A-Rod attempting baseball comeback

Originally Posted on The Maine Campus via UWIRE

Growing up, I idolized the Texas Rangers shortstop wearing number three and hitting home runs that went to the moon. Alex Rodriguez was everything that was great about baseball.

He could do it all: hit for power and average, run, play solid defense and he did it all while playing one of the most difficult positions in the sport. What most of us didn’t know is he also did it all with the help of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

When Alex Rodriguez is mentioned now, it’s not as a hero or an idol; it’s as a cheater and a liar. Ever since the purge of PEDs from Major League Baseball since the mid-2000’s, any player having anything to do with them has been deemed an outcast.

So what went wrong? In other sports, it seems that steroid use is not a big deal at all. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman tested positive for PEDs, though he won his appeal, but that is rarely brought up about him. People do not dislike him for his PED use, but instead for his loud mouth and boisterous attitude. So why is A-Rod such an outcast in Major League Baseball?

Baseball has and always will be a sport built on a solid foundation of its history. Within this rich history are records, records that purists of the sport believe should never be broken, and if they are, men of honor, dignity and respect should break them.

Records like Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Ted Williams hitting .406 as the last hitter to bat over .400 and Cy Young’s 511 career wins are just a few of the great historic marks that seem like they’ll never be broken.

Baseball fans were sick to their stomach when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s home run record. Why? Because Bonds had been linked to steroid use, labeling him as a lying and cheating player.

Alex Rodriguez appeared to be the next in line to break this record eventually. Especially when he was dealt to the New York Yankees before the 2004 season, putting him in a strong lineup that would force pitchers to pitch to him.

But then, it all fell apart. The allegations started coming out and before he knew it, Alex Rodriguez was linked to other steroid players.

While he did win a ring during his stint in New York, he has ultimately become more of a nuisance than a contributor. Last season he was suspended for the entire year for not only using PEDs, but for attempting to cover it up.

Alex Rodriguez fell from the ranks of near immortality to forever being labeled a cheater. I cannot see him doing anything that will change the way he is viewed both within baseball and outside of it in the eyes of the fans. And if he does, it’s going to take a LOT more than a handwritten apology.

It’s amazing how our opinions of a professional athlete can change over time. In 10 years I went from a kid, playing little league baseball, mimicking Rodriguez in my batting stance, to now writing an article criticizing him. This is why we love sports. America loves a great sports hero just as much as they love a villain. Alex Rodriguez is one of the few men to say he’s been both.

 

Read more here: http://mainecampus.com/2015/02/22/a-rod-attempting-baseball-comeback/
Copyright 2025 The Maine Campus