Posted by
Catmman on Friday, December 14, 2007 11:50:07 AM
I'm probably going to upset a number of people, particularly the purists out there on this one.
First let me say I'm not a big fan of baseball. I've never really liked watching it on TV, though I have had fun at seeing semi-pro ball played. I enjoy playing softball, but unfortunately my ball throwing days are over. I always thought the games were too long. The season is too long. Too many games. Frankly I feel the same way about basketball though a big reason I don't like basketball is the culture of "thuggery" which exists in that sport. But I digress.
Some players have used steroids. This much is true. The basic question is, did they do so illegally? Did they acquire the 'roids illegally? Did they violate a league rule? Did they violate criminal law? If not, what's the fuss? Did they really abuse the "purity" of the sport? Barry Bonds has been under suspicion of roid use for years, but it didn't seem to affect the teams bottom line financially. Fans kept packing the strands. The team continued to pay him outrageous money for hitting a ball with a piece of wood.
Why are people so upset. Because these folks sullied the sport? What about Ty Cobb? A bigger SOB there wasn't, but now he is a revered legend. Babe Ruth was a womanizing alcoholic who ate too much. Yet he is a legend in the history of the sport.
The fact is, steroids are not illegal. They are controlled. Of course one could make an argument about "doctor shopping", but that is hard to prove. If trainers/coaches/team physicians acquired these substances in a nefarious way, why not also bring there names to light?
Another fact is that baseball is not a sport of individuality. It is the essence of teamwork. Though individual players can contribute greatly to a win, a team doesn't win just because a Bonds can hit homers. If the defence doesn't catch the balls, make the outs, keep the other team from scoring, they will lose.
Steroids can give a physiological edge to an athlete no doubt. There can be resultant increases in strength/endurance, but other aspects of athleticism are not affected at all. Roids can't help a player read a pitch better. Roids have nothing to do with strategy or coaching. Though individual users can carry a team through a game (depending on the situation), his individual roid use doesn't make the team any better as a whole.
What about Olympic athletes? In these circumstances, the use of roids could give an individual an edge over another individual but let's be real. In races where winners win a race based on fractions of a second in a lot of cases, would roids really be the cause of that 100th of a second difference? Maybe, but you couldn't prove it definitatively?
And where do you draw the line? What if a weightlifter uses creatine and another does not? Does that make the lifter who uses it a cheater? Creatine is a natural, legal supplement which has been proven to increase strength in those who use it properly who lift weights. It isn't a steroid or drug but it can give an edge to someone. A lot of professional athletes use it and have for decades. Are they cheating?
And what about Barry Bonds? What about his home run record? Was he juicing his entire career? Are we to discount all of the homers he ever hit? Should his entire career, all of his accomplishments, be scrapped? If his roid use was such an enhancement, why has any team he's ever been on for the past twenty years never won the World Series? Should the same be done to every player who ever used steroids at any point in their entire career?
Again, let me be clear, I could care less about Bonds or baseball. But hopefully you see my point. Dozens of players, past and present are being excoriated, their names being drug through the mud, the careers accomplishments being denigrated, simply on the basis of an accusation. There is no real proof or evidence at this point. It is simply the words of one against another and the entire sporting world is going crazy!
Cries of "asterisk, asterisk" are being thrown around like so much ether.
There is also the, in my mind, double standard of drug use in professional sports. Barry Bonds is destroyed for "maybe, maybe not" using steroids. Yet Brett Favre was hailed as a hero for abusing prescription pain killers. Brett Favre also drank like a fish when he was young, but no calls or mention of his earlier stupidity in life isn't mentioned. Brett Favre actually broke the law, but today is hailed as a hero, and later the year he "self-identified" for abusing drugs, he led the packers to a Super Bowl win. Lyle Alzado abused steroids for years ultimately losing his life to health problems caused by the abuse, but did anyone say anything about it when it could have made a difference? See a problem here? Brett Favre, admitted drug abuser has the record for most touchdown passes in NFL history by a quarterback - Saint. Barry Bonds, possible steroid user, has the record for most home runs in MLB history - Sinner.
If you are purist, I do understand your chagrin with all of this. But I think people should be a bit more forgiving until some actual evidence surfaces and these guys are actually proven to have done what they are accused of. If it happens, if they violated the law or some policy or rule, then punish them accordingly and hold them accountable. Erase their history if necessary.
Frankly, if these guys did this, they will pay more dire consequences down the road than an asterisk by any record they may have.
But for goodness sake, let's keep this stuff in some context and give the guys the benefit of the doubt until something is proven.
Otherwise we are letting mob mentality govern our reason and we are unduly sullying these guys for nothing. A home run record shouldn't mean more to you than justice and restraint.