Nelson Cruz was having a big year on a playoff contender, now he's banned for 50 games. Oh, MLB how you haven't changed. (Credits: Harry How/Getty Images) |
Major League Baseball, out of all four major professional sports league in America, has had the most trouble pinpointing its identity over the last 20 years or so. For most of the 90s and early 2000s, baseball was a slugger's sport. Across the board teams were loaded with power hitters equipped with massive forearms and bulging veins. Certainly people had their suspicions, but a majority of the public enjoyed the home-run record chases. I mean, you could argue that home runs are one of the most appealing everyday occurrences in all of sports, so baseball's popularity at the time comes as no surprise when 50-homers was a routine season for several players. But things changed as the 20th century gave way to the 21st and people began to realize that these gaudy home run numbers weren't of the natural variety. The MLB entered into a confusing position they couldn't quite figure out.
Then there was the Mitchell Report. Then the laughable congressional hearings where sluggers like Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafeal Palmeiro and others embarrassed themselves by proclaiming false innocence. There was the whole Barry Bonds purgery issue and the same was true with Roger Clemens. For a few years there, baseball was strewn with arrogant denials by some steroid users as well as believable apologies from others. It was a mess. And right as we thought baseball was getting its act together (we haven't seen a guy hit more than 45 home runs since 2010) this Biogenesis case emerges.
Sure it's nice to see that both the list of players using steroids has dropped from 89 (Mitchell Report) to 13 (Biogenesis) and that players are actually getting suspended for their wrongdoings, but it doesn't solve the problem. Ever since that original report in 2007 (and probably before that) there had been growing suspicion that the sport was basically untrustworthy. That no one, no matter your 40-home run slugger nor your .330 contact hitter, was to be trusted. Although baseball did remain popular, it took a major credibility hit and the sport saw its main competitor in the NFL burst with interest.
Over the past few years people had start to get a good feeling about baseball again. Pitchers started to get back a majority of the leverage that they used to have and the sport was starting to feel clean. Positive interest was returning and the concern over our favorite athletes supplemental use was dwindling. Yet, I think we've learned in recent days that baseball is still a truly untrustworthy sport.
When I see the list include such big names as A-Rod, Nelson Cruz, and Jhonny Peralta it certainly makes me realize that this steroid issue has not reduced itself to a "fringe guy" level as many people thought it would. Cruz and Peralta were both playing well and doing so for teams in playoff contention. It hurts when good players on your team get suspended, it stings when they get suspended this deep into the season.
How am I supposed to sit here and truly, 100% believe that guys like Chris Davis, Bryce Harper, Miguel Cabrera or Mike Trout aren't doing steroids. Am I really going to let naiveté into this and believe that the MLB has cleaned up the game. Sure, I can find a myriad of ways to trick myself into thinking that everyone is doing it with natural abilities. But, I'd truly be fooling myself.
I have to ask how far are we in turning baseball into a clean game, 50%? 75%? 25%? Or will this game always be tarnished? Don't think I'm accusing anyone of doing steroids, because the idea of "Guilty until Proven Innocent" is ridiculous. However, am I going to defend a player if another accuses them of juicing? How could I. The MLB has fooled us time and time again and until I can see some 10 or 15-year span of clean baseball, I can never really look at 50 home runs the same way.
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