104

Alex Rodriguez has been outed as one of the 104 players in 2003 who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).  Quite a shocking revelation, no?

We already know that steroid use was running rampant around the league all through the 80s, 90s and into the 2000s.  A list of 104 players who were confirmed to have taken them is really no news at all, and is only a fraction of those who were actually involved with steroids.

I see no point in publishing the list, because it is in no way complete.

It makes me sad and angry to think about a player like Hank Aaron.  He went through so much to become the Home Run King, and has since been eclipsed by Barry Bonds, who will probably be succeeded by Alex Rodriguez--two known steroid users.  I do not feel his record should have been broken by those who cheated the game in such a way.  I do believe that records are made to be broken, but to see his fall in such an ignominious manner is a true disgrace to the game.

The other thing that is bothersome to me about steroids is the constant rumor that there is always a new, undetectable substance out there, one step ahead of any testing.  I guess one test of whether the MLB has cleaned up steroid use will be the performance and injuries to older players, who may not heal as quickly as they did when on steroids.

A cloud really is hanging over the sport, and there is no sign of it clearing any time soon.  Will it be worth it for those who chose to use when they are suffering serious health consequences ten years down the road?  How will their children feel when many suffer an early death due to the ravages of steroids?  How many players will trade a chance at the Hall of Fame for the benefits of steroid use to their game?  

'Roid Rage

Barry Bonds is due to go on trial for perjury in March 2009.  In a report by the Mercury News, a judge has removed five of the counts from the indictment, still leaving 10 counts that could be pursued.  Federal prosecutors could also choose to recraft the dismissed charges.

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.