Two-time Triple Crown winner in 1997 and 1998, 11-time major league all-star, seven-time Cy Young Award winner, two championships with the New York Yankees in 1999 and 2000, and a career 3.12 era. He is only second to Nolan Ryan for strikeouts all-time. His name is Roger Clemens and he has used steroids.
As I sat between classes in my Rendezvous suite and witnessed Roger Clemens attempt to dig himself out of hole after hole in the Congressional hearing held on Wednesday, February 13th, I began to ask myself in great displeasure, what’s happening to this great game of baseball?
After Sosa battled McGwire in a homerun juicing scandal, Palmeiro wagged his finger at Congress, and Barry Bonds’ struggle with Balco, I would be lying if I said that it hasn’t affected my interest in the game. To understand that all of these men, and quite possibly much more, have cheated not only the game of baseball, but also on its national past time, personally disgusts me.
Do these men lack such knowledge that millions of young boys are looking up to their idols in the “big leagues?” That those same boys wear what their idols wear, spit like their idols spit and would most likely do anything else their idol did. If all else failed to prevent you from using a potentially deadly substance, wouldn’t representing a positive influence to a young one shine far more than anything else?
Through the obscurity lie the viewers and fans. If we feel cheated of America’s greatest game, where do you hold sympathy for honorable players like Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, who did it the right way. The Babe passed onto baseball heaven before he had to witness how the game has mischievously transformed into something fake, while “the real” homerun king Hank Aaron has been forced to witness the despicable.
My uncertainty concerning how I will ever view baseball again could easily compare with the confidence I’ve let gradually decline for the game’s loyalty itself. The truth being told has always been an ongoing message. I thought Galileo stated it best:
“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”
Don’t cheat. It’s truly not worth it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Zach, you almost broke my heart with this piece. While I understand it is ultimately the player's decision to cheat with drug use, I'm not sure all the blame should fall on individual shoulders.
I think perhaps the modern institution of baseball, sports, and athletic medicine as a whole should be examined. Steroid use seems rampant among athletes across the board.
And as much as I love having heroes, who's to say Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron if given a similar situation would remain untainted? Cheating existed long before steroids and I doubt if the motives have drastically changed.
I think it speaks a little of our society when our athletes feel so pressured for performance that they make such poor decisions.
When athletes become willing to risk the respect of their fans, their careers, and even their health to gain an edge it seems something is horribly wrong. Perhaps as spectators, our growing expectations ransome our heroes at needle-point.
Do we recognize athletes for their moral character or for their skill as competitors, and are we willing to reprioritize our demands? Will boys in the future idolize a baseball player's ethics if he's not a noteworthy competitor?
I am sorry, Zach, that your heroes and baseball remain tarnished. And I agree with your sentiments on cheating. I just find it difficult to fault men for showing themselves as men are: human and given to error. Especially, in a system that seems to heavily favor cheating privately and condem it publically.
Post a Comment