I am an unabashed fan of the Boston Red Sox and David Ortiz. If you are not a fan of the team than you can have no idea what David Ortiz as a player means to his fans. It is with that said that I feel like I have to believe his words from his press conference on Saturday. I also feel like there are major differences between Ortiz and A-Rod.
It is now apparent that “the list” of 104 players is wholly suspect. Information is coming out that the names are not linked to a substance and that at least 13 of the names are tied to substances or results that would not garner discipline from the league. Thus there is a chance, a 13/104, chance that Ortiz is telling the truth. I will believe him because of what he has done on the field, because he is Big Papi, as cheesy and sentimental as that sounds.
It is disgraceful that these discrepancies were not made public when A-Rod was linked to “the list” and I do have respect for him for owning up to his previous STEROID use. Ortiz, however, has not been linked to steroids he has been linked to a list which does not include any names of substances and has the names of players who did nothing wrong. In sports they are guilty until proven guilty it seems.
There are also some differences between Ortiz and A-Rod which illuminates how we as fans and the media react to players.
For diplomacy sake and full disclosure, I think Alex Rodriguez is great, if not the greatest player to ever play the game. I will also point out that he had frosted tips way longer than they were cool.
A-Rod is prima donna and genuine narcissist, please see the kissing the mirror photo for reference. He is a sort of robot who dates famous blondes. His favorite food is probably pizza and his favorite band is probably the Beatles. He is a celebrity, not a famous athlete, a bon fide celebrity. When the info came out that he was tied to PED’s it was explosive for all those reasons. This is also the player that swatted the ball from Arroyo’s glove and yelled at the 3rd basemen fielding a pop up to distract him, he is also known as a notorious stealer of signs, so clearly he likes to get the upper hand.
Meanwhile David Ortiz is perhaps the most beloved player of the past few years, Yankees fans excluded, in baseball. In Red Sox Nation he is king. He, Schilling, and Foulke (YIKES!) gave us 2004 in the most astounding and emotional way, that he will forever be infallable. He has spoken up about PED use and made mention of taking things in the DR when he was younger that forced him to educate himself. He has been saying what he said on Saturday since 2005 at least, but why believe him now? A-Rod lied to Katie Couric while Ortiz talked about the importance of Latino players educating themselves about supplements. But yeah whatever they are exactly the same. Ortiz has a mountain of support including the league and union behind him, where were they for A-Rod? What did they know about A-Rod previously and what do they know about Papi? It seems like if there was ever an instance when their should be some doubt about a player tied to PED’s this should be it.
I also feel I need to respond to JD’s comments about Sox being the worst. I will gladly be a part of a terrible naive fandom that cheers and supports their most beloved player through the worst season of his career, professionally and personally, than be a part of a fandom that boos their most beloved player and captain for going 0-25. That’s just me though.
Also the Red Sox fucking suck so bad right now I think The Other Fifteen could probably beat them. I call First Base!
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I call center field! Honestly though, the fact that he’s so well loved is the reason people are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, despite the fact that he said he’d get to the bottom of this but still hasn’t produced what it is he tested positive for and why. If this were a player who is less endearing, which is just about everyone when compared to Papi, the jury would already be back with the guilty verdict.
Jeremy, I thought for sure you would have called catcher.
Josh that is unfortunate and yes the team owners are probably some of the most insufferable media whores ever. You know I agree with you about 99.9% of Sox fans, I am working on my trip to Fenway post as well, which will show me as the New York Hipster Elitist Asshole I actually am.