Difficult to ignore Alex Rodriguez’s impending milestones
The word steroid and the acronym PED have forever altered the image of the game and many of its players. Major League Baseball initially did nothing to police any such activity. Artificial physiological enhancement had long been evident in organized competition and athletics before steroids found their way into baseball. Some big leaguers perceived at it as a loophole, while others thought of it as cheating. Either way, it started out as a grey area in baseball’s shadows.
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The office of the commissioner no longer ignores the infiltration of PEDs into the game. The rule book has been re-written, with policies and testing procedures now in place. But how much longer can the office of the commissioner and the BBWAA ignore some of the steroid eras past culprits? As Alex Rodriguez continues to create new milestones for himself, his past indiscretions hang over his head.
Using PEDs in the game of baseball might prolong a career or make certain instances of that career more productive and memorable. But they cannot make a nobody into a somebody. Not in baseball. Few people know what it is like to stand in a batter’s box and face some of the most daunting pieces of cowhide planet earth has to offer being hurled through the air. But the gift of being able to hit it well and often predates any anabolic, synthetic substance entering a talented adolescent’s body.
With alleged users like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens now retired, A-Rod is the primary man left to watch and ponder over. Rodriguez admits to having used PEDs and is the current poster boy for the bygone era of the game. At 39, still active and productive, he already has the suggested asterisk attached to his name.
May 25, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols prior to the game against the San Diego Padres at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
With Rodriguez’s latest milestone of surpassing Bonds and the beloved Lou Gehrig in career RBI expected to come any moment now, his lost season in 2014 might make some people breathe a sigh of relief. A number of milestones originally possible for Rodriguez may not be anymore. But more are coming. As fans cheer against him, many simultaneously cheer in favor of the other great but far less infamous player of A-Rod’s generation; Albert Pujols.
Rodriguez has four years on Pujols in age and six years in service time, but Pujols has the ultimate advantage on the Yankees’ designated hitter — a clean slate. No mention of his name in the Mitchell Report, no allegations and little speculation. His name is not synonymous with Biogenesis. Pujols is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Should any of that change between now and when he is first eligible for Cooperstown would signal tragedy. But to many fans of the game, someone like Rodriguez or Bonds getting enshrined would be equally tragic.
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It remains to be seen what the future holds, but Alex Rodriguez’s accomplishments are difficult to ignore. His legacy likely will not be that of Pujols’ by a measure of integrity, but popularity is another means of comparison. The two are the faces of their generation in MLB. They juxtapose one another so well. One, an arrogant cheater playing his strenuous career out bitterly for the Evil Empire. The other, a philanthropist of sorts who brought his game to California’s leisure West Coast.
No one is ashamed to cheer Albert Pujols on in his quest for historical legitimacy. Rodriguez, meanwhile, has his fans, but most of them tuck any admiration or outspoken compliments for him away into a deep, dark closet. The two are both unordinary players living in circumstantial times. It’s tough to ignore Rodriguez’s impending milestones, but it’s at least easy to be distracted by the potential of Pujols and his upcoming milestones.
The circumstances of A-Rod’s time around the game are less popular, but his deeds and name may be spoken of longer than Pujols’. America loves a scandal, and Alex Rodriguez’s story is the scandal of a lifetime for pastime like none other. It cannot be ignored.