I have long felt that the use of steroids and other so-called performance-enhancing drugs is an overblown issue, it was intriguing to watch as Alex Rodriguez confessed (in an interview with Peter Gammons of ESPN) to his use of PEDs during a portion of his playing career. Personally, I commend Rodriguez for coming clean and not looking idiotic and pathetic like Mark McGwire (refusing to look back at the past) and Sammy Sosa (mysteriously struggling with his English and apparently requiring an interpretor) did when they were on Capitol Hill stonewalling.
Said Rodriguez to Gammons:
“Back then, (baseball) was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance. For that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful.”
Rodriguez did come clean although it remains to be seen how much the sports writers and fans will believe he has come clean. In many ways, A-Rod had been held up as the poster child for everything that is right in Major League Baseball … while fellow great players like Barry Bonds became vilified. A-Rod and Barry competed during the steroids era and that needs to be factored into the equation when evaluating their greatness or their Hall of Fame potential. That was the era in which they played. We still have no idea how many pitchers were using steroids to gain an advantage. I’ve always contended that pitchers would have the true advantage with the use of steroids … far more than the hitters would. Bottom line, at least for me, Rodriguez and Bonds were Hall-of-Famers with or without steroids. But, many Baseball Hall of Fame voters are arrogant/odd ducks (if you look at voting trends like somehow not voting Rickey Henderson in … are you serious?) and hold grudges and biases.
ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847
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