Say it Ain’t Sosa: Sammy Tested Positive for PED’s in 2003
When news about another steroid and PED user in baseball comes out I am no longer surprised. How can I be now? With name after name being associated with steroid and PED (Performance Enhancing Drug) use. Another name can be added to the list as Sammy Sosa was apparently also on that same list of positive testers that Alex Rodriguez was on in 2003. The list had all the players that tested positive in 2003 in the MLB, 104 players in all. The list was supposed to never come out to the public. Baseball just wanted to take an anonymous survey to see if they needed testing in baseball. It was kept out of the public spotlight until earlier this year when A-Rod’s name was leaked as the big fish on the list.
Since then, there has been a debate on whether the rest of the names should be made public or not. I personally am on the side of just getting all the names out in the public. Just get it over with now as a big group so people can have their reactions and move on. People will be angry and surprised for a while and then just deal with it. Letting the names be leaked a little at a time just prolongs the story that baseball wants to get rid of. People will always question and suspect anyone and everyone till all the names are out. Though it wont solve all the questions about steroids and PED’s, it will be one less of a story.
As more and more names of steroid and PED users come out, which seems like all the great players of that time, I think fans are starting to think that just about everyone was using them at that time. You can’t really trust anyone these days. Not the MLB, not the players. All we get from them is denial after denial. That is, until they get caught red handed. Then, they try to come out and apologize to everyone like they are doing the honorable thing. It’s not that honorable when all the evidence is out and there is no other option but to apologize for being caught. I mean, Sammy Sosa, just a few weeks ago, stated when he announced his retirement, “I will calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Don’t I have the numbers to be inducted?” That was before anyone could directly link him steroids or PED’s and the only thing that people could pin on him was being caught with that corked bat in that same 2003. But now that this is out, he can most likely just kiss that good bye. I guess we’ll just have to see how the public and hall of fame voters react. My advice to baseball is to just release all the names and get this thing over with. I’ll be waiting for the next 102 till then.
Image Source: Reuters Pictures
