MLB: An Offseason To Forget

I can't lie—the Boston Red Sox may be turning into the new baseball empire that everyone will soon hate. 

I would be lying, though, if I said that I wasn't sitting in front of my television last October rooting for them to bring home its second World Series title in just a little under a century.

That may have been the last decent story about baseball in the past six months.

Last December, baseball fans witnessed the biggest baseball drama since the 1994 strike, the Dowd Report or even the Black Sox Scandal of 1919—the release of the Mitchell Report. 

Millions tuned their televisions to ESPN to realize that their heroes were being accused of tampering with the game, by way of performance-enhancing drugs. Heroes such as Lenny Dykstra, David Justice, Gary Sheffield, Chuck Knoblauch and of course, Roger Clemens.

In all, the Mitchell Report linked 89 of our heroes to the use of performance-enhancing drugs or Human Growth Hormone. Some came clean, some denied it, some just flat out avoided it. But a drama spawned off of the Mitchell Report that soap operas such as Days Of Our Lives, General Hospital or All My Children couldn't even compete with: The accusations of Roger Clemens' steroid use.

All of a sudden, accusations of Clemens using performance enhancing drugs seemed to be a dime a dozen. Clemens' former trainer Brian McNamee admitted injecting Clemens with the drugs and Andy Pettite and Jason Grimsley also stated that Clemens was guilty of steroid use. 

Less than a month after the Mitchell Report was released and just a day after appearing on 60 Minutes, Clemens filed a defamation lawsuit against McNamee.

Fast forward to February 13th, 2008.

Roger Clemens and his former trainer, McNamee appeared on Capitol Hill for a Congressional hearing on the issue. Clemens had one story while McNamee had another and while they were under oath, it became evident that one of them wasn't telling the truth.

"It's hard to believe you, sir, I hate to say that. You're one of my heroes. But it's hard to believe," Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told Clemens in what may have been some of the most harsh words heard throughout the whole hearing.

The case is currently in the hands of the FBI.

A lesser-known story that put pain in the hearts of baseball fans was the death of a legend this past offseason. Former Reds pitcher and radio broadcaster Joe Nuxhall.

Nuxhall, also known as "the Ol' Lefthander", put together a respectable career with the Reds. He signed with the Reds at the age of 15 and is, to this day, the youngest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game. 

He signed during World War II, and played on a unique wartime roster at the start of his career. In all, his career included a 135-117 record with an ERA of 3.90 while making the All Star roster twice.

Joe's playing career isn't what most Cincinnatians or die-hard baseball fans remember Joe for.  It was the sound of his voice on the radio, calling a game along side with Marty Brennaman.  It was his catch phrase "...Rounding third and heading for home."  Probably most of all, it was the heart-warming, genuine smile he gave you when he met you for the first, second or third time.

Nuxy, as called by many of those close to him, was one of those guys who always put others before him. Whether it be the fans, the players, other members of the media or just someone he crossed paths with in his day to day life. He would shake your hand, look you in the eye, ask you how you were doing and actually mean it.

His funeral in nearby Fairfield, Ohio was attended by thousands. Thousands of friends, fans and colleagues. Thousands cried upon the news of his death. Thousands will miss his voice on the radio, even if he just occasionally called a game, this upcoming season.

He undoubtably will leave a void for the Reds season, no matter how good or bad.  Something will be missing, but the memory of Nuxy will always remain with Reds fans.

It's been a hard offseason for Reds fans and baseball fans around the world. An offseason of "what if's" and questions about the future of baseball—hard times as we see some of our heroes accused of cheating.

But as baseball progresses and the Reds re-emerge, we can at least be assured that somewhere, The Ol' Lefthander is somewhere, watching down and giving one of his genuine smiles to the game that we all love.