David Ortiz is the latest in a fearsome lineup of would-be hall of famers to be dragged under the worn tarmac of performance-enhancing drug speculation. If proven guilty, I would advocate for the lifetime ban of this once-proud slugger as I would for any player caught cheating the game. One day, when the smoke finally clears, Major League Baseball could be faced with a cold reality: maybe 90% of ballplayers juiced. Maybe Cal Ripken, Ken Griffey Jr., Albert Pujols, Greg Maddux, Rickey Henderson-maybe they all were cheaters.
If Bud Selig had the testicular fortitude to draw a line in the sand, he would have done so by now. Pete Rose is banished from the game for betting on his team to win games. And yet we slap blatant, omnipresent cheaters with 50 game suspensions? Manny Ramirez returns to Mannywood and is marketed just as feverishly as before his suspension?
While it pains me to have to call into question the first Red Sox championship in 86 years, I think we have to do so now, regardless of the fact that probably every other team was cheating in some capacity as well. This defense (the “he stole, so why shouldn’t I?” line of reasoning) is as immature as it is short-sighted.
If tomorrow we exposed each and every current ballplayer that at one point had used steroids and we expelled all these players from the game, MLB would be faced with a serious predicament. My guess is we’d lose half our beloved hometown heroes. Selig would have to dip beyond the farm system, probably into D3 community college baseball, maybe Babe Ruth, who knows? The caliber of play might go down the tubes but just imagine the joy and innocence derived from watching an honest game of baseball.
