JAG’s Sports Blog

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has decided after a lot of prodding from the public and anyone else that has an opinion, to conduct an investigation into Barry Bonds steroid use in the game. The question has to really be asked as to whether anything can reasonably be accomplished and is any publicity really good publicity when your opening game of the season is ready to be played on Sunday?

Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell will lead the investigation, but I keep wondering to myself, “will his evidence come from the book Game of shadows, which purports to have all the evidence down to the last pill and thought Bonds has ever taken into and out of his body”? The major figure in this investigation is the popularly hated Barry Bonds and he really is the prime reason for the probe being held. Bonds is only 11 home runs from passing Babe Ruth and becoming number 2 on the all-time list. If Bonds were not in the process of possibly becoming the all-time home run king and passing Hank Aaron, no one would care about steroid use in the game. Ow will or can the evidence be used when it’s all compiled?

It’s really been a known fact that players were doing something more than lifting weights to gain all the massive muscles and tape measure home runs that were witnessed in the late 1980’s to the present. No one really cared because it’s like the saying goes, “chicks dig the long ball”. Chicks can actually stand for the fans dig the long ball in baseball, just like fans dig the fancy dunk in basketball and the long run or bomb in football. There’s nothing more exciting in baseball then one player being able to change a game with one swing of the bat. Baseball was hurting after the strike in 1994 and needed something more than just Cal Ripken playing in 2,131 straight games. No one tuned into ESPN every night just to see if Ripken had played in a game again. Something was needed to grip the attention of the fans and that was found in 1998 led by two players.

Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa took off on a home run chase that captivated the country as McGwire had hit 32 home runs by the middle of June and fans went on their usual wonderment of whether someone could actually catch Roger Maris and his 61 home run season in 1961. Sosa played an important role because he was the chaser of McGwire the same as Mickey Mantle chased Maris in 1961. Sometimes records are broken in a sport because someone is there to push them along. This captivates the interest of the fans as they wonder which athlete or team will be the one to get there first and the thrill of watching it on a daily basis. No one was questioning how big these guys were or how far they hit the ball. Roger Maris isn’t as beloved a figure in baseball history as other names are in the game. Once home run 62 was hit, McGwire and Sosa’s names were cemented in history as heroes.

McGwire had 40 home runs by 12 July and the anticipation built up to a crescendo as Sosa seemed to match McGwire home run for home run. Fans could seriously care less what was driving this home run binge as the two physically dominating men continued on their crash course to destiny and the home run record. There was no doubt the record would be broken as McGwire hit home runs 56 and 57 on 1 September. Sosa kept pace and was there as St. Louis played Chicago as McGwire hit home run number 62. Sosa took over the lead from McGwire for a few days before McGwire wound up with 70 for the season.. No one was questioning how big these guys were or how far they hit the ball.

Mark McGwire had Androstenedione (Andro) found in his locker that started people wondering if that enabled him to hit a ball so far. Andro wasn’t a banned substance at the time, but has now become a banned substance. Andro helps muscles in the body to recuperate quicker, which obviously gives a player an advantage over someone that doesn’t take it and wears down quicker over a 162+ game season. Can steroids help you to hit a ball, no, but no one really thinks about that when debating the benefits of steroids. Steroids might not help you raise your batting average, but then again it might because a home run is a guaranteed hit. Will it help a pitcher throw faster, maybe, but it could also help to injure a muscle-bound body throwing 95 miles-per-hour. Whether steroids can help you perform better is up for debate, but the main question is the ethical nature of performance by medication.

The main person on trial appears to be Barry Bonds and there’s many theories on why that is. Some people say it’s racism and players in baseball believe this too. Dave Stewart and Tori Hunter have said they believe it’s racism because baseball doesn’t seem to be targeting anyone else and would have protected McGwire if the shoe were on the other foot. Some will say it’s not racism and that Bonds is a target because he has a mountain of evidence clearly laid out against him in documents such as his grand jury testimony. The question has to be asked if anyone else has bothered to seek evidence against players other than Bonds. I believe Bonds is the target because he’s the biggest name going right now and the most visible target for investigators and doubters.

Former Major Leaguer Ken Caminiti admitted to using steroids, cocaine and everything else during his career. It never really came out until he admitted it. Did anyone really care. No because he wasn’t a big home run hitter. Baltimore outfielder Brady Anderson hit 50 home runs in 1996, which was twice as many home runs than he ever hit and got his body looking very “ripped”. Never again did he come close to 50 home runs. People questioned it, but not enough to investigate. Bret Boone bulked up and crushed home runs during his years in Seattle, but is barely a decent hitter now that people are watching Boone and whether he’s getting an aid. No reason to investigate if they believe he’s no longer on the “juice”. Hall of Fame 3^rd baseman Mike Schmidt has since admitted to using amphetamines (speed) to keep him going. Jose Caseco has admitted to using steroids to hit his monstrous home runs, so no one cares because he redeemed himself by writing his book and bringing up the whole question of who uses and who doesn’t. There’s always been cheating to some extent in the game and this from a Hall of Fame player. Truth be told, the only player left among the suspected is Bonds. He’s going after the most hallowed record in all of sports and people are afraid of how he got there. What happens if evidence was discovered that Bonds took steroids?

It appears that nothing could really be done even if evidence was dug up that Bonds took steroids for a couple of years. Lawyer Roger Cossack is sure that a suspension of Bonds or any other players that took steroids 2 years ago would never fly in court. Punishment usually occurs after a positive drug test, not evidence believed to have been found after the fact. Bonds has never failed a drug test to date and neither did McGwire, but then again, McGwire’s pitiful testimony or non-testimony before the congress, pretty much was an admittance to his guilt. McGwire has pretty much blended into the background, rarely seen in public so no one wants to bother with him.

Steroid use is a concern to the public because no one wants to feel like players are successful based on gaining an unfair advantage. We love to watch home runs fly out of the ballpark, but usually it’s tolerated when it’s your player hitting them, not the other guy. Home runs being jacked out of the park by second baseman that have never done anything before brings a sense sarcasm to the game when people are looking at each other and smirking as they wonder if he’s on the juice too. The public wants to feel like the game is being cleaned up and kids have heroes to look up to again through fair play. So what happens when this public report is gathered up and distributed to baseball and the public to read? Unfortunately, it looks like nothing. So what’s it all about having an investigation into the game and the use of steroids?

I haven’t given a single solution to this problem because there isn’t one. All baseball can do is move forward and this investigation does nothing but take the interest off of the games and on to who may be juicing up and getting an unfair advantage. “America’s Game” is now being viewed as the “dirtiest game” around and fans now will have less trust in what’s going on then actually answering any questions and enjoying the games. I guess we might find out some day when their health is in decline and only then we find out it was because of the steroids they took similar to Ken Caminiti before he died. I have to ask again “what’s it all about and what will be gained other than trying to smear the name of one player (Barry Bonds) and making him the scapegoat for all the shame baseball has right now”. Is there a positive for baseball in this whole fiasco? If there is I can’t seem to find it right now. Oh well, at least come Sunday we can yell out, Let’s play ball, I guess!!