I have to admit something. I’d be lying if I said that I remembered the first baseball game that I ever attended. I mean, in my defense, it was around 20 years ago. I can, however, remember attending games at Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park when I was younger with my dad. For any kid, it can’t get better than that. In your backyard, you dream about playing in the Major Leagues and just knowing that you have a ticket to go see these stars makes you the luckiest person on earth.
I would pick out my favorite baseball cap, find my batting glove and find my baseball mitt before we jumped in the Chevy Blazer to head down to the ballpark. Luckily, my dad was the biggest baseball fan that I knew, so he was all about going to batting practice. I would pick his brain each game about different rules and scenarios to the point to where I actually feel bad for him now for putting up with me. I learned how to keep score, how to judge a strike zone and to learn the beauty of the game.
While there was – and still is – nothing like going to any ballpark, it was a trip to New York that made me feel like Christmas was literally in July. My dad asked me if I’ve ever been on a train before. Even at a younger age, I knew that trains weren’t used that much, so I said no. He asked me if I would want to take a train out to Cooperstown, New York.
My jaw dropped.
We’re talking THE Cooperstown. The place with the plaques. The greatest ballplayers of all-time are celebrated there, and it’s a place any baseball fan wants to visit. I’ve been to Canton, Ohio plenty of times at that age to see the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but Cooperstown is where I wanted to spend my honeymoon. Okay, looking back at it, that doesn’t seem like such a good idea, but whatever.
When we got there, I was just speechless. The first day, we just went sightseeing. For some reason, all I wanted was an Ichiro No. 51 “gold” necklace. It was 2001 when he first arrived on the scene and necklaces were in then, so cut me some slack. On day two, we visited the Hall of Fame. Now heading into the trip, I felt like a big shot. I knew all of the players from the past and could quote their stats. Well, I thought so anyway. When we got there, my dad was telling me about all of these guys that he grew up watching and how great they were. He was telling me about Sandy Koufax and how dominate he was, as well as Johnny Bench and the “Big Red Machine.” If I was as interested in learning about school subjects as I was with sports, I would’ve been a Straight-A student.
When my dad was talking about the Reds, I asked him about Pete Rose. Now, I knew Rose was banned from the Hall of Fame for gambling on baseball and I knew it was wrong. Growing up, Rose, in my mind at least, was considered the baseball version of the devil. Many people around my father’s age would agree to that.
I started to feel bad that a man with over 4,000 hits, a .303 career average, a 44-game hitting streak and one of the greatest players of all-time wasn’t in the Hall of Fame for betting on baseball as a manager. I remember just asking my dad, “Isn’t it time for people to forgive him?”
If only I’d known what the years that followed would bring.
I had to watch my heroes growing up enter a courtroom to testify that they never used steroids. At the age of 12, I watched Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa go head-to-head in the summer for the ages. They switched their uniforms from red and blue and red and white, to black suits.
The steroid era began and has yet to leave.
After the Mitchell Report was released, respect was lost around the baseball community for a number of players and doubt spread. No matter who the player was, you couldn’t help but be suspicious of them. When Albert Pujols hit home runs, I questioned him. When Ken Griffey, Jr. was injured, I wondered if he’d use HGH to come back. Despite Roger Clemens innocence, he’ll always be guilty in my mind.
Through all of this, the sport wasn’t ruined for me. In fact, I found myself rooting harder for the good guys of the league. The Derek Jeter’s, Mariano Rivera’s and the David Wright’s. All of these guys played the game the right way. Two other guys that I looked up to were Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun.
Well, so much for that.
Rodriguez admitted to using steroids before and when his name came out, I remember feeling actual hurt inside. It was a player that I grew up with. Rodriguez, Jeter, Juan Gonzalez, Mike Piazza; these were heroes to many kids of that generation. Rodriguez went from a fan favorite, to a public enemy No. 1 in my book. When his name was tied to the Biogenesis report, I wanted him banned from baseball.
Then you have Braun. Growing up, yes I was a Pirates fan. I respected great players, though. Braun was one of these players. He was one of the ones that fans would heckle because he was good and the Brewers would always wipe the floor with the Pirates. It was amazing just watching Braun play the game. Early on I had my questions, but his play spoke for itself and his MVP Award erased any questions I had.
Even when Braun was accused the first time around, I actually believed him. His press conference was heartfelt and I fell victim. Now, one year and five months to the day after his initial press conference, Braun is getting what he deserves.
Braun lied through his teeth to save his name. He partially cost a man his job, won an MVP by cheating, signed a $100 million-plus contract and lied to his friends, family, fans and teammates to clear his name. His own mother was in tears when she heard the news about her son. Braun duped us all.
Now, with Braun out for the rest of the season and rumors swirling that Rodriguez could face a lifetime ban, justice is starting to be served. While the players agreed to the initial 50-game and second 100-game suspensions with the union, they need to adjust it.
If a player is caught one time taking supplements, a lifetime ban needs to be the punishment. If they won’t agree on that, then in the contracts that the players sign, they need to have a supplement clause. In the clause, it will say that if a player is caught taking performance enhancing drugs, their contract is null and void.
Looking at it now, Pete Rose doesn’t look all that bad, does he? Sure what he did was wrong and he eventually owned up to it. The players who are caught taking PEDs have already banned themselves from the Hall of Fame.
They’re the real bad guys of the game.
