Bruce Banner
It seems that steroids and baseball have become synonymous with one another during the last few years. It’s no surprise that that this stigma coincided with the release of Jose Conseco’s highly publicized book, “Juiced”. Since then, one by one, some of the game’s most prominent stars are being outed. I find myself placing bets with friends on who is going to be next. It’s certainly not any one person’s fault but a collective blame should be placed on Major League Baseball as well as its players. I mean if you’re not going to enforce a rule why should anyone follow it? Apparently in Florida, it is illegal to fart in a public place after 6 p.m., do you think that stops me or any man for that matter? The point being the fact that the MLB has no one to blame for this problem but themselves.
The Hulk
With their long overdue anti-drug policy, the MLB has taken progressive steps towards correcting this problem. I guess it’s better late than never and that nit-wit commissioner of theirs, Bud Selig gets the chance to actually implement one truly meaningful change before he retires. If you’re a baseball fan, I’m sure you’re aware of the de facto ‘black list’ which contains a list of 104 players that tested positive for banned substances in 2003, the same year that the MLB conducted a survey to see if it was necessary to install a random, mandatory drug testing policy.
Even though that list was supposed to remain confidential via court order, somehow the name of the game’s biggest star was leaked. Alex Rodriguez’s name was first reported to be on that list by Sports Illustrated and shortly afterward he admitted to using a banned substance that of which he was unaware of. He actually tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan, an anabolic steroid. Its almost farcical that a professional athlete of A-Rod’s caliber could subject his body to a substance that he didn’t even know the name of. I guess that drive for success will make you do stupid things.
Recently, Sammy Sosa who is currently sixth on the all-time home run list, was reported as having his name on that list. Sosa who became a fan favorite in Chicago while establishing himself as one of the game’s most feared hitters certainly guaranteed his denial to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s just another black eye for baseball and with 102 other names on that list, it will be a continual beat down of the game’s image. The question is, who’s next?
There are several people that I have in mind that have been ‘juicing’ over the years and whether I’m correct or not is erroneous. It is a shame that the wrongful actions of a few has removed all trust in the game today. Instead of innocent until proven guilty, it is the other way around, while this is fundamentally wrong, I cannot say that I disagree. When you are a public figure earning millions upon millions of dollars you are subject to different treatment. I guess that this comes with the territory so to speak.
One of baseball’s most popular figures over the years is definitely a subject of interest for me at least and should be on the mind of fans if it already is not. David Ortiz otherwise known as ‘Big Papi’ will be revered in Beantown for years to come after being an instrumental part in ending “The Curse of the Bambino.” During his tenure in Boston, Ortiz has earned the reputation as one of the best clutch hitters in the game to go along with outstanding power numbers. Was he always this great of a power hitter? Prior to his current stint in Boston, Ortiz was a product of the Seattle Mariners farm system only to be traded to the Minnesota Twins. He spent six seasons in Minnesota and was an inconsistent hitter at best. His career with the Twins included appearing in 455 games and hitting 58 home runs and 238 RBIs.
Upon his arrival in Boston in 2003, his power numbers saw a precipitous increase, he clubbed 11 more homers and 26 more RBIs, his batting average increased 16 points and his slugging percentage increased 92 points. All these increases in virtually the same amount of games as the year before. It’s a bit troubling to see all of these increases in the same year where the MLB conducted their confidential steroids survey. Some people may argue that the increased protection in Boston’s lineup may have something to do with the increase in numbers but the lineup in Minnesota was no slouch either. Minnesota as a team finished sixth in the majors in batting average in 2002, only five percentage points behind Boston that year. This team also made a run to the ALCS where they lost to the eventual World Series champion Angels.
Ortiz’s home run totals continued to see increases until 2007 where his home run total fell dramatically. Is it also a coincidence that this was the same year that the Mitchell Report was released? Perhaps he realized that Major League Baseball was taking this steroids stuff seriously and decided to get clean before he was implicated. In 2008, his power numbers fell again and his wrist injury which was a problem for him 1998 and 2001-2002 resurfaced. Is this another coincidence considering that from 2003-2007 this wrist injury was a non-issue for him? Maybe, maybe not, but for those of you that do not understand the physiological effects of steroids need to consider this, aside from promoting musculoskeletal growth, steroids are important in suppressing the immune response in the body. Simply put, steroids could the reduce the swelling caused by inflammation in a muscle injury such as the one in Ortiz’s wrist.
Now in 2009, Ortiz is mired in a ridiculous slump resulting in a temporary benching earlier in the season. He’s batting .219 with 7 home runs and 33 RBIs along with an embarrassing .386 slugging percentage. At 33 years of age, he’s still in his baseball prime and shouldn’t be seeing this absurd drop in his numbers. His bat speed has slowed tremendously culminating in 62 strikeouts so far in 233 at-bats when he only struck out 74 times in 416 at-bats last season. Is this the end of David Ortiz? If this trend continues, it surely could be.
The statistical analysis of David Ortiz’s career alone is not the sole reason why I believe he is a steroids user. Being an international free agent when he entered the league is something I consider closely especially when other high profile international players have been previously implicated, especially Latin players. Being from the Dominican Republic should be considered especially when fellow countryman, Miguel Tejada has been linked to steroid use as well. In the Dominican Republic, you can purchase steroids over-the-counter like candy with no significant road blocks. If it is that accessible, why not use it? Another interesting correlation is the fact that David Ortiz has played on teams where another steroids user has been caught. Is it another coincidence that Juan Rincon, his Minnesota teammate was suspended for using a performance-enhancing drug? Is it another coincidence that his former Red Sox teammate, Manny Ramirez is currently serving a 50 game suspension for using a substance that would mask steroid use? If they are, that would surely be a lot coincidences.
I eventually think the truth will come out and Boston sports fans will be devastated. As Terrell Owens once said,
“’If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat.”
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