This is a great time of year for baseball fans such as myself. Teams are reporting for spring training, which means Opening Day will be here before we know it. It's like training camp for NFL fans and midnight madness for college basketball fans. It's the anticipation of great and exciting things to come. Well, today's news put a huge damper on that mood. Last fall, only a few days after announcing Ryan Braun won the National League MVP award, it was announced that he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PED's). This vioation carries a 50 game suspension, since it was his first offense. Many fans, myself included, felt that MLB should have stripped Braun of the MVP award, and they dropped the ball. Braun also announced that he would not give up the award, which would be the respectful thing to do if you cheated to win that award. He also said that he was going to appeal the results of the test. Well, as bad as MLB botched that, they made it FAR worse today. MLB announced today that they sided with Braun. Now, to clarify, Braun's appeal was not based on the results of the test, but with the handling of the "sample". He did not despute the results of the test, he said that his sample was mishandled. So he got off on a technicality. As an avid baseball fan, it pains me to say this, but MLB should be ashamed of themself. What message are we sending here?? How often are people upset that someone gets away with murder because a detective didn't handle the evidence properly, even though that evidence proves their guilt?? The trial of Jim Williams, was one of the first murder trials that actually tried the evidence, not the defendant. He was aquitted on a technicality. The movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is an excellent movie and tells this story more in depth. But perhaps the most famous trial of evidence was the aquittal of OJ Simpson. Whether it's murder, or PED's, bottom line is, it's cheating. So, basically we are telling our young kids it's ok to cheat, just make sure there's a way to get around it. I am so disgusted with this decision. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were condemned by fans and abandoned my MLB and they didn't even have physical proof, i.e. a UA test. They have physical proof of Braun's cheating and he's not even getting a slap on the wrist. He gets to keep his MVP award, not serve his 50 game ban, and gets to go on playing ball as if nothing happened. There is no question there is a difference in the game since they "suposedly" cracked down on PED's. The most obivous stat, the homerun, has been down. I'm not sure of the exact stat, I'd have to look it up, but I don't think anyone even hit 50 HR's last year. Even if it's not right, there hasn't been anyone even close to challenging the HR record. There's no arguing that the stats have been down the last few years, and I'm sure MLB doesn't like that. They are probably afraid they will loose fans if that doesn't change. What MLB should be more concerned with is what will result from this decision. Several years ago when the PED subject came to light, MLB had no choice but to do something and start enforcing it. Well, much like Mr. Braun, they have found a way to get around the system. It appears to me, they want to see baseball return to what it was several years ago, and this decision just opened that door. They have found a way to allow players to "juice up" and still maintain they are fighting the problem. Just pick on a few players that no one likes from time to time, i.e. Manny Ramirez, and it looks like they are holding up their end of the bargain. I am a huge baseball fan and my feelings are that PED's are ruining the game. My grandfather was one of the best pitchers southwest Kansas has ever known, and he never used any kind of drug to assist him. He used good old fashioned hard work and effort, plain and simple. People today have become lazy. They want to be the best, with as little effort as possible. They don't want to put in the effort and hard work past players, who made the game what it is today, did. Then how do they respect the hard work of those players? By cheating to demolish their records. Today's decision says the MLB is ok with that. I don't think I've said enough how upset I am by this decision! It is wrong on so many different levels. Then there's the ever famous, special treatment of athletes. What would happen if my employer made me take a drug test tomorrow and it somehow tested positive, even though I've never had an illegal drug in my life? I'd be fired and probably never able to get a descent job again in my life, as it would always be with me. How much luck would I have if I tried to protest the results of that test? Absolutely none.
I love baseball and always will. I hope other baseball fans share the same disgust that I do over this decision. I don't want to see people boycott the game or anything drastic like that, but I really hope the fans express their discontent to MLB in some way. While this decision is embarrassing to the sport of baseball, we should be much more concerned with the message we are sending our young athletes. Go ahead and cheat, just don't get caught. And if you get caught, figure out a way around it. I'm sorry, but that is just wrong.
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