Why All The Rage About 'Roids And A-Rod? Baseball Has Always Had Its Cheaters
When, in the middle of the worst economic crisis in decades, the president has to answer a question at a press conference about Alex Rodriguez, you know the hysteria about steroids in baseball has gotten out of hand. With all the foaming at the mouth and pious pontificating going on the last few days, one would think that before the scandal, our national pastime was some sort of Garden of Eden, unsullied by the A-Rods and Barrys and Cansecos who have besmirched the game's reputation. How quickly we forget.
Baseball players have cheated to gain an edge since probably about a minute after the first rule book was written. And Major League Baseball - not to mention the Hall Of Fame - has been littered with its share of crooks, scoundrels, and just plain unsavory folks since its inception.
Do we not remember the cocaine scandal that rocked the game in the '80s? Did anyone propose taking away Keith Hernandez's powder-covered MVP award? Who put an asterisk next to the bases Tim Raines stole headfirst because he didn't want to break the vial of toot in his back pocket? Nobody, that's who.
Amphetamines, or "greenies," have been a part of the game since at least the late '40s. It's been illegal to obtain them without a prescription since 1970, even though they weren't banned from baseball until 2006. It's been estimated that at least half the players in the majors took uppers at one time or another to gain the same kind of edge that steroid users sought. But who's saying we should stick a big green asterisk next to the Hall Of Fame plaque of Ralph Kiner, an admitted pill popper? Or, for that matter, Willie Mays and Willie Stargell, both of whom have been linked to amphetamine use during their playing days? Not a soul.
Why are pitchers Gaylord Perry, who slicked the ball up with whatever he could get his pitching fingers on, and Whitey Ford, who copped to nicking the ball with his wedding ring, not being de-Hall Of Famed for using illegal means to gain an advantage over their fellow players? Because they were lovable scamps while A-Rod and Barry aren't popular in the clubhouse?
And shouldn't there be an asterisk next to the stats of every pre-1947 player? I mean, talk about steroids all you want, but not having to play against black players is the ultimate unfair advantage. None of Babe Ruth's 714 home runs were hit off legendary Negro League hurlers like Satchel Paige or Slim Jones or Smoky Joe Williams. Doesn't that disqualify him for ... well, for something?
To pretend that steroids are the scourge that ruined baseball is simply silly. The only reason the hallowed greats of bygone eras will stay hallowed is that there are no urine tests around to de-mystify them. And it's just plain silly to think that by keeping a handful of players out of Cooperstown, the game's integrity is re-established and the slate is somehow wiped clean.
You can't rewrite history. You can't unplay those games, or remove those tainted home runs and strikeouts from the record. If the now-infamous 2003 tests are to be believed, more than one out of every seven players was ingesting something illegal that year. Which means that at every single game, at least a couple of players on the field were cheating. What are baseball writers going to do, pretend that major league baseball didn't exist in the '90s and the first part of this decade?
The rules are now in place to help ensure the guys on the field are playing clean. So let's stop with the asterisk-laden statistics, the ostracism of first-rank ballplayers, and the holier-than-thou attitude in general. It's time to move on.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
What's wrong with any player taking anything to enhance his natural ability?. What if one guy finds his strength-enhancer in spinach and gorges himself on it? What if another finds that aspirin helps raise his batting average? Or carrot juice? It's the chemicals in these substances that do their work as they interact with body chemistry. Considered in this light, uppers and downers and steroids and shmeroids are just more spinach, aspirin and carrot juice. Ask yourself: if YOU took whatever A-Rod dosed himself with would it make you half the player he was before he took anything but Diet Coke?.Let me stress that I am not condoning such tricks as a pitcher doctoring a ball or any player rigging a bat. I'm confining my remarks solely to what players ingest (or inject).to give themselves what I consider a "fair advantage."
Baseball players have always indulged in one vice or another. The sad part is that the juice era really hasn't produced much juice. Barry Bonds is not a better player because of it. He is a longer-lasting career. Unlike "greenies" though, and some of the other stuff mentioned here, PES affects records. McGwire and Sosa documented that nicely, as did Bonds who crushed both the single season home run record and the career home run record.
