A superstar finally came out and spoke the truth about performance enhancing drugs. Did Hell freeze over yesterday? Even though he cheated, I have to commend A-Rod for owing up to his mistake. In a world where lying is the norm, it’s nice to see a player speak without a forked tongue.
Since I am a science teacher, let me give you a quick Biology lesson on steroids, which are nothing more than man-made or artificial testosterone. First of all, the male hormone, testosterone, makes males bigger and stronger than females. It’s not because girls play with dolls while boys are playing with Tonka trucks, like the women’s lib movement in the 70’s wanted us to believe. Here’s why: testosterone causes males to have more muscle fiber per square inch than females, which makes their muscles bigger and stronger. It’s neither right nor wrong; it’s just Mother Nature’s way.
Testosterone also causes more aggression in males. Even though the female lion does most of the hunting for herself and her family, that is not defined as aggression. It’s just killing for survival. Aggression is defines as unprovoked fighting. When scientists inject female rats with testosterone, they become more aggressive and fight amongst themselves. (Remember Clemens throwing the bat at Piazza in the World Series?)
When males are in their teens and 20’s, their testosterone levels are high and they can add muscles to their bodies by eating protein and working out. By the time we reach our 30’s and 40’s, it is virtually impossible to add 20 lbs of muscles to our frame. So when some people say that there is no evidence that Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens did steroids, I would beg to differ. The evidence is very visible.
Take John Kruk, for example. His body got bigger, but it was fat that he added to himself, like most of us do. But when Barry Bonds bulks his body up with muscles in the later stages of his career, eyebrows need to be raised. He is not a soft, fat guy. He is chiseled in stone and it didn’t happen until he was older. Busted. I don’t need to see his pee tests, because the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. If you look at Clemens you’ll see the same thing. They cheated, plain and simple. If you really think they didn’t use steroids, you must also believe that O.J. is innocent.
And if you cheat, you cannot be in the Hall of Fame. If you watched A-Rod’s interview on ESPN, he says that the three years he took steroids should be taken into account, but so should the 20 years he was clean. But tell me this: how do we know that after he stopped taking steroids, the affect it had on his body stopped instantly. Wouldn’t his bigger muscles last awhile and help him after he stopped?
There’s one more little item. You don’t get into the Hall of Fame on athletic ability alone. They list integrity as a value, as well. And if you cheat, you have washed your integrity down the drain. That’s why Pete Rose doesn’t belong, as well. People are more willing to forgive the great players than they are the ones that bat .136. It’s easy to ding the mediocre players when it comes to rules, and much harder to go after the superstars. The same thing is true in my profession. It’s easy to enforce rules against the “D” and “F” students, but when you catch the valedictorian cheating and it costs her the award, many ripples are created that spread out everywhere. But you must enforce it. Everyone has to be treated the same. What’s good for the Goose is good for the Gander.
So I respect A-Rod for speaking the “truth”. We just don’t know if everything he said was true. Did he stop after 2003 or not? No one knows. So I wouldn’t yell at him at a game and call him A-Roid, like many fans will do. His admission would prevent me from doing that. I’d much rather yell at Bonds or Clemens. However, even though he has earned my respect, I would not vote him into the Hall of Fame if I had a vote.
There is one more thing I would like to see- the other 103 names on the list. They should not remain anonymous while A-Rod is hung out to dry. Then we can see how honest they can be.