ESPN’s Howard Bryant, taking a page out of Joe McCarthy’s playbook, on baseball’s response to recent steroid stories (i.e. David Ortiz) and the hiring of Mark McGwire:
Baseball responded curiously, if not brazenly. The league and the union both enthusiastically defended Ortiz without providing any evidence that could lead to his exoneration; and now, as the World Series is beginning, McGwire has resurfaced, with Selig’s exuberant blessing.
McGwire is not prohibited from working in baseball, and the Cardinals have broken no rules in hiring him. But he is today what he was in 2005 — a coward, accepting a job he knows he does not deserve.
Guilty until proven innocent; free to work but blackballed. That’s exactly how it went during the Red Scare. Is this really the level of discourse that will lead baseball out of the old era and into a new one? Thank goodness Bryant doesn’t have the kind of power McCarthy had.
Communism was a legitimate threat in the 1940s and 50s, but McCarthy and his ilk decided to (a) overstate the threat so as to induce an irrational panic; and (b) fight the threat on the most irrelevant and ineffective of playing fields. Steroids may or may not be a serious threat to the integrity of professional sports today, but Howard Bryant and his ilk are doing exactly the same thing.
As was the case with McCarthy, we’ll one day look back disapprovingly on this kind of rhetoric as well.
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- Devil's Advocate - Oct 29, 2009 at 4:25 PM
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I’d like to know why it is that, in some people’s eyes, if you take performance-enhancing drugs not approved by the FDA, yet not deemed “illegal substances” by your sport, it is NOT considered cheating! What ever happened to playing to the best of your abilities and being happy that you did your best? I know that it’s the totally obscene financial bonuses that are in some athletes’ contracts that drive some of them to cheat. It’s also the fame and name recognition that drives others to put potentially life-threatening substances in their bodies to give them an unfair advantage. And still others that say, “well if he’s doing it, then I have to do it to keep up with him”. I’ll never be convinced that any kind of unnatural chemical enhancement is and should be an acceptable fact of life in sports.
And as for the adage ‘guilty until proven innocent’…if you take steroids to get an unfair advantage over other competitors in your sport, then you’re guilty of doing so. It doesn’t matter that it has or hasn’t been proven to others that you’ve done it….YOU know you’ve done it!! Case closed! Mark McGuire knows he pumped himself up with steroids or HGH while he played for the Cardinals, and probably even playing with the A’s. We don’t have to be shown he did it. HE knows he did it! And his refusal to answer questions posed to him during the Senate hearings a few years ago just confirms the fact, at least in my mind, that he is covering up that fact. And, his cover-up is evidence enough that he knows it is cheating and that it is wrong. If he truly believed that what he did isn’t cheating, then he would have saved himself a lot of embarrassment and hassle by just coming out and telling the truth in front of the senators and the general public.
I agree with some people who’ve posted here that all baseball records set after Cal Ripken’s consecutive games record should have an asterisk beside them, designating them as records set during the “steroids era”.
To accept it as a fact of life in sports that cheating is good and right is ludicrous!! What are we teaching our kids by allowing this to continue? That doing whatever you have to to succeed in the world is the way to go, no matter whether it’s moral or not. I refuse to buy into that school of thought!
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- Devil's Advocate - Oct 29, 2009 at 4:43 PM
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Jim, all those homers that Mark and Sammy hit right after the strike season is what brought the fans back into the game. The fact that both these guys were juiced to the gills meant nothing to the rabid fans that wanted to see just how many homers would be hit between them that year. It’s the same as why people go to hockey games…it’s to see the fights. The same for NASCAR races…to see the wrecks. People want to see superhuman feats and spectacular happenings. It doesn’t even bother these fans that they are like the people who slow down to stare at the carnage after a wreck on the interstate…they aren’t interested in helping out the victims…they just want to see a dead body or two!
Gruesome analogy, but a correct one! It’s becoming clear that there are no morals in professional sports.
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- DJFour - Oct 29, 2009 at 5:21 PM
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Folks….if you’re going to talk about the man, how about spelling his name right? Mark McGwire
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- You only know the work dummy farm hand - Oct 29, 2009 at 6:11 PM
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Farm hand is the best way to put it for you Rich.
Mark and Sammy will for ever be in our hearts and loved by true baseball fans for what they did for the game.
Most baseball fans credit the Sosa-McGwire home run chase in 1998 with “saving baseball,” by both bringing in new, younger fans and bringing back old fans soured by the 1994 Major League Baseball strike.
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- Watch your Mouth - Oct 29, 2009 at 6:26 PM
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Hey Farm Hand Job – Can you remind me how many Homers that Skinny Little punk hit in his rookie season??? Thats right farm boy, you aint even a has been, just a never will be…..
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- Mariann Pepitone - Oct 29, 2009 at 7:17 PM
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Craig: I think your are a very sick person. Nothing prohibits McGuire from being hired as hitting coach. He did not admit to steroids like Bonds didn’t so what is the big deal? I think McGuire is tremendous and glad that they hired him. Bonds was so jealous of McGuire he started to take steroids to pump his body up so he could pass McGuire. How come he isn’t in court? And the record of Hank Aaron is not accurate. It to him months longer to pass the record of Babe Ruth and he should have done it in the same length of time. Get a grip on baseball.
