Miami Marlins: The Dee Gordon Redemption Tour

After being suspended for PED usage, Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon will be making his return to the game.

Former MLB manager Joe Torre was once quoted as saying, “I have no problem with cheating. Whatever you can get away with.”

Another sports celebrity, boxing icon Evander Holyfield, once shared that “you have the advantage over someone, which is a form of cheating. I guess it wouldn’t be right unless it was legal for everybody. Reason it’s not legal for everybody is because it can hurt people seriously.”

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Which one of these quotes to do think pertains to the following athletes?

Jose Canseco, Brady Anderson, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Caminiti, Ryan Braun, Jason Giambi, Jeff Bagwell, Miguel Tejada, Manny Ramirez, Nelson Cruz, Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro.

This group is obviously the “A-list” of those who have confirmed cases of steroid use. How about the next group?

Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero, Jhonny Peralta, Jordany Valdespin, Antonio Bastardo, Melky Cabrera, Marlon Byrd, Yasmani Grandal and Mike Jacobs.

This is your “B-list” for players that were suspended by MLB for at least one positive steroid test, with Byrd having been suspended twice (2012 for 50 games and in 2016 for 162 games).

This game is feeling a bit depressing, so I thought I would follow this up with a list of guys who would definitely not be confused for being steroid users; therefore, agreeing with the mindset of Holyfield.

Everth Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Galvis, Edinson Volquez, J. C. Romero, Sergio Mitre, Neifi Perez, Alex Sanchez and Dee Gordon.

While some of these names come from the early 2000s, what’s important to know about all of these men is that… they also all tested positive for PEDs as well (with Perez testing positive twice).

We tend to think of these hulking, 500-foot HR blasting corner infielders and outfielders as the ones who are doping, yet we fail to recognize when a smaller player like Dee Gordon jumps from a “144-pound nothing-burger into a 171-pound man,” according to Yahoo Sports Jeff Passan.

The Miami Marlins All-Star, of 2015, stole 58 bases last season, plus add to that all of the stats from the preceding paragraph and you have an elite talent already; however, Gordon decided to use and got caught. While we may never know exactly when he started and stopped, his name will be tainted for a number of years without a doubt. Right?

Gordon hopes to put this behind him when he returns to the field on the 28th against the St. Louis Cardinals, but what will it take for us to forgive him? If he hits .333 and steals another 20-22 bases will we see past the steroids, or would it remind us that he has recently been caught cheating and he may be doing so again? How about if he leads the Marlins to the playoffs, even as he is ineligible to partake in the postseason?

Could this work the other way around? What if he bats .200, making Derek Dietrich look that much better? Would fans see him as a washed-up player coming down off of steroids?

Which situation is better for Gordon and the Marlins PR staff?

Next: Dodgers making Julio Urias available for Chris Sale

Gordon, a career .291 hitter (thanks to inflated numbers in 2014 and 2015–a combined .311), has about 60 games to play his way out of the spotlight. The assumption would be a batting average higher than the .266 he is currently hitting this year (maybe .280-.290), with about 20-25 additional stolen bases (26-30ish for the season) and Gold Glove-caliber defense; however, whichever path this will lead his legacy down is completely out of his hands now.

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