Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. All seven of these men were sure-fire, no doubt, first ballot Hall-of-Famers, now there is a chance that none of them will make it to Cooperstown. Yes I know, they all are guilty of taking some sort of "performance enhancing" drug, well at least in the minds of the fans that is. Now the question is, do they really deserve all of this persecution? I'm sorry people but I am no longer a part of the steroids crusade.
For a while I was at the same point most are at now about this topic and felt that those who took some sort of substance should in fact be judged and condemned by the baseball world. Now I think differently. Not only has this long and drawn out witch-hunt disappointed me, but it has also made me question what's really the big deal. Now before you get on that high horse of yours and rant about the purity of the sport and how steroids have tainted everything and how these athletes are despicable cheaters, why don't we put this whole incident into some persepective?
First off, most of these players weren't doing anything illegal. They were taking a substance to increase performance, like you or I would take whey protein or creatine or any other muscle building substance, just these substances were given to them by trainers or doctors and were not disallowed by baseball as of 2003. People on the 2003 list were tested in order for Major League Baseball to conclude if there should be testing. These substances were taken by the athletes to get an edge, to play better, to last longer, and to gain more muscle. So like every athlete in the world these players took something to help out, yes it has its side effects and its bad rep, but its just a substance. I've always felt that steroids make you hit better like energy drinks make me test better, sure it helps, but its still my skill on display.
Now you might be saying well these drugs are illegal and people shouldn't take them, and yes I agree with you there, but I do not feel right in condemning these athletes any further, because in all honesty I feel that if I were under that pressure I'd do the same thing. Athletes take many anabolic,"natural", and synthetic materials everyday, and if anything they are taking now becomes illegal in the future, well they are toast. There have been many athletes from the past that have even come forward and said they would have taken them. You can't tell me right now that Babe Ruth wouldn't have taken something to keep himself going if it were around then. We are judging these players wrongly and insensitively. Taking drugs that are illegal is wrong from a legal standpoint, taking a substance to help you perform better in a sport, is just the way of the world. If you play sports and want to make it big in this day and age, not the fuddy-duddy days, then you're going to take performing enhancing substances in some way shape or form, and fans, I only ask you to get over yourself.
Bench
