Baseball Politics: Sammy Sosa, Steroids, and Sports Illustrated

This week in Sports Illustrated, columnist Rick Reilly publishes his story about testing for steroids in the Major Leagues. Apparently, he recently asked Sammy Sosa personally to help clear his own name and do a positive thing for baseball by submitting himself to a test for steroids, even providing the information for a local clinic. Sosa angrily declined, yelling at Reilly for his suggestion, to which Reilly decided that Sosa must be hiding something to react in such a way. There are many different ways to look at this thing, but here is the dudo509 blogspot breakdown.

First of all, neither Sosa nor Reilly is the good guy in this story. Sammy, for all his home run hitting and MVP numbers, is a very egocentric man. Beneath that wide friendly smile, that dumb little home run hop he does, and the kissing his fingers and pointing at his chest and the camera is an attention-hungry and image-driven player. While he's put up some amazing numbers the past few seasons, his game could be even better. He's too talented to strike out and pop up as much as he does in clutch game situations. Compared to Barry Bonds, his home runs are much less meaningful to the team if you look at the relevant stats. Still, mention even a hint of these facts to him and you'll see the shiny happy Sammy disappear and transform into a defensive, ill-tempered man. Rather than humbly accepting the challenge to improve his game and further his talent, Sammy will quickly remind you that he hit 66 home runs in a season or that his teammates aren't backing him up, and that's why the Cubs are losing. Which isn't untrue, but from the man's reaction you can see the true person's attitude.

I guess you can't blame Sammy for being that way. I mean, he's become such a media darling the past few years, and he's used to hearing nothing but praise from everyone around him. Every time I see someone interview him, I can't help but be reminded of the SNL sketch with Chris Farley interviewing some actor or rock star with questions like "Dude, why are you so awesome?" or "You know that time when you did [this or that, fill in the blank]... heh .... that was cool."

Anyways, how does all that relate to this steroid thing? Well, weeks ago when the hot topic was "who's on the juice in baseball?" and people were clamoring for steroid testing to be implemented in MLB, Sammy took it upon himself to come out and say that if testing were approved by the Players Union, he'd be the "first in line." Well, this statement means very little to begin with. If testing is eventually approved, it won't be for at least a year, and by that time players would be stupid to be still taking steroids. Plus, what exactly is "first in line" supposed to mean? It doesn't matter if you're first in line or last in line, Sammy, it's the results that matter. What it comes down to is, he figured nobody would take him up on his words anyways, why not try to make some bold statements and be a hero? (since Piya loves this song so much, why don't we cue the cheesy electric guitar riff once again "and they say that a hero could save us, i'm not gonna stand here and waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit......"). Nice try, Sammy, it turns out that someone actually tries to hold you accountable and now you don't know what to say, do you?

As for Rick Reilly, let's not kid ourselves here. He's been a writer for many years now, fairly well-respected, but he definitely didn't cook up this little Sammy steroid test thing to help Sammy or the MLB look better. Reilly knew he had a huge story on his hands and went with it. Also, he could have chosen anybody: Bonds, Luis Gonzalez, Roger Clemens, Jeromy Burnitz, or Herbert Perry; why Sammy Sosa? Maybe it was because of his "first in line" statement. Maybe it was because everyone loves Sammy. Or maybe it was because he had a feeling that Sammy would respond this way. Whatever it was, as a writer, Reilly did this thing with an agenda of his own, not so he could help these poor accused players.

It's not like Reilly had the right to do any of this, either. Basically, he's going up to a player and saying, "if you're not using steroids, prove it by taking this test!" and if the player declines, then he's guilty as sin. We're still innocent until proven guilty in this country. That is like if someone is accused of being gay, then you say if he doesn't show us a tape of him with a woman, then he must be gay (I'm surprised nobody did that to Mike Piazza). We might as well go back to the McCarthy era or the Salem Witch trials if reporters are allowed to do this.

In the end, we still don't know for sure if Sammy is using steroids. Maybe by his angry reaction, one might lean more towards thinking he's trying to hide something. But there are legitimate reasons for not wanting to take a test. For example, if he agrees to be tested, where does this type of thing end? Who's gonna stop every reporter in America from hounding each and every baseball player with the address of the nearest clinic, saying "Sammy did it, why don't you?" And if he agreed, it's also undermining the cause of the Players Union to which he belongs, even if it's not a great cause at all. Or it could just be that he felt insulted by the way he was approached; some writer trying to impose his will on a prideful sports star isn't gonna fly too often.

It's not my place to accuse, but if you ask me what I think, I would almost be surprised if Sammy Sosa (and more than half the stars we see on SportsCenter these days, for that matter) were using steroids. Not that it's right, but if there's no testing for it, a lot of these players probably think, "everyone else is doing it, I've got to stay competitive." And if all you desired was fame, attention, and glory, then steroids would be an easy answer. Unfortunately, we'll never know who's using and who isn't. Whether players get tested or not isn't going to be mandated by a magazine columnist. Ultimately, it comes down the fans. Speaking as someone who loves the game of baseball, it's disgusting that these players are binding together to collectively avoid being tested for something that undermines their credibility, takes away from the game's integrity, and shrinks their testicles! Nobody pays these players to play except for the fans. How sad would it be for people to be forced to stop attending games and buying jerseys in order for these stupid players to take notice and show some respect.