Steroids in Baseball

Personality does go a long way. Sammy S*sa, who this season slithered his way into the 600 Home Run Club, is not frowned upon nearly as much as Barry B*nds. Heck, he's not even looked in the same light as Mark McGwir*. Why? Personality.

B*nds has been considered a jerk by the media. He's feuded with teammates. He's not the most fan friendly player. Some of it is the media's blame. Just because someone doesn't want to do interviews doesn't mean they are jerks. Ted Williams wasn't exactly accessible to media outlets. Sometimes they want to live their life without the questions and limelight. Of course, being in a public position like a baseball player where your customers are the general public, it makes it a little difficult to lead that life. Yes, he had a public spat with Jeff Kent. Aside from Kent, I can't really think of any other players that have had a negative relationship with B*rry. As for being fan friendly, sure he can stand to be a little more friendly, but let's not compare him to Albert Belle just yet.

McGwir* also lacks the personality of S*mmy. In '98 McGwir* kind of came off like a jerk. He was assaulting the record, and he acted like the media was overstepping their boundaries. Sure, they probably focused on it too much, but the record stood for 37 years. There was going to be some media attention. Lots of it. Nobody expected the record to be challenged anytime soon, especially by B*nds who was never that type of power hitter before. Plus, the fact that there were two guys going neck and neck after the title, much like the Maris-Mantle chase. Not to mention the need for this in baseball. After the '94 debacle, baseball was grasping at straws. They need a jolt in the arm. This was the trick. The fact that it came from a needle to the butt didn't matter to anyone then. You think Bud Selig would trade the success since '98 to avoid this mess? Not in a million years. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. You think the networks would trade it in? Not with those TV deals. You think the players and agents would take a mulligan? Not with the money they are handing out. How about the fans? That's an interesting one. Since the majority of us didn't see any monetary gain from this, actually the contrary as rising ticket sales have occured from the increased popularity, many of us would give back those years. It would be tough to give back the '98 chase. It really would. Not knowing the ramifications giving it all back would be, I may be asked to give back the 2004 Red Sox World Series win. That is asking a ton. Would I give that back for the steroids era to be wiped away? Wow, I put myself on the spot. I really don't know. Granted there is an outside chance if we wiped away the steroid use that the Sox could have won in the late 80's, but giving up a title that many from the Red Sox Nation died before getting to witness, is tough. I guess to avoid conversations like this I would say take it. I may be lying though. When push actually came to shove, I don't know if I would stay true to baseball or to the Sox. Where McGwir* went wrong was not embracing the media the way S*mmy did. He also could have kept his weight trainer aid out of the public eye. That got guys sniffing around.

So why did S*mmy get a pass? Was it the smile? Was it the way he ran out to his spot in the field? Was it the little hop and hand jestures when he smacked home run after home run? It was probably a little of all of this. Another factor is the joy he brought the Cubs fans, who haven't exactly had a ton to cheer about over the year. To me S*sa's "No habla Ingles" performance at the Congressional hearing was actually worse than McGwir*'s "I don't want to talk about the past" performance. At least McGwir* was hiding behind a Constitutional right. S*sa was lying. Plain and simple. He may not be able to recite the drugs he was using, but he sure knows enough English to field the basic questions. It must all go back to the smile. S*sa came back after a year off, and many say he deserves credit for coming back amid the controversy to show he can still play the game. The fan with common sense knows that A)there are drugs that aren't detectable, B)there are masking agents, and C)he's coming back to hit his 600th home run so he's more likely to get Hall of Fame status.

So, he's joined the ranks of Aaron, B*nds, Ruth, and Mays. I'm not thrilled about it, however there isn't much I can do. I can write scathing entries in my blog. I can attempt to convince others on the message boards that he did, in fact, cheat to get where he's at. However, that attempt would be futile. His fans have their minds made up already. Part of their decision is his personality. As Jules so eloquently states..."personality goes a long way".