Those of you who are baseball fans probably already know that Alex Rodriguez tested positive. No, I don’t mean positive for an STD after sleeping with Madonna, I mean for steroids back in 2003. I for one am not surprised, but I’m still disappointed. I’ve always liked him going back to his days in Seattle. Of course, since he has been playing for the Yankees, I’ve liked him less and less with each stupid thing he has done. Even though I suspected that he probably wasn’t clean, I was hoping like hell that he was so that he could break the all time home run record because I hate Barry Bonds. And now he is dirty just like a whole bunch of other players.
I’m a huge baseball fan, in fact I know more about baseball than any other subject. But in recent years, my love for the game has waned because of steroids. I look at every individual accomplishment on with doubt and suspicion. People give me shit about it because they think I should give players the benefit of the doubt. My brothers think I crazy when I suggest that a certain player is dirty. For years I told them Roger Clemens was a user and they laughed at me. And then the truth came out about him. I also am convinced Albert Pujols has done them, although I’ve got no proof. But, for me the proof is in the stats. I’ve always been cynical and for years I either didn’t know about baseball’s steroid use or chose to ignore it. Once it all started to come out, in my eyes it makes everybody a suspect. I’m the type of person who can be fooled but will not allow myself to be fooled again.
The question is how do we solve this problem of performance enhancers in baseball? At first I thought a lifetime ban for a first time abuser. Sure, it is harsh and probably harder then it should be. But it does send the message and would solve the problem. Not that the players union would ever go for it. Another idea I had was baseball hires an independent and highly reputable company with a high standard of integrity to test the players. If a player tests positive, it automatically voids their contract, the very contract they got by using roids in the first place. Again the players union would never approve of such a deal. Also, baseball is not serious about wanting to eliminate performance enhancers from the game; they make too much money when people use them and excel.
What more needs to happen before they are pushed to the extreme to rid the game of performance enhancers?