Steroids in Baseball

Baseball is my favorite sport. As many of you can probably tell, I'm borderline obsessed with the sport. But in the last few months, there has been lots of questions asked to me regarding the state of the sport. These are a direct result of all the high-profile names coming out that have been either caught, suspended, or alleged to have engaged in the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). As a person who has seen their fair share of baseball, I feel that I must weigh in on the issue of the present state of baseball and what the future holds.

To put it bluntly, I am embarrassed and ashamed to be a fan whenever I hear names coming out about steroid use. In 2001, my favorite team, the Eugene Emeralds, were in the midst of one of the most exciting pennant chases in memory. That team had it all; hitting, pitching, fielding, coaching. Frankly, one of the best teams I have ever seen. One particular player stood out amongst all those stars. He was very kind and was always willing to engage with us fans. At the time, I was still a child, and he always made sure to autograph every baseball and score card I would give him. His name was Ryan Jorgenson and he was a catcher. In December of 2007, his named was listed as an abuser of PEDs in the infamous Mitchell Report.

I was shocked. This was one of my favorite players of my youth, and he had abused what was so sacred to all fans, including and especially, myself. He desecrated the sanctity of the game by cheating. Trying to gain an unfair advantage over his opponents and teammates. This is wrong and any player who is caught doing such an act should suffer the consequences. I may be taking a hard line stance on the issue, but I truly feel that if a player is caught doing PEDs, they should be immediately banned from the game for life.

All the high-profile names that have come out represent a tip of the iceberg. Baseball is in for a lot more problems in the near future when it comes to PEDs. Any notable record that may fall will be closely scrutinized and will be viewed with ever present skepticism about the player's "cleanliness". Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds all need to be held to the standards that the fans of the game expect from them. Honesty, integrity, discipline, and dedication.

Ryan Jorgenson has faded from baseball, as far as I know. Having that type of personal connection to a PED abuser is very difficult to explain and to describe. I'm not sure how long it will be before baseball fully recovers from this whole debacle, but I have an inkling that it will be a long time. We must all remember that despite all of this, the fundamental aspects of the game has not changed. The bases are still ninety feet apart, nine men bat in the lineup, three outs to an inning. Those things are what we, as fans, must cling to as our bread and butter. The players may try and cheat to hit the ball farther, gain an extra mile per hour on the fastball, or extend their careers for one more year, but the game still won't deviate from the foundations that have made it the national past time.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)