According to a report in the New York Times, former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa tested positive for steroids in 2003. The testing was done before MLB implemented the current testing system and was done to gauge the need for consistent testing in MLB. The agreement the league had with the players union was that the results would remain confidential and that no punishment would be handed out to anyone who tested positive.
After the testing was completed, MLB destroyed the test results. However, for some unknown reason, the players union kept a copy of the results and the results were obtained by the Federal government as part of their investigation into steroid use in MLB. The players union is fighting the government in court claiming that the government obtained the results illegally, but while that goes on, lawyers involved in the case are leaking the names of players who tested positive. A total of 104 players tested positive. Alex Rodriguez’ name was the first to be leaked. Now the lawyers have released Sammy Sosa’s name.
I would have preferred that this news was never released, but maybe it’s a good thing. I’ve struggled with my feelings concerning steroid use in baseball, so I’ll try to use this unfortunate incident to hash out how I really feel.
When I first became aware of steroid use in baseball, I was outraged. At that time, I thought Barry Bonds was the only one (or one of the only ones) to be involved with steroids. I already didn’t like Barry Bonds, so it wasn’t difficult to be upset with what it was reported he had done.
As time has gone on, more and more players have tested positive or admitted to using PEDs. And it hasn’t just been hitters. Pitchers have also been linked to PEDs; Roger Clemens being the most high profile. As more and more players have been linked to steroids and human growth hormones, my anger has subsided. I guess my rationale has been, if a lot of people are cheating, it’s better because the playing field is then more level. That’s probably imperfect logic, but it’s the way I think.
I was stunned when it was revealed that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for PEDs. I’ve always considered Rodriguez to be one of the best natural players I have ever seen and I was hopeful that he would someday surpass the homerun numbers that Barry Bonds put up. He still may surpass Bonds, but it just won’t be the same now that he is an admitted steroid user.
The news about Sammy isn’t quite as shocking, but it’s just as sad. Sosa had a great run with the Cubs and, although his tenure with the club ended badly, my hope was the fences would be eventually mended and Sammy would eventually be regarded as a Cubs great right along with Banks, Santo, Williams, Sandberg, and Jenkins. Now, that day will be delayed, if in fact it ever comes.
So how do I feel about the use of PEDs in MLB? I’m becoming ambivalent. I’m beginning to understand that baseball players, like most professional athletes, will do just about anything to give themselves an edge. That doesn’t mean that I think everyone is on the juice, but I do think that it’s a temptation that some players just can’t resist.
I’m also learning that unfair advantages have always existed in baseball. In the 70′s, the use of amphetamines by baseball players was rather widespread. Players who played before the color barrier was broken had the unfair advantage of playing against inferior competition. The numbers that we hold in reverence as baseball fans are all obtained to one degree or another through impure or unnatural methods. The holy grail of baseball – the stats – are not so holy after all.
As a bit of aside note, at least in my mind, the way that steroid users are being exposed colors my view of the PED users. Let me explain. Let’s say someone is doing something illegal and they don’t get caught until the police perform an illegal search to catch them. Obviously, a court would not allow the evidence seized illegally and the case would fall apart. We want criminals caught, but we insist that the police follow the rules to catch them.
Likewise, I have a problem with lawyers illegally releasing the names of people who tested positive for steroids. The agreement was that the tests would be confidential and the names of anyone who tested positive would not be released. Once the government obtained the information, the documents in the case were sealed. Even so, lawyers, officers of the court, people sworn to abide by court orders and uphold the law, are taking it upon themselves to release this information. It’s wrong. We’re not talking about the Pentagon Papers here. We’re talking about baseball players who used steroids. It’s not exactly a national security issue. So the lawyers can’t claim to be serving a higher purpose or protecting the public interest. All they are doing is serving their own purposes, whether those purposes be mental/emotional or financial. The lawyers anger me even more than the players and it is my opinion that the lawyers should be found out and prosecuted.
Like so many people, I’ve grown weary of everything having to do with steroids. They started out as a horrible evil then became a serious problem, and now they’re just an unfortunate episode. I don’t like the impact that steroid-induced stats have had on the record book, but the truth is that those stats were achieved on a relatively level playing field. Juiced up batters were hitting against juiced up pitchers. I know, that’s a gross exaggeration, but it’s not completely untrue.
The game will go on to face more challenges and scandals. It’s the nature of life. And someday, we’ll look back on the steroid era as unfortunate, but generally no different than the amphetamine era or the deadball era or any other era that baseball has lived through. Eventually, players connected to steroids will get into the Hall of Fame and will be regarded as tainted, yet great players, just like so many players already in the HOF.
Steroids have been a scourge on the game, but the wound hasn’t been mortal. In fact, like so many challenges in life, this episode will just make baseball stronger. The fact that steroid use no longer shocks us is evidence that we’re already moving on, wanting to focus on the game rather than the side show. More revelations will come, but the worst has passed. Baseball has survived and will go on to a brighter future.
