Everyone remembers the nuclear bombshell that befell the baseball world in February. Alex Rodriguez, star third baseman for the New York Yankees, became the first name leaked from a list of 104 MLB players that failed a steroid test during the 2003 season. The resulting media circus saw Rodriguez as the front story throughout the sports media. So, when the names of fellow superstars Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were also released from that list, one would expect a similar outrage, correct?
Instead, the issue has been swept under the rug. Rodriguez had been subject to downright slander as all kinds of details from his personal life were dug up daily and released to the public. Manny, one could say, was not a big shock as he had already been suspended for steroid use earlier in the season. His treatment during this period, however, was just as outrageous, only in a different way. Upon his return, Ramirez was seen as a hero with ESPN showing live cut-ins of his at-bats. The whole story was basically dismissed as "Manny Being Manny." And what of Ortiz, a player who may well come to define the steroid era. Mediocre hitting before his 2003 signing with the Red Sox and a harsh decline following the 2007 World Series win make him a poster boy of how steroid use can improve performance. The hero of Red Sox Nation has instead basically been given the benefit of the doubt by ESPN and the rest of the sports media. Largely overshadowed by the baseball trade deadline, there have been no catcalls for answers by the Selena Robertses of the world, no dirt to be dished out by former maids. Peter Gammons and the rest of the hypocritical media are quite content to let this issue ride into the sunset.
As a fan who watched the abuse that A-Rod went through in February, I want some answers from Ortiz. I want the New York media and fans to keep bringing his failed test back into the fold. And most of all, I want Ortiz to follow the advice he gave in this following interview, lest he be the biggest hypocrite of all:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIiIcOAbuGk
