Steroids have left an indelible mark on baseball. Many argue that they don't care that players did steroids, as long as the entertainment factor was there. I just can't see it that way. I can't accept that players who didn't take steroids had their careers essentially downgraded because they couldn't compete with juiced players. I don't like that many records are now tainted. Sure, there has always been cheating in baseball (and other sports too) to varying degrees. I don't care. I'd rather see an un-enhanced home run champion who only hit 32 home runs, than a 'roided up Mark McGuire hitting 70+.
Now, our sport has a murky shadow cast over it by steroids. I watched Josh Hamilton in this year's home run derby with awe, but also with a little suspicion. Not that he's under suspicion per se, but I have to wonder now, because of the steroid era.
Magglio Ordóñez was implicated by Jose Canseco as a user. There's no proof, but Magglio's silence made we question him. Why didn't he sue Canseco for libel? He chose to ignore the accusations rather than speak to them. I realize that denying the allegations didn't work out so well for Roger Clemens (methinks thou protesteth too much). However, now there's a cloud hanging over one of my favorite players.
We'll never know the truth about so many current and former MLB players. That's the problem--everyone is now under the tainted steroid umbrella, because so many chose to ignore the problem for so long. Sigh.
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