own version of cheating. Throwing games, stealing signs, pitchers doctoring baseballs, corking bats, and now steroids. In every other situation MLB recognized the problem and put a ban on it. The real problem here is not steroids but that MLB wanted both worlds. They liked the spike in numbers by hitters and the fact the A-list pitchers were not spending months in rehab, but then records start shattering like plates and a Greek wedding and suddenly there was a problem. If MLB had not turned a blind eye to the "juicing" this could have been nipped in the bud like every other cheating era but MLB sat on its hands and now it's dealing with the consequences.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't really thought about it in terms of players that had owned up to taking steroids, and those that hadn't. I mean, of course it doesn't help that McGuire sat in front of Congress and blew them off, but at the same time should it really matter whether or not a player owned up to his mistakes? The bottom line is they still cheated, and went outside of the rules for an advantage. What's the excuse for Manny? He cheated, was suspended, and still made the All-Star Team!
ReplyDeleteAnd of course there are players that I feel as though they did it the honest way, even if I might be wrong about them. Look at a player like Ken Griffey Jr...had a few injuries in his career (something the performance enhancers are supposed to protect against), which could have kept him from being the best power-hitter ever to play the game. Now should he be behind the curve because he refused to give in to steroids and cheat?
Or maybe you're right and it's just the natural progression of the game, and this is our corked bat, doctored ball, or stolen sign. Only time, and the decision of the hall of fame voters will tell. Good to have another opinion though!