I know it seems petty, but you have to trust me when I say I’m not bragging about being right on this one. This is a sad day in baseball, though probably not for Yankees fans. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez have been confirmed as two of the names that tested positive in the now-infamous 2003 PED test. We already knew Manny was cheating, as anyone who would do PEDs when there is testing was sure to have been doing them when there was no testing. But Ortiz being named is a terrible revelation. Papi is one of the most well-liked players in the game. His larger-than-life personality and physique makes you want to root for him. Now he is not only a cheater. He is one of the biggest hypocrites in sports, as someone who has railed against steroid users and called for stiffer penalties on numerous occasions. I wrote the following post on May 21st when Papi had just ended his shocking no-homer streak. I stand behind what I said then, as the sentiments are now more true than ever:
“I’m sure that’s the title of the (soon to be defunct) Boston Globe this morning. I don’t even have to google it to check. I just know that’s what it is. But either way, David Ortiz finally hit his first homer of the season. This is a guy who hit 54 HR three years ago. I know Big Papi is an extremely likable guy, so nobody wants to say this (especially in Boston), and I know I’m going to get a ton of flack for this, but with everything else that’s gone on in baseball it would be irresponsible not to say it: steroids.
That’s right, I think Big Papi did steroids. And anyone who claims that there’s no way is just turning a blind eye to the obvious. All the signs are there: a career that never got going, suddenly gets traded and starts hitting homers AT AGE 28, starts breaking club records at age 30 despite a lackluster career until a year or two prior, steep decline once baseball starts testing for PEDs, sudden injuries, sudden loss of his power that came out of nowhere in the first place, then decline into oblivion. I honestly don’t understand how anyone can look at the sudden jump and steep decline of his numbers over the last eight or nine years and think that there is absolutely no way that this guy was juicing. I’m not saying he did it for sure, but his numbers make him look like the poster boy for the steroid era. How is his sudden power surge and subsequent lack thereof any different than Bradey Anderson? Or Louis Gonzalez? Or pretty much anyone else who has already been found out, or will be, or will always be suspected but never proven? Sorry Boston fans, but it’s time to face the facts.”
Again, I’m not relishing in being right on this one. I’m just trying to explain how we have to scrutinize all of the best players in the sport because of the era they played in. But I’m not the only one who was vindicated by today’s news. David Ortiz Arias was beaten out by Doug Mientkiewicz at 1B and by a platoon of forgettable players at DH. He bounced between the majors and minors for years. He hit 20 HR and 75 RBI in his best year before being cut. The Twins didn’t overlook his talent, they properly evaluated him as mediocre. Many are going to claim that the Red Sox championships are illegitimate. I’m not one of them. Half of baseball was on steroids. That means roughly half of each team. So they were a team half-full of cheaters beating other teams half-full of cheaters. The point is: EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING that happened in baseball from about the mid-90s to now is doubious. So what I AM going to say is: Jimmy Foxx wants his records back. All of the players from previous eras have had their numbers diminished. And all of the clean players of this era, whoever they are, were robbed of both accolades and money by players who were cheating. It’s sad that we can’t celebrate players who have put up Hall of Fame credentials and never tested positive for PEDs. I would really like to mention some names of players who have never been suspected cheaters and who have put up Hall of Fame numbers, like Junior Griffey, Frank Thomas, Ichiro Suzuki, and others. But I’m affraid to praise anyone anymore, for fear that they too will be exposed as cheaters. PED users have cast a pall over the sport, even over those who didn’t cheat, because it’s so hard to determine who did what and when. Once again, a few bad apples have spoiled the whole barrel.
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