Chinstraps and Mouthpieces: Big leaguers should prove worth and take drug tests
Sammy Sosa has been one of baseball’s goodwill ambassadors for the last few years.
When major league baseball was reeling from its players’ strike that shortened the 1998 season, Sosa was one of the players who helped win back fans.
The jovial outfielder from the Dominican Republic always has seemed to be a fan favorite. The Cubs outfielder also helped rejuvenate the sport alongside many other players by hitting the home run often.
However, this ability to crush the ball at will has also brought speculation to baseball.
Are players using steroids?
Will the players’ association allow drug testing?
Probably and probably not.
Former MVP Ken Caminiti told Sports Illustrated that he used steroids, and that probably half of his fellow players in the majors also took them.
Caminiti was arrested last November in Houston for cocaine possession and also is a recovering alcoholic.
Some might question Caminiti’s credibility, but finding steroid use in baseball is much easier than finding a, uh, needle in a haystack.
The issue seemed to make waves with Sosa, who, when asked by Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly to take a drug test, emphatically said no. He also made a maternal reference to Reilly, followed by a curse word.
Sosa has stated he would be first in line if the players’ association demanded a drug test. But until then, he will not take the test, even though he has said he does not take steroids.
My first instinct was to rush to Sosa’s defense. Sosa is, after all, one of my favorite players, he plays for my favorite team, and when Reilly’s column came out, this 24-year-old became 9 again in an instant.
How could anyone question my hero? Don’t these people know that he’s such a nice guy and would never do something stupid like take steroids?
But, of course, like anyone else, Sosa isn’t perfect. He was cited for assaulting his former wife while they were married. The hero has his kryptonite, but it seems that he has everything in order now.
If only he would take the test. Perhaps Reilly took the wrong approach, and maybe Sosa overreacted. Either way, Sosa could only help himself by taking the test. That is, of course, if he’s clean.
People question his amazing size now after being much smaller earlier in his career. Sosa said he had a problematic wisdom tooth that was detected in 1989. When it was fixed, he ate much better.
Sosa, though, didn’t seem to really show his powerful physique until five or six years later. It is possible to have that much growth by lifting weights. He certainly seemed to have the frame for it. And, unlike most who take steroids, Sosa didn’t have the side effects of numerous muscle injuries. He’s stayed healthy through the last four years in which he’s hit 63 or more home runs in each of those seasons.
Those stats coupled with his ability to stay healthy are why Sosa should take the test. If he leads the way, the problem, if it is one, can be met head on.
This is the most media attention that steroids have received since college football had usage problems in the 1980s. It’s still possible that the topic is prevalent in various sports, but now it’s most discussed in baseball. Unfortunately, none of the players really wants to talk about it.
The other concern has to be where the usage starts. Does steroid use just pop up in college?
High school sports have evolved as well. At one time, summer conditioning for many Kansas high school football players was throwing bales and working on the farm all summer. Now, fewer students farm, and more are expected to hit the weight room. That’s where the advantage is supposed to be gained these days, even at the prep level.
High school testing has been kicked around as well, but the argument, as it was with Sosa, is privacy. Steroids, though, are illegal, and drug testing can help reduce the use. The legal supplement Creatine has also been questioned, but it appears to be safer. If it is, then athletes should pursue it, not illegal enhancers.
Baseball has certainly changed. Low-scoring pitching duels are pretty much a thing of yesteryear. So is the idea of a player staying with one team most of his career. These days, a player has a great season in one uniform, and then can be expected to sign with the Yankees next year.
The game still has its bright spots, but those with pull should look to clean up this problem, if it does exist.
If they don’t take action, the game, as steroid users do, could be paying for it for years to come.