Another earth-shattering quake hit baseball last week when New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted to using ‘roids during his three years as a Texas Ranger.
When the news broke about the alleged juicing, baseball fans’ shoulders fell, mouths gaped and eyes shot open. Most of the damage, however, was to our hearts.
How could we be so na’ve? Did we really believe that baseball’s “golden boy” could be above the pressure and avoid the alluring substance that boosted the careers of every player around him? (over 100 players tested positive for banned substances in 2003).
In the wake of the Mitchell Report, Rodriguez sat down with Katie Couric on CBS’ “60 Minutes” and denied using steroids. He said that his game was so good that he never had any reason to flirt with the idea. We believed him. Why?
Because he’s right. With or without steroids, he is the best player in the game right now, if not of all time. Even if he’s not the easiest guy to get along with in the clubhouse, or the best display of character off the field, he is the guy you want guarding the line and filling your line up. This was the case even before he started doping. That’s why the Rangers made him the highest paid athlete ever when they signed him in 2001.
We believed him because he didn’t fit the mold of a typical steroids user. His career was on the way up, not on the way down. He was young, not someone knocking on retirement’s door. He didn’t come out of nowhere like McGwire and Sosa. He didn’t bulk up like Bonds. Everything he did seemed to fit with the natural maturation of a ballplayer.
We believed him because we watched him grow up in front of our eyes. We remember him as just a kid on the Seattle Mariners. A kid wouldn’t do steroids, right? Especially not a kid mentored by big-kid Ken Griffey Jr., who always gave it an honest-all. Not the innocent shortstop with the bright future. Not Alex Rodriguez.
No, not Alex Rodriguez, but A-Rod. With the nickname, came the fame. With that fame, came a lucrative contract. With the contract, came pressure. With the pressure, came insecurity. Doubt crept into his mind and he could never shake the possibility that he may not live up to his hype. With that, came steroids. Shortly after, a hero was destroyed.
Once baseball fans got over the shock and the disbelief that comes when a star falls, the debate ensued about what should to be done with A-Rod’s numbers and the numbers of players like him.
Now, this is where it gets messy. There is no right answer. There are only opinions, and no matter what judgment day brings, there will always be disagreement among fans, players, writers and owners.
Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt thinks that their numbers should be wiped and erased from the record books.
“The ones that have come out and admitted it, and are proven guilty, (their numbers) should not count,” Oswalt said. “I’ve been cheated out of the game.”
Oh really? How are we supposed to believe that you haven’t used steroids or that you haven’t cheated using another method? This is the crazy thing about it. We have no idea who hasn’t done it. We know who has, but unless every player in the league falls under a spell that compels him to tell the truth, we have no way of knowing who is innocent.
Other people suggest that players like A-Rod and Giants outfielder Barry Bonds were just leveling out the playing field against pitchers like Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens and Braves pitcher John Rocker.
“What was (Rodriguez) supposed to say: My rivals may be chemically enhancing their performances, but that’s just a disadvantage I must live with?” Zev Chafets wrote in a column published in the Los Angeles Times.
Some even believe that steroids can only do so much and say that the numbers should stand. They serve one purpose and one purpose only: to make people stronger. What they can’t do is increase a player’s possibility of connecting with the sweet spot of the bat. They don’t make a swing more compact or change its fluidity.
Another argument is that some of the most beloved players in the history of the game have been guilty of cheating and their numbers have stood. So should the players of today. For instance, Babe Ruth, the face of baseball, was caught using a corked bat during his playing days. Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry was accused of using a spitball throughout his career and has found his place in Cooperstown. The point being, precedent was set and baseball can’t treat one group of players different than the other.
Then there’s the compromise that comes in the form of the infamous “asterisk.” This calls for baseball to put an asterisk next to every known user’s statistics. Although this seems like a good idea on its face, is it really a fair option?
Like I said before, there is no way of knowing who did it right. By placing the mark of shame on a user’s statistics, we let other unknown users off the hook. Based off that logic, I really don’t think the asterisk should be used.
I believe that the numbers should be left alone. There will be enough stories told from generation to generation that all future baseball fans will know that A-Rod and Bonds used steroids. This way we leave it up to the people to decide on their own what the numbers stand for.
Clinton McGue is a journalism senior and Mustang Daily reporter.