Six years ago, if it had come out that Sammy Sosa was using steroids, I would have been devastated. Sammy was always my favorite player (once Ryno retired) on my favorite team, and in the summer of 1998, I was cheering him on as he chased Roger Maris' home run record. So if any allegations or proof of steroid use were to come to light, it would have hurt a lot.
Fast forward to today. Sosa is revealed to have tested positive for steroids in 2003.
I barely bat an eyelash.
Such is the feeling among baseball fans after years of being jaded, thanks to a seemingly endless onslaught of steroid-talk.
Once upon a time, if a major slugger is accused of taking performance enhancing drugs, we would've reacted with shock and awe. How dare these cheaters defame the innocent world of baseball? we shout on television. Books like "Game of Shadows" and "Juiced" would be published, providing evidence on superstars who took PEDs. It was all new and scary. Baseball fans had never had to endure something as foreboding as this before.
Players would eventually go before Congress and testify about the issue. And that's when everything started to change.
Rafael Palmeiro wagged his finger and said he had never taken steroids. Period. Shortly thereafter, he tested positive for PEDs.
A shriveled Mark McGwire dodged questions about his own steroid use, saying that he was "not there to talk about the past.
Even Sosa acted like he struggled with English, avoiding questions while maintaining his innocence.
It was after that, that people stopped caring.
News of steroid use by a star player doesn't shock fans anymore. If anything, they respond with a scoff and a "what else is new?" attitude. After five-plus years of neverending steroid talk, fans just want to finally get back to baseball again.
But it seems like they never will, because baseball, its players, and whomever is leaking all of this steroid information have molded the situation into a managable system: Allegations from anonymous sources come out saying that Superstar A used PEDs a few years ago, based on tests that were supposed to be confidential. Superstar A initially denies comment for two days while setting up the right media outlet to spin in. Superstar A goes on TV to apologize, saying that it happened a long time ago and he was young and stupid/injured/a victim of the culture. The public then accepts it and moves on.
Why? Not because they really accept a fake apology, but because they want to get back to baseball.
It keeps going on and on. Andy Pettitte. Jason Giambi. Alex Rodriguez. They spun the coverage, made "apologies" and the baseball-starved public moved on. Hell, look at Manny Ramirez. He gets suspended for taking a hormone supplement and people still react as if it's just Manny Being Manny. Meanwhile, someone like Roger Clemens continues to defend his reputation to the death, and everyone shouts that he should "just admit it already."
Baseball is embracing the "repentant cheaters" and lambasting the ones to deny it.
Again, why? Because everyone is sick to death of steroids. If you create too much of an ongoing controversy, at some points the fans will stop caring. As well they should. Baseball is supposed to be a game, something where fans can go to the ballpark or sit on the couch and take in the excitement and drama of it all. It's entertainment. Sure, steroids provided a dramatic boom at first, but by now everyone is sick of that storyline and wants to get back to the good stuff. After 5 long years, why should we care anymore about what these guys put in their bodies?
That's the biggest shame of all. The steroid problem has become so saturated into baseball that it's become almost commonplace.
And the fans don't even make a sound.
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