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- Mariann Pepitone - Oct 29, 2009 at 7:17 PM
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Craig: I think your are a very sick person. Nothing prohibits McGuire from being hired as hitting coach. He did not admit to steroids like Bonds didn’t so what is the big deal? I think McGuire is tremendous and glad that they hired him. Bonds was so jealous of McGuire he started to take steroids to pump his body up so he could pass McGuire. How come he isn’t in court? And the record of Hank Aaron is not accurate. It to him months longer to pass the record of Babe Ruth and he should have done it in the same length of time. Get a grip on baseball.
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- Mariann Pepitone - Oct 29, 2009 at 7:24 PM
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You are so wrong. McGuire didn’t admit to steroids and neither did Barry Bonds. So who cares of they took steroids or not. It isn’t the most important factor in baseball. Bond was heavy on steriods so he could pass McGuire. Without them, he couldn’t do it. I did not see him being questioned at any time. I like McGuire and thank God he was the one person to pass the mark of Maris. I watched Maris hit his 61st home run. He was a great ball player. And I believe McGuire admired him.
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- Mariann Pepitone - Oct 29, 2009 at 8:19 PM
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Who were the greatest hitters that hit 70 home runs in a season that you are talking about. Bonds did not think about home runs until McGuire passed the mark of Maris. That’s when he took heavy use of steroids to pass him. Babe Ruth and Roger Maris were great hitters along with Mantle. I think McGuire was a great hitter and why should he admit to steroid use when no one else admitted it? Get a grip.
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- Mariann Pepitone - Oct 29, 2009 at 8:24 PM
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Good for you. You are so right. I watched both of them that day when McGuire passed the mark of Maris. I also watched Maris hit that 61st home run and he wasn’t as big as Mantle or McGuire. He was great. Its too bad he died at the age of 55. He would enjoyed McGuire passing his record of 37 years.
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- Craig Calcaterra - Oct 29, 2009 at 9:15 PM
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Mariann — I think you are misinterpreting my post. The italicized language is a quote from an ESPN writer with who I vehemently disagree.
I like and respect McGwire. I think he made some missteps, but I am happy to see him back in the game and disapprove of all of the self-righteousness shown by many with respect to his hiring.
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- David - Oct 30, 2009 at 10:10 AM
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Since a large number of those home runs would have been partial-contact, long fly outs had he not been artificially enhanced by steroids, they shouldn’t count and as far as I’m concerned, Roger Maris’ record has not yet been legitimately broken by anyone.
Have you noticed that since testing began, no one has yet approached it? That means without the drugs, it most likely would still be the record today.
Had Maris been alive to see it, he would probably have felt cheated, just like Aaron does – even though he hasn’t said it publicly.
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- Paul in KY - Oct 30, 2009 at 1:07 PM
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Don’t care what you think, Kim. That’s my opinion. They cheated to be able to get hits that would have been outs if they weren’t ‘chemically enhanced’. He’s a weener for not admitting it when he had a chance to.
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- Paul in KY - Oct 30, 2009 at 1:12 PM
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Kris, you are embarrassing yourself when you say ‘he was one of the greatest hitters of all time’. Ha, ha, ha, ha.
If he hadn’t taken steroids, he’d have been a slightly less-surly Dave Kingman.
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- Paul in KY - Oct 30, 2009 at 1:21 PM
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Mac, he broke the same rules that ban players from taking cocaine, beta blockers, etc. It doesn’t matter that Nandralone or Stanazolol or Equipoise or whatever he took wasn’t listed by name. He knows he cheated, that’s why he was such a nervous nellie in his appearance on Capital Hill.
There were alot of players who didn’t take steroids. Why do you want to idolize a cheat?
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- Paul in KY - Oct 30, 2009 at 1:30 PM
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Tired of Hearing it is gonna hear it:
Steroids allowed him to turn fly outs into home runs. It made a .209 hitter into a .250 hitter. It won games that they should have lost. All for the allmightly buck & his allmighty vanity.
If that ain’t cheating, I don’t know what is.
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- Paul in KY - Oct 30, 2009 at 1:38 PM
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JH, ban Greg Zaun, ban them all. I think you’re exaggerating when you say 5 – 6 teams left. I think 1/4 of all players might have been juicing back then. Large number, but they can all be replaced. The game’s integrity can’t be replaced so easily.
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- Paul in KY - Oct 30, 2009 at 1:47 PM
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Bill. Fact. Steroids were illegal even back when they weren’t spelled out by name. Look at the rules.
Also, read Mr. Hartmann’s comments. He was there.
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- mak - Nov 24, 2009 at 6:20 PM
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Let me just say this, Big Mac took roids, so did Barry and hundres of others. Have you ever played the game, the hardest thing in sports is to hit a 95 mph fast ball with a bat about 5 inches around at its thickest. If as many say the roids made these people better hitters then take away barrys home run crown and his MVP’s, no i am not a Barry fan, but i will say this, doing whatz he did as well as MAC and Sammy, roids may have made them stronger and have less injuries, but no way did it help them hit the 95mph fast ball or the lord charles
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