Is there any other way to describe the steroid era than sucky? It's not even a word, as my little red line indicates, but I think it is the most fitting "word" for the job.
Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are the latest names to come out from this mysterious 2003 positive test list. A list with 100 other names on it that was supposed to remain anonymous and even destroyed. Now you hear everyone outside Boston saying the Red Sox's 2004 and 2007 World Series wins are tainted.
I hate all Boston teams. I hate their fans, not as people, but as fans. But even I don't think these titles are anymore tainted than just about every World Series of my lifetime. If everyone was on the juice, and it seems like they were, then how can we call team's title to be the result of cheating, but not others? And that is why the steroid era sucks.
I can't look at any team or player in the past 24 years without thinking they were injecting their butts with steroids. We young baseball fans have been cheated of heroes. Any player doing great things recently has been linked to performance enhancing drugs, with Ken Griffey Jr. as the exception.
If a player today was to pull off Kirk Gibson's famous home run, we would cheer at first, but then we'd automatically think he was using steroids. If it comes back that Joe Carter was on PED's when he destroyed the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993, I might go on a tristate killing spree. But I also wouldn't be surprised.
And that is what the steroid era has done to me. It has filled me with skepticism about every player I watch. Any time I hear a player coming back earlier than expected from a serious injury, I can't help but think juicing is how he did it.
On a side note, don't you dare try giving the excuse that steroids weren't banned in baseball. They are banned by federal law. Last I checked, federal law trumps baseball law. I don't care how powerful the MLB Player's Union is.
There is hope for us though. MLB is testing more and more now, and there is a decent chance the young stars of today are clean. Hopefully the next 24 years will be filled with heroes that do it the right way. Or they just found a drug that can't be detected.
Damnit.
Heroes - David Bowie
nice blog
ReplyDeleteand was the last world series win by the phillie's tainted?
I don't know why but the steroid era doesn't bother me at all. The only thing that bothers me is that the names get leaked every few months so that there is constant talk about who was the recent player to take steroids six years ago. I feel like your people just need something to write about.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to pick on, you mentioned Ken Griffey Jr. as the exception, but failed to mention a man that has the potential to be in future discussions for the best hitter of all time, Albert Pujols. I would also throw Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux and Mariano Rivera into the conversation of players untainted...yet.
Also, referencing Kirk Gibson?!?! Really? He was on so many pain killers when he hit that home run. Pain killers aren't illegal so I might have missed the point, but I really doubt he could have hit that homer without them.
I know that steroids are illegal under federal law, but the steroid era is baseball's fault. (Mr. Selig, I'm looking at you.) It is only natural for a competitor to take advantage of whatever he can do (legal or illegal) that will give him a leg up. This is why I don't really care that I witnessed the steroid era. It is a poor message to send to kids who play sports, so in that way I am very happy to see baseball clean for the first time in a while. These players may be pumping their bodies with drugs but I really don't hold it against them. Also, HGH is only detected through blood tests, which aren't given to players, so everyone in MLB could potentially be taking those.
Are today's players heroes to children? Sure they are, but you have to pick the right ones. I'm sure Japanese children look up to Ichiro, Dominican's to Pujols and Americans to Jeter, because they play the game the way it's supposed to be played.
The point I was trying to make about Gibson is that moments like those would come with doubt today. The media and fans alike would jump all over it, questioning how he managed to play with those knees.
ReplyDeleteYou realize you just said it's only natural to break the law, right? How can you look up to a player that does that and not hold it against him? Hell, baseball rewards cheaters. Like when Jason Giambi won comeback player in 2005 even though he was linked to roids.
I should have corrected the Griffey comment to being an exception, rather than the exception. But to be honest, I would not be surprised if Pujols juiced. Or Johnson. I don't think they did, but that is more to my point. I don't know, I'm skeptical, making it the game less fun to me.
To me, so many moments have been cheapened.
Can Americans look up to Ichiro, or is it just the Japanese?
The point I was trying to make is that offensive linemen hold and hockey players hook. They aren't doing this by accident, they're cheating to get a leg up. I realize this is quite different than pumping your body with chemicals banned by federal law, but it just makes sense to me for players to juice if they knew they could get away with it (although now they are paying for it big time).
ReplyDeleteI don't think you're alone when you say that many moments have been cheapened. I just always wonder how many players on the field were on steroids during these historic moments. How many home runs did Barry Bonds hit off of pitchers that took steroids? We'll never know but it was more than a lot of people realize.
I look up to Ichiro, he's the shit. I was just trying to picture little kids in other countries that still look up to MLB players because it's where their heroes are playing.
I just wanted to make sure that I, as an American, could look up to Ichiro.
ReplyDelete