Surprised? I’m not.
A-Fraud. A-Roid. A-Rod.
Whatever you want to call him, I’ll go straight to liar. This fact will never leave him.
Alex Rodriguez has now cemented his status in baseball history as a ‘victim’ of the steroid era. A-Rod says he was “stupid, naïve and young.” Pretty lame excuses for taking steroids or any other enhancing drug. It must be mentioned, however, Rodriquez has stated that he only took steroids during the 2001-2003 seasons. During those three years, baseball did not penalize any player for taking steroids.
In fact, the 2003 “secret survey” the MLB took, was simply used to see if the league had a drug problem. It ended up finding 104 players much like Rodriquez. These 104 players tested positive for banned substances, one of them being a legitimate threat to becoming to eventual ‘Home Run King.’ Six years later, everything is coming out.
Rodriguez might be called a unique case. He has not gone in front of Congress to state his case. Superstars like Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmero, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens have all succumbed to the pressures of ‘facing the heat.’ Now all of these superstars have to wait and see if they’ll ever make the Hall of Fame. All because of drugs.
It’s a very unfortunate situation. Alex Rodriguez has apologized to the public and has made his case. As a player who will continue to play for years to come, he will always have to make his case. He has already lied to millions; now he must make the public forgive him. Players like Jason Giambi, Andy Pettite and Miguel Tejada have all apologized for either taking or being involved with steroids. Their ‘image’ as players does not seem as tarnished as the others. People have not forgotten, however, they have forgiven.
Alex Rodriguez has chosen the right choice in my mind. I never really put him into this select category. Players who have disgraced the history of the game and its wonderful players and taken the high road. The steroid era has killed baseball. At this point, you have to assume that anyone and everyone have taken steroids that have played during this era. Like I said, unfortunate.
I can only hope that baseball will continue to monitor the use of banned substances, HGH, steroids or whatever other goodies you’d like to add. The league and its players must cooperate with each other finding the most common ground possible. These banned substances should be banned and the league should implement the harshest of penalties. The most important factors are the players. Will they stay ‘true’ to the game? Keep clean and resist the urges for a quick fix. The game and its credibility are on the line.