The Ultimate Stomach Punch

You know the feeling when a secret you wish no one finds out is suddenly discovered? It feels like someone just punched you in the stomach. Like all the air has escaped your body, leaving you gasping.
Oomph.
Well, imagine how Major League Baseball felt this past weekend when Sports Illustrated reported that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. Now, it wasn’t an official drug test – it was in Major League Baseball’s trial run to see if drug testing was actually necessary – which means he faces no disciplinary action.
Oomph.
Yes, Alex Rodriguez. The man people looked to as the guy who would wipe the cheat Barry Bonds from the record books so baseball could have a clean home run king. The face of baseball, and the man – despite his playoff failures and documented personal life – many consider the best all-around player in the league, was not clean.
Oomph.
Now, let me be clear about one thing. I do not feel bad for Major League Baseball or Alex Rodriguez. They both knew about the failed drug test and according to reports if the MLB Players Association did what they were supposed to do, the names would have been thrown out five years ago. But they weren’t, and the leak happened.
I was definitely na’ve. I really did think Rodriguez was a genuine talent in a world full of steroid users. Shame on me. I should have known better. I should know better. Now, I never respected A-Rod (or A-Fraud or A-Roid), but I thought he was clean. I thought he was a talented mix of power and speed.
Now, he’s still talented. After all, steroids don’t help your hand-eye coordination. He wasn’t always a steroid user, much like Barry Bonds. In fact, minus a few record-breaking seasons (so far), their careers may be a perfect match. Oh, the irony.
The big problem for baseball is that they were so close to having a fresh, clean start. The biggest trouble-makers (Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire) are gone. The biggest memories of the steroid era were gone. To be forgotten. This changes all of that. A-Rod was, like it or not, the face of clean baseball. Now where does that leave baseball? Who does it market its game around now?
Derek Jeter? Too old. Manny Ramirez? He doesn’t even have a team. To me, it looks like baseball has no great superstar. They have great players – Josh Hamilton, Ryan Howard, Tim Lincecum, Evan Longoria – but no superstars.
Now, baseball will recover, and a lot of people suspected A-Rod of roiding long before the test results were leaked. There are some people who will assume everyone is guilty, and honestly that’s what baseball deserves at this point.
Baseball is struggling. It has the lowest percentage of African Americans playing since the 1970’s. It’s losing its place as “America’s pastime.” Most people find the game too boring and its audience – like radio’s – is aging.
To make matters worse, the game is relying on the leadership and direction of Bud Selig to take them out of this mess.
I’m a baseball fan. I was an Expos fan before I was a Canadiens fan and I played baseball as a kid. It hurts me that baseball has taken a turn like this. However, I will still watch it and am still a fan. I still go to games whenever I can – it’s just a little more than a trip down the Green line now.
But I’m in the minority. People are getting turned off of the game because of the steroids. They are getting turned off of the game because in a society of fast and exciting, it’s slow and methodical. Having their most marketable star test positive less than a week before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training does absolutely nothing to improve that.