As another drug scandal rocks Major League Baseball, all fans of the national pastime, as well as, most current and former players have one word for the users – ENOUGH!
Fourteen players have been suspended as a result of the Biogenesis investigation – thirteen were suspended simultaneously this past Monday. Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers received a 65-game suspension in July, which will run through the end of the season. The players were all linked to the South Florida clinic, which provided them with substances banned by Major League Baseball, including performance-enhancing drugs.
Thirteen of the players knew they were caught red-handed. The evidence was stacked against them. Appealing the suspensions was only going to prolong the misery. So, they did what most people would do – admit wrong-doing and accept the punishment. All of them. Well, not quite all of them.
The poster child for the current crop of users – Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, has decided to fight. He is going to appeal his 211-game suspension. Ok, Alex. He has every right to appeal – as a member of the Major League Baseball Players Association, he is afforded that right. Unfortunately, that appeal will not be heard until November, at the earliest, which means he will continue to play and collect a paycheck. His appeal will not change the fact that he, and the others, cheated the game. They cheated the game, they cheated their clubs, they cheated their teammates, they cheated their fans. The same fans who spend their hard-earned money to buy tickets, so that they can watch their ball-playing heroes launch drug-fueled, performance-enhanced moonshots deep into the night.
It has gotten to the point where fellow ball players are speaking out against the cheaters. Players around the league took to Twitter and other forms of social media to loudly voice their displeasure with the suspended, and at the same time, applaud Major League Baseball for stepping up. Mark McGwire, who along with Jose Canseco, are to an extent, the de facto ‘founding fathers’ of the performance enhancing generation, has stated publicly that he wishes he was never a part of it.
Most, if not all players, are for much tougher penalties for the offenders – repeat or not. A 50-game suspension without pay is a slap-on-the-wrist for most players. Case-in-point is outfielder Melky Cabrera who played for the San Francisco Giants in 2012. He was having a monster year. A first-time All-Star and the All-Star Game MVP. In August of that season he tested for high levels of testosterone and received a 50-game suspension as a first-time offender. Most of his teammates were furious. He was eligible to come back for the playoffs and World Series. The Giants, however, informed him that he would not be on the playoff roster and asked him to stay home. His reward? A two-year, $16 million contract from the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season. What does that teach the younger players who are trying to make their way to the big leagues? If I juice, I get paid.
The reaction throughout the baseball world has been near unanimous in support of the punishment handed down this week. Are there others out there? Sure. Will others get caught? Of course. Until the suspensions get much more severe, this will not end completely. The specter of losing your baseball-playing livelihood forever, just may do the trick. Hey A-Rod, you can always run the cash register at your local Duane Reade…
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
