Miami Marlins: Dee Gordon issues video apology before returning from suspension

Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon apologized to fans in a video for his PED suspension. Will he be able to turn the page upon returning to the lineup tonight?

Dee Gordon will make his long-awaited return to the Miami Marlins tonight after serving an 80-game suspension for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy. But before the second baseman takes the field again, he released a video via Bleacher Report’s Uninterrupted to apologize to fans and clarify his situation:

In the three-and-a-half minute video, Gordon speaks candidly about the mistake that wiped out nearly half his season. He says that he was careless in not paying enough attention to the substances he was putting into his body. He knows he needs to work to gain back the trust of the fans and is determined to do just that. While he says he has always tried to be a good person, he acknowledges that now he must be a great one to make up for his misstep.

Gordon also discusses how seriously he takes his status as a role model for kids, particularly the ones who might not be the biggest or the strongest on the field. Gordon himself is a smaller, thin-framed guy, which is why many were quite surprised to find out he got busted for PEDs back in April. The news was yet another reminder that it’s not just brawny sluggers looking to make their muscles pop that are using steroids.

Will Gordon’s apology make much of a difference? That probably depends on how he performs once he’s back in the lineup. Fans’ perceptions of players with PED histories tend to hinge on how useful those players are at the given moment. Yankees fans embraced Alex Rodriguez again last year when he rather shockingly belted 33 home runs. However, when those players don’t come through, the steroid cloud can make fans run out of patience rather quickly. A-Rod is batting .206 with only nine homers this year, and the Bronx faithful is growing increasingly tired of him.

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Gordon slashed .333/.359/.418 last season, winning the National League batting title. He also led the majors with 205 hits and 58 stolen bases. If he puts up those kinds of numbers again and retakes his place as a dynamo at the top of the Marlins batting order, fans (at least the ones in Miami) will likely find it easy to forget his recent transgressions. Gordon had been in the midst a sluggish start before getting suspended, posting a .266/.289/.340 line in 21 games.

Charisma and personality also help. David Ortiz was on a 2003 list of players who tested positive for banned substances, but you wouldn’t know that watching his tribute at this month’s All-Star Game. Most would probably agree that Ortiz gets a pass for his jolly, fun-loving image (except when near a dugout phone after a frustrating strikeout). Those like A-Rod, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens already had a history of rubbing people the wrong way, which is why baseball fandom in general is far less forgiving toward them.

Gordon hasn’t really given anyone a strong reason to dislike him in the past, and as the son of a respected 21-year MLB veteran, he might encounter less difficulty than others in moving beyond the controversy. That would be good news for the Marlins, who need no distractions in the middle of a postseason race.

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Ultimately, Gordon needed to acknowledge the elephant in the room in some manner before taking the field again, and he did that reasonably well by making a personal video message rather than a hasty tweet. For the reigning NL batting champion, the road to redemption begins to tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals at Marlins Park.