Mr. Chairman: Performance-Enhancing Drugs Are Here To Stay

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Society loves a good train wreck.  We aren’t happy unless someone, anyone, is miserable.  I guess that the old saying, "misery loves company," is completely accurate.  It appears that in the world of sports, we all need heroes and we all need the obligatory whipping boy.

I have been sitting back and watching the A-Rod furor play itself out for everyone to see.  I am going to lay out a slightly different, if not controversial viewpoint.  Before I begin let’s get one thing straight.  I don’t particularly care for Alex Rodriguez.  I never did.  I have marveled at his play, but never once did I actually enjoy watching him.

I am a Yankees fan.  But I nearly vomited in my mouth when the Yankees re-signed him.  I was hopeful that he was gone for good.  I simply hate distractions.  I like the sport, period.  I don’t like shenanigans or the “look at me” attitude.

But to sit back and admonish Alex Rodriguez for all that is wrong in baseball is absolutely absurd!  The performance enhancing drug problem dates back over 20 years in baseball. 

Let me put this in perspective.  I entered High School in 1985.  I was told by our coach, who was quite well respected in the baseball community, that I should not lift weights.  Lifting weights is not good for baseball players.

By 1988, “The Bash Brothers” entered the scene.  You remember them, Dave Henderson, Mark McGwire, and Jose Canseco.  They were mean, they were nasty, and they could hit the ball a mile.  I wore an A’s hat to practice one day.  The quote from the coach was, “So now you like Jose Can-Steroid, huh?”  What an eye opener.

In 1994 Major League Baseball came to a screeching halt due to a work stoppage.  No World Series!  Dire times indeed.  When they returned, attendance was way down.  But steroid usage was way up. 

Cal Ripken was chasing his record for consecutive games played. 

In 1998, McGwire and Sammy Sosa were racing towards breaking the single season home run record.  Power hitters were popping up all over the place.  Home runs were flying!  Attendance was up again.  Everyone loved baseball.  Who remembers the commercial, “Chicks dig the long ball”?  MLB was thriving!  It was the “juiced ball” era. 

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