baseball – Page 4 – Hank Kalet

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.

The taint of steroids

It appears that we can add Manny Ramirez’s name to the list of tainted sluggers, based on today’s report that he is about to be suspended 50 games for a positive steroid test. The interesting question, of course, is what this means not only for his Hall of Fame chances, but for the Hall of Fame chances of all players from the present era — players who played the bulk of their careers over the last 20 years.

Consider this list of players from the era who slugged at least 500 home runs (from Baseball Reference):

That’s 10 players — of the 25 all-time — who played the majority of their careers after the mid-1980s. Of these 10, only three — Griffey, Thome and Thomas — have not been linked to steroids. McGwire, the only one on the list eligible to enter the Hall, has been snubbed for two years now, which seemed to make sense — until you consider that the steroid era has tainted so many players of all abilities that we can’t be sure that the players we think are clean really have been.

A-Rod is the case in point. He was the one guy — along with Griffey — who everyone viewed as squeeky clean on the issue and who nearly everyone was rooting for to pass Bonds and remove the taint on the record. Now, however, he is mired in steroid controversy, his accomplishments called into question.

I don’t think steroid users should be rewarded, but we have to acknowledge that the homerun barrage that has left the record book a shambles was not a product of steroids alone. A host of factors — smaller parks, more sophisticated workout regimens, awful pitching, a tendency to swing for the fences — contributed.

But the one thing that I think has become clear — at least to me — is that guys like McGwire, A-Rod and Manny have been playing by the rules as established by the culture of baseball and are likely not exceptions.

The Bird lands

Mark Fidrych, one of baseball’s true eccentrics, died today, 33 years after he took the game by storm and then flamed out into obscurity.

I loved watching his antics on the mound when the Tigers were on national television:

He often talked to the baseball, fidgeted on the mound and got down on his knees to scratch at the dirt. Fidrych would swagger around the grass after every out and was finicky about baseballs, refusing to reuse one if an opposing player got a hit, and rejecting fresh ones he declared to have dents.

He liked to jump over the white infield lines on his way to the mound, with a wide, toothy grin that, coupled with his hair, made him easy to spot even from the upper reaches of Tiger Stadium.

Rest in peace.

Shea so long

I’ve been pretty dismissive of Shea Stadium over the years, its creaky awfulness seeming to hang over my beloved Mets. There was a time, of course, when Shea was state of the art, and for a long time it seemed the nicest place on Earth — especially on the approach, coming around the outfield to see that brilliant green grass.

This story, sent to me by my friend Bill, reminded me of the good stuff and is worth checking out for the multimedia showing the final seconds of Shea’s final piece.

Maybe the new Citi Field will mean a new era for the Mets, an era in which they cease being underachievers — which they’ve been far too often — and put together a real run to glory.

A-Rod, steroids and informed choice

http://espn.go.com/broadband/player.swf?mediaId=3894963Well, he’s admitted it. Alex Rodriguez, one of the best hitters on the planet, has admitted taking steroids while playing in Texas from 2001-2003.

I’m not sure how to respond. I have come down on both sides of hte steroid issue in baseball over the years, initially buying into the arch “kick ’em out” school. But the anarchist in me — the one who believes that drugs should be decriminalized if not legalized outright and tightly regulated — wonders why this is all that important.

I know — these guys are role models, blah blah blah. I know — this supposedly taints the competitive balance, yada yada yada.

But let’s be fair. A-Rod is an adult — as are Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and the rest, though they do all act like big kids. It’s his choice, or should be his choice, what he wants to do with his body — so long as he has all of the information necessary to make an informed choice.

I liken the use of performance enhancement drugs to laser eye surgery. No one would blink if a ballplayer had the surgery — even though it alters the player’s body and could improve an aspect of his game. (I’m not talking about someone who has the surgery to get rid of his glasses, but to improve decent sight.)

There is a debate going on among medical ethicists over this — over steroids and Ritalin and other drugs that have definite medical benefits for some ailments, but also offer some improved performance for the healthy. The question is whether they should be allowed to use these substances — should college students use Ritalin to improve their studying and their test scores, for instance? Right now, I come down on the side of yes, though I don’t advocate their use. As long as you can make an informed decision, and your actions do not have a negative impact on others, I think it should be up to you.