So, Alex Rodriguez used steroids from 2001-2003 while he was a member of the Texas Rangers. It's now becoming apparent that nearly everyone who put up big numbers during the Steroid Era (roughly 1995-2003) used the Juice. When a reporter asked Rodriguez whether his numbers during that period should count, I broke up. You mean his hits against the other users? Pitchers, hitters, heck, for all we know, Harry Caray rode the needle to fame and fortune. It's hard to say A-Rod's numbers should not count.
But one aspect of the steroid imbroglio still has the capacity to outrage me: the limitless hypocrisy of baseball's "leadership." Today's example: Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers. According to USA Today, Hicks told the Associated Press that A-Rod called him last week: "'He didn't ask me to accept his apology, and I didn't," Hicks said. But he did apologize.'" What an ass.
Try a little experiment. Look through coverage of the scandal, the Mitchell Report, the confessions of users and so on, and figure out what these guys have in common. What do they have in common? The Bay Area (A's. Giants). New York City (Mets. Yankees). Arlington,Texas (Rangers). That's right. A substantial chunk of these guys spent time in Arlington, under the ownership of Hicks and that other guy.
For Tom Hicks to act superior is obscene. It's now clear: The Texas clubhouse wallowed in the attitude that permeated baseball, a feeling summed up by the NASCAR saying: If you ain't cheatin, you ain't tryin. The Rangers cheated. Constantly. For the owner to act as if he didn't see the bulging heads and muscles, the shrinking brains and testicles, surpasseth all understanding. He helped to create this problem. It's time for him to drop the holier than thou act and take some of the heat.
Bud Selig does not want to hear this.
Posted by: Brett | February 18, 2009 at 02:23 PM
For what it's worth--and given all these revelations, it might be worth something--in his 2005 book, Jose Canseco said of his 1992 acquisition by the Rangers: "There was no question that George W. Bush knew my name was connected with steroids, but he decided to make the deal to trade for me anyway." He adds that Bush and folks like Hicks have now engaged in a "witch hunt--even though they themselves had played a role in helping move the steroid revolution forward, by giving a berth to me and other steroid-using players during my heyday, and benefiting from our enhanced performance."
Posted by: Michael Butterworth | February 18, 2009 at 07:03 PM