The Triangle

Issue date: 4/21/06 Section: Sports
Originally published: 4/21/06 at 11:17 AM EST
Last update: 4/21/06 at 11:16 AM EST

Media Credit: graphics.jsonline.com

Major League Baseball is investigating the wide spread steroid abuse by baseball players in the late '80s and the '90s. Meanwhile there's already one player on trial. Barry Bonds has been charged with single-handedly ruining baseball, denigrating the game and tainting the era. The media is the prosecution, representing the people. Therefore, it's only right that I step in as the public defender on Bonds' behalf, not because I think he didn't use steroids, but because he's unfairly taking the lion's share of the blame for this era.

While Bonds is being harassed and booed by fans all over the country, Jason Giambi an admitted steroid user, is essentially getting a free pass from fans. Gary Sheffield knowingly used steroids but is also not feeling any heat. While it's true that they aren't close to breaking any records, neither is Bonds. He's not going to break Hank Aaron's record; he's too old. The fans' hatred of Bonds is at least partly driven by the media's hatred of Bonds. Why is there no media pressure on Giambi and Sheffield to just quit? How come it seems nobody hates them? This doesn't seem quite fair to me.

Barry Bonds has never been friendly with the media, which has in turn, driven their hatred of him. Now, I'm not saying he's a nice guy or that the media should like him, I'm saying that it's not fair that his prosecutors have personal agendas against him. Two writers came out with a book about steroid use and the BALCO scandal and everyone takes their word as gospel ­­- it's just more evidence that Bonds cheated. The other players mentioned in the book are still feeling none of the heat.

Another big problem with the persecution of Bonds and the increase of home runs during the "Steroid Era" is the lack of pressure put on pitchers. If hitters were juicing up, pitchers were definitely juicing up. Yet, none of the pitchers that are suddenly always hurt or have lost a lot of their velocity are being investigated. Position players and pitchers alike were juicing up, which should take away from the idea that offensive stats were inflated because the hitters were on the juice. Some guys were clean and some weren't. The pitchers are getting a free pass while the position players of the era are guilty until proven to be media-friendly. In a perfect world, the steroids investigation would clear up everything. Steroids will be proven to be an industry-wide problem that baseball neglected to properly police. It's obvious to me that everyone knew what was going on. The managers, coaches, scouts, GMs, owners and MLB officials couldn't have been ignorant to this before Bonds hit 73 home runs.

Continued...

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