Steroids, Sammy Sosa and Casablanca

What was it that Capt. Renault said in Casablanca as he closed Rick’s? “I’m shocked,” he says, “shocked to find that gambling is going on in here,” as the croupier hands him a pile of cash.

I think the news that broke today on Sammy Sosa — that he was “among the players who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003,” according to The New York Times — is one of those Capt. Renault moments.

Shocking news? Not when the list of players linked to steroids includes some of the era’s top sluggers — and when Sosa transformed himself from a skinny speedster to a massive power hitter in just a few years.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet