Can there be any justice for the the players that have tested positive? There is justice for players that test positive now. A 50 game suspension is pretty substantial and sends a strong message. However, what about these 2003 tests? What should happen to those players? How about Bonds, Tejada, or Palmerio, or the other 103 names that have not been released? They cannot be suspended or touched by MLB. Or can they? Baseball is game of statistics and legacy. We love to compare stats on current and past players to argue who was better. Was Mantle better than Mays? How about Ruth vs Aaron? The stats give us a reference point to argue about our favorite players.
The stats are the players legacy. The stats are also a way to hurt these cheaters. A method to extract a pound of flesh for the damage they have inflicted on the game. So how do we do it? Simple, if there is any evidence linking a player to a performance enhancing drug his stats are vacated for that season plus the season before and after unless the player comes clean. Then, only the seasons in question are effected. Alex Rodriguez confessed to 2001-2003 so only those seasons are effected. He loses all of his stats for those years - 150 plus HRs gone from the books. If Bonds is linked to 2001, then he loses 2000, 2001, 2002 and 168 HRs are wiped from the books. He still would have 594 official HRs, probably enough to get into the Hall of Fame but he would no longer be the All-time HR king. Justice served. Palmeiro, no longer a 3000 hit major leaguer.
Would it be fair? Maybe, maybe not but being fair is not what these guys are all about. The players affected could actually use this system to atone for their transgressions in a way that we could accept. This gives them a way to sho some remorse, suffer some pain, but be able to come "clean" in a way that we might actually forgive them. We are a forgiving society, but only if we feel the person has paid a price. This is a baseball solution to get steroid users to pay their debt.
Outfielder TJ Friedl hit by 3 pitches against Mets, tying major-league
record, as Reds win with 4 homers
-
Pain was the price of admission to MLB history Friday night for Cincinnati
Reds center fielder TJ Friedl. The leadoff man was hit by a pitch three
times in...
3 hours ago
No comments:
Post a Comment