It would be one thing if MLB was the WWE, which calls itself an "entertainment" not a sport, because the outcomes can be, well, a bit orchestrated (Yes, RAW fans, there is no Santa Claus). MLB is a sport, though, and portrays itself as an above-board one at that, even though, if you look at its history with the American public, that is pretty laughable too.
In my HuffPo piece I point out that this has little to do with the players, and everything to do with the fans. A-Rod is a symptom of a much larger addiction to expectations in particular markets of a game gone very seriously off the rails.
Tony, I'm thrilled to someone finally call it out the way you did here. And I love seeing how people argue away from the point you made.
Some people want a different standard to be applied to the modern crop of players, one that they won't apply to the amphetamine generation.
This is quite puzzling to me. I remember a line from "Ball Four" (published in 1970). A famous infielder had just missed in a diving attempt at a ground ball. A comment from the bench was "4 more miligrams and he would have had it.". It's always been that way. And no, that doesn't make it right.
I forget who suggested it, probably someone at ESPN, but I kind of like the idea of a separate wing in the hall of fame for juiced players. They're in, but...
To level the playing field once and for all just dose every player with a pre-game steroid shot.
Let's not worry about the players breaking rules. Rather, let's prosecute the owners and local officials who build stadiums on the taxpayer's dime at the expense of decent schools, access to social services, affordable housing, heath care, and living wage jobs. That is baseball's biggest crime.
Thank you. Some perspective on the matter. The same guys who made money while all the juicing was going on. How is it that they escape scrutiny?
Why would anyone care if they take drugs? If people are going to whine this much about it, just make drug usage mandatory in pro sports.
i agree 100% with your post. targeting a coupla of players for what a huge number of players also did is unfair especially since the coaches, trainers and owners must have known and condoned performance enhancing drugs. yea, cheating is not right but is it really cheating when everyone knows about it and, by their silence, approves of it.
How much better was Keith Hernandez the year he did coke? How about Whitey Ford? One blemish during a World Series game doesn't make his career record any less stunning, does it? Brady Anderson anyone?
How much better was Keith Hernandez the year he did coke? How about Whitey Ford? One blemish during a World Series game doesn't make his career record any less stunning? Brady Anderson anyone?
Oh for God's sake, Tony, how hard is this to understand? When you play a game, everyone has to play by the same rules. If you don't, it's no fun. That's it. People doing coke or smoking pot were not gaining an unfair advantage on the field and frankly I don't care about any of that. You may cheat on your taxes or your wife, but that has nothing to do with baseball. But cheating (or gambling on the game) is the one area that baseball actually SHOULD enforce a ban because it affects what happens on the field. If everyone decided to make steroids legal (somehow getting all our nation's laws that outlaw this dangerous and health-threatening use removed from the books) then fine -- eveyrone would have access to them. If everyone is using a wooden bat, you can't use a metal one. As simple as that. No one says the sport was pure and sweet. Everyone talks at length about the unfairness of banning black players from the game so that the Babe DIDN"T have to face some of the best people at the sport. There is a signal difference between "gaining an edge" by spitballs (which I still look down upon and think less of the guys who did it) and injesting illegal drugs that give you a massive advantage over similarly talented players albeit at the risk of your health.
YOu don't mind if people cheat? Then let's play poker tonight -- I'll bring the
See Tony Sachs's Profile
I'm not saying it's right, Michael. I'm saying that if you're gonna penalize, you've gotta penalize everyone -- including decades' worth of greenie-poppers and spitball-throwers. Otherwise, you're being a hypocrite. Better we should make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again than rend our garments because of what's already happened.
Please, let's not worry about "the message to kids." They'll get over it.
The only thing more pathetic than BO being asked this question was his cliched answer.
I don't think that the President has probably had a lot of time lately to waste pondering Alex Rodriguez.
If this happened in just the jacuum of Major League Baseball I am with you. However the message to kids is what does it matter if you cheat and do drugs because I will end up rich and famous with no consequences. So how players behave does have an affect society. Based on your logic you could argue that there has been cheating on Wall Street so why should we be making a big deal about it now?
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
