This article was written for the February 28, 2009 edition of RedMatchday Magazine.“I was young. I was stupid. I was naïve.” So reads the remorseful apology from Alex Rodriguez—third baseman for the New York Yankees, baseball’s highest earner, the game’s biggest star, arguably its best player, and the latest figure to be sullied by the Steroids Era.
On February 7, Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez tested positive for two banned substances—Primobolan and testosterone—during anonymous tests in 2003. After years of resistance while widespread allegations of substance abuse plagued the sport, Major League Baseball and its detrimentally powerful Players’ Union finally agreed to preliminary tests to determine whether mandatory policies were needed.
On February 7, Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez tested positive for two banned substances—Primobolan and testosterone—during anonymous tests in 2003. After years of resistance while widespread allegations of substance abuse plagued the sport, Major League Baseball and its detrimentally powerful Players’ Union finally agreed to preliminary tests to determine whether mandatory policies were needed.
A random drug-testing program was introduced in 2004 after 104 of the 1,198 samples taken showed traces of steroid use. Ironically, the union which ferociously fought against testing never destroyed the samples. These were later seized by federal agents during investigations into Victor Conte’s infamous BALCO nutrition company. The star name on that blacklist has now been unveiled—others will undoubtedly follow.
As baseball fans—desensitised by six years of scandal—meekly sigh at another unsurprising revelation, it is incredulous that the game’s rulers remain unmoved from their lofty positions. MLB’s tarnished commissioner Bud Selig emerged from off-season hibernation to scold Rodriguez for having “shamed the game”—one wonders how many windows in his glass house were smashed during the stone-throwing.
The oft-told story goes that in the aftermath of the 1994 players strike—which saw the World Series cancelled and audiences evaporate—Selig’s office turned a blind eye as a crop of musclebound power-hitters arrived to spark unparalleled fan enthusiasm. Attendances broke all records and MLB revenues increased four-fold as historic home run landmarks crumbled. In a period of unbridled financial greed, the monetary legacy of Selig’s term will be celebrated as a rousing success. His moral and sporting legacy is an entirely different matter.
The U.S. is currently experiencing unprecedented meltdown—incompetent bankers receive taxpayer-funded bailouts to reward monumental failures with multi-million dollar bonuses; the Naked Emperor Obama flippantly talks of “change”, then appoints a convicted tax cheat to oversee the Internal Revenue Service; states like California have increasingly astronomical budget deficits, yet continue to dole out benefits to burgeoning illegal populations; and America’s Pastime has deteriorated into a source of national derision.
Since 1900, there have been eight instances of a player hitting 60 or more home runs in a single season. The legendary Babe Ruth reached 60 in 1927—a record that stood for 34 years until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. Under Selig’s watch, that benchmark was surpassed six times in four years—twice by the disgraced Mark McGwire (70 in 1998, 65 in 1999), three times by the dishonoured Sammy Sosa (66 in 1998, 63 in 1999, 64 in 2001), and once by the discredited Barry Bonds (73 in 2001).
After Bonds seized the All-Time Home Run record from Hank Aaron in 2007, Rodriguez became the fans’ great hope—a supreme talent, a formidable athlete, a prolific home-run hitter who could return honour to the game’s most prestigious title. That dream now lies in tatters.
In an interview with ESPN on February 9, Rodriguez went where Bonds has never ventured by confessing his guilt. Two years after categorically denying on CBS’s 60 Minutes that he had ever taken banned substances, the 33-year old admitted to using performance enhancing drugs during his time with Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. He insists he has been clean since joining the Yankees in 2004.
As baseball fans—desensitised by six years of scandal—meekly sigh at another unsurprising revelation, it is incredulous that the game’s rulers remain unmoved from their lofty positions. MLB’s tarnished commissioner Bud Selig emerged from off-season hibernation to scold Rodriguez for having “shamed the game”—one wonders how many windows in his glass house were smashed during the stone-throwing.
The oft-told story goes that in the aftermath of the 1994 players strike—which saw the World Series cancelled and audiences evaporate—Selig’s office turned a blind eye as a crop of musclebound power-hitters arrived to spark unparalleled fan enthusiasm. Attendances broke all records and MLB revenues increased four-fold as historic home run landmarks crumbled. In a period of unbridled financial greed, the monetary legacy of Selig’s term will be celebrated as a rousing success. His moral and sporting legacy is an entirely different matter.
