The Integrity of the Game

To many of you out there that took yesterdays ?bad news? as just that, rethink your position. Yesterday was a great victory for the game and a greater victory for what is morally right in sports. Justice, not David but Justice, with a capital J was delivered to the heart of the beast in a heartfelt and authoritative way and upon reflection we understand how necessary this really was. Public opinion of steroid use in the Major Leagues has baffled me for years. WE KNEW that it was harmful to the body when players like Ken Caminiti started dying and getting symptomatic injuries. WE KNEW it was bad for the game when players like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa were taking away the accomplishments of great players. WE KNEW it was widespread when guys like Canseco started ratting all their old teammates out to the press. Yet nobody did ANYTHING substantial to remedy the situation. This coddling by former commissioners, players, coaches, FANS, and everyone else associated with the MLB lead to a total shift in perception. Slowly people started to surrender to the thinking of ?everyone is doing it?. People were willing to compromise the integrity of the game IF ____. ?The home run race took baseball out of recession?, ?he?s on my team?, ?he?s never tested positive?, blah blah blah. Get real people. Living in San Francisco I heard plenty of fans say that they truly believed Barry Bonds didn?t take any steroids. At which point I knew that baseball had lost its fucking mind. We had a system that fostered scandal and compromised the integrity of the game with every cold shoulder and justification. The house of steroids was built with nonsensical logic on a compromising foundation. Somehow it was erected and therefore never questioned. When a window broke it was fixed or concealed. When the lights went off candles were quickly lit. Yesterday, the inevitable earthquake hit and the weak foundation crumbled.

In what will probably be remembered as the second most significant day in baseball history, Senator Mitchell and his investigation have finally woke people up. Clearly stating the words that needed to be delivered from a position that matters in the most sincere of terms. The report didn't really tell us anything new about the past, even the Senators recommendations were simple in nature and generally accepted remedies for dealing with the problem. It may have been hard to read some of the players in the report and even harder to see them as the enemy but believe me they are just that. What is of the utmost importance is that the report is inescapable and convincing. Major League Baseball has a chance to turn things around. Fans, players, owners know that change is imminent. Yesterday the court of public opinion was in the balance, the facts were presented, the verdict was guilty, and the sentence fit the crime. Justice was served and righteousness was restored. It is WRONG to use performance-enhancing drugs. It is NOT FAIR. It is unacceptable behavior that should NEVER go unchecked. The sequences of events that are in place now have sent us in the right direction. Time will tell what the next era of baseball will bring.

We must accept that there will always be players that will attempt to gain a competitive advantage in sports through the use of performance enhancing drugs. However, we should never accept anything that compromising the moral fabric of the game. Yesterdays events should be seen as the start of a new era of game that is built on a solid foundation that will last for many years to come. Truly it was a great day for the game of baseball.

Alex Rochestie

Speech Pod for current is here http://current.com/items/88791800_baseball_s_black_book