Baseball's Steroids Era, Forgive and Forget
Will Armbruster
Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: Sports
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First off, I want to clarify that I by no means condone steroids nor believe that it's not a big deal and should be looked away from. I agree that steroids are and should be prohibited and encourage stricter punishments for the accused in light of this recent 'roid rage.
However, what I do not agree with and think is truly ridiculous and unfair is the belief that these players should be stripped of not only their credentials but their reputation as well. First off, I hate the "I did it cause he did it" excuse just as much as the next person, but it was and has been labeled by baseball experts and critics as an "era." If you picked five players out of every major league baseball clubhouse, I'd be willing to bet at least three have used steroids at some point in their career. Former Sen. George Mitchell released a report of a 20-month investigation in which he found 89 major league players who admittedly used steroids. More recently a report was released in which 104 more players were discovered linked to the use of anabolic steroids. Dudes had personal trainers and club house employees dealing the stuff (Kirk Radomski, Brian McNamee).
The sad thing is, we only hear about the ones who are true icons in our society and the ones who have actually accomplished something, (hint: A-Rod, or more properly known now as A-Roid, and Barry Bonds). If I played in a league soaked in Squalenes and whatever 'dones, I'd probably get the feeling others had the upper hand too. Plus, I'm getting paid for it, so I guess it's of some importance of me to perform, right? The way I see it, we've seen some of the best pitchers of our time, like Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens, admit to using steroids, so the batters that were on the same juice just made it an even match. Problem solved.
No, I'm not quite that arrogant, yet I do approach the issue much differently than most. No steroid or drug transforms players so much to make them an entirely different force. A-Rod admitted to using steroids from 2001 to 2003. Cool. The guy's first year as a starter and full-time player (1996, his second year in the league) he belted 36 home runs, knocked in 136 RBIs and led the league in batting with a .358 average. Sorry, but he was a star long before he hit the good stuff. And while he did use steroids all the time he played for the Texas Rangers, they were hardly a threat during his time there. After the last year he used steroids he was traded to the Yankees, where he since has won two American League MVP awards and never hit fewer than 100 RBIs or 35 HRs including two years where he hit 48 and 54. Sorry once again if I'm crazy to think this guy shouldn't be a first-ballot hall of famer and all-time great of baseball. And at least he came out right away and admitted it.
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