The U.S. is currently experiencing unprecedented meltdown—incompetent bankers receive taxpayer-funded bailouts to reward monumental failures with multi-million dollar bonuses; the Naked Emperor Obama flippantly talks of “change”, then appoints a convicted tax cheat to oversee the Internal Revenue Service; states like California have increasingly astronomical budget deficits, yet continue to dole out benefits to burgeoning illegal populations; and America’s Pastime has deteriorated into a source of national derision.
Since 1900, there have been eight instances of a player hitting 60 or more home runs in a single season. The legendary Babe Ruth reached 60 in 1927—a record that stood for 34 years until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. Under Selig’s watch, that benchmark was surpassed six times in four years—twice by the disgraced Mark McGwire (70 in 1998, 65 in 1999), three times by the dishonoured Sammy Sosa (66 in 1998, 63 in 1999, 64 in 2001), and once by the discredited Barry Bonds (73 in 2001).
After Bonds seized the All-Time Home Run record from Hank Aaron in 2007, Rodriguez became the fans’ great hope—a supreme talent, a formidable athlete, a prolific home-run hitter who could return honour to the game’s most prestigious title. That dream now lies in tatters.
In an interview with ESPN on February 9, Rodriguez went where Bonds has never ventured by confessing his guilt. Two years after categorically denying on CBS’s 60 Minutes that he had ever taken banned substances, the 33-year old admitted to using performance enhancing drugs during his time with Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. He insists he has been clean since joining the Yankees in 2004.
Rodriguez gained worldwide prominence in 2001 when Rangers’ owner Tom Hicks signed him to a staggering 10-year, $252 million contract. His abilities had long been lauded. Former Rangers general manager John Hart claimed Rodriguez had the greatest high school scouting report he had seen in 40 years in baseball. Boston Red Sox assistant Allard Baird marked the young teen as a future Hall of Fame player.
At 17, Rodriguez skipped college and was selected first in the 1993 draft by Seattle Mariners where he quickly realised his potential. It begs the question why he felt the need to cheat while still in his prime.
According to his testimony, Rodriguez buckled under the pressure of his record-breaking deal. He said: “I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day...I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time...I started experimenting with things that, today, are not legal...that today are not accepted.”
According to his testimony, Rodriguez buckled under the pressure of his record-breaking deal. He said: “I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day...I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time...I started experimenting with things that, today, are not legal...that today are not accepted.”
Like many, he labours under the misguided notion that steroids were somehow legal in baseball before mandatory testing was implemented. In reality, they were implicitly banned by a 1971 policy requiring compliance with federal legislation which outlawed the use of anabolic steroids without a valid prescription.
Rodriguez continued the theme of youthful stupidity at a press conference on February 17, stating: “If I had a son, I would definitely recommend going to college...I didn’t think they were steroids. That’s part of being young and stupid. It was basically amateur hour.”
If Outside Eyes—the communications firm providing media strategy to Rodriguez in his attempts to manage his personal crisis—reckoned that appealing to the public’s sympathies would soften the blow for their client, they are badly mistaken. As SI’s Ben Reiter subsequently wrote: “25-year-old multi-millionaire athletes know precisely what they are doing when they bend over to allow their cousins to administer secret injections to them, whether or not they’ve been to college.”
For all of A-Rod’s contrition, for all his repentance, for all of his seeking forgiveness, his name is added to the lengthy list of players who have left fans feeling despondent. The real crime however, much like in the banking industry, is that the facilitators of this mass fraud continue to call the shots.
Rodriguez continued the theme of youthful stupidity at a press conference on February 17, stating: “If I had a son, I would definitely recommend going to college...I didn’t think they were steroids. That’s part of being young and stupid. It was basically amateur hour.”
If Outside Eyes—the communications firm providing media strategy to Rodriguez in his attempts to manage his personal crisis—reckoned that appealing to the public’s sympathies would soften the blow for their client, they are badly mistaken. As SI’s Ben Reiter subsequently wrote: “25-year-old multi-millionaire athletes know precisely what they are doing when they bend over to allow their cousins to administer secret injections to them, whether or not they’ve been to college.”
For all of A-Rod’s contrition, for all his repentance, for all of his seeking forgiveness, his name is added to the lengthy list of players who have left fans feeling despondent. The real crime however, much like in the banking industry, is that the facilitators of this mass fraud continue to call the shots.
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