Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

Baseball’s betrayal

BY Ben Giles

brgiles1@vwc.edu

Prepare for the most overplayed story you’ve already read 100,000 times or so.

It spring. Spring means spring training camp. Spring training camp means bright sunshine, the clichéd hopeful rays that lead to a wonderful summer of: baseball.

The suns rays also know how to bring the heat.

Major League Baseball is feeling it like never before this season with the ongoing steroids controversy.

Barry Bonds is being indicted for federal perjury charges. It’s becoming more and more recognized that there may be quiet a lot to read into when it comes to the star’s “alleged” steroid use.

Roger Clemens is currently tearing apart his legacy. With the evidence piling on against him, one of baseball’s greatest pitchers is trying to beat the system, when all he’s done is give his reputation a beating it can not recover from.

His former friend and teammate, Andy Pettitte, is the one who brought the brunt of the accusations on Clemens. Petite admitted to his own steroid use and also accused Clemens of the same misdeed.

League officials must feel like they got hit in the head by one of Joba Chamberlain’s fastballs.

Which brings up the sad part of story; that baseball, as poor as things look now, has the potential to get past this mess and become a trustworthy league once more. As long as they can put a fresh new product on the field and have some inspiring games, all the government investigations, player’s accusations, and random drug tests could all just fade away.

Don’t believe it? Look at the NBA. This summer, speculations surrounding a crooked referee tampering with the outcomes of games had the media whipped up in a frenzy. Everyone thought the leagues image would be tainted forever.

Yet look at it now. Any game watched in the Western Conference is like a playoff game seven in April. The Boston Celtics have reemerged as an elite squad, essentially saving the stature of one of the most revered franchises in the league. And a resurgent New Orleans team, combined with a well meaning All Star game in their own backyard, has the league back up on its feet.

The same can happen to baseball: A new breed of rivalry is brewing with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Both teams have begun to stockpile tremendous young talent that should be entertaining fans for years to come.

The Detroit Tigers, with new stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, have completely changed the outlook of the city of Detroit.

The Washington Nationals could provide a Cinderella story of sorts, and now that they’re moved into their new stadium in D.C., the feeling there is anything is possible.

Perhaps the best story comes out of Texas, where the Rangers are giving Josh Hamilton the second chance of a lifetime. A former first rounder, Hamilton slipped into drug addictions in the midst of a promising young career starting in the minors. Years later, he’s back in the major and poised to make an impact.

No, he does not deny his past.

Yes, he takes drug tests 3 times a week in an effort to stay clean.

No, he’s not afraid to talk about it.

Nothing can chance what’s happened to the MLB. What they can change is how they look to the future.

Will they acknowledge their mistakes and move on like Pettitte, or much like players such as Bonds and Clemens continue to set a trend of stubborn denial?

It’s up to the league to decide its fate. The fans are waiting.