Roid Rage

Later on this week Congress will be hearing testimony from many baseball players who are somehow connected to the steroids controversy. Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa, and Curt Schilling are just some of the names that have been subpoenaed. All of this to me is just one big dog and pony show.

First off, with all the problems that plague this country for congress to waste more than five minutes on this subject is a load of crap. I am a baseball fan. I am not stupid. I’ve always assumed that ball players took roids. I could care less if they do. Steroids are illegal in this country and therefore banned from the game. Let me be the first to say that they should not be.

Steroids should not be classified in the same terms as heroin, crack or cocaine. If you use steroids wisely and under a doctor’s supervision they can help you. It’s like anything else, if used in moderation it won’t hurt you. If you overload on them, then you risk long-term health issues. If a ball player chooses to inject themselves with steroids it is their body and I for one am not going to tell them what to do with it.

People are going to come at me with a million arguments against the use of roids. There are millions of dollars at stake here. Let’s say someone told you that by taking steroids for a couple of years in moderation the end result would be that you would land a contract worth 100 million dollars. Would you really not take them? I for one would be first in line. Let’s see here, you get to play ball for a living, have guiltless sex with ballpark Betty’s, get treated like a star, and make more money than God. What again is the drawback? Oh, my balls may get smaller and I might have some rage issues. Big freaking deal.

Now, if someone is taking them just to pump up then that is moronic. If vanity is your only goal then well you deserve what you get by over using them. But if you want to enhance performance than they are effective. Baseball players have been doing this since the 50’s. They used to take Amphetamines back in the day. In Jim Boutan’s great book, Ball Four he tells story after story about how players used to take “greenies” to get some extra zip on their fastball. So, I don’t want to hear how pure the game was back in the day crap. It’s always been tainted.

So, for congress to now step in and claim mortal outrage is the ultimate in foolishness. Other than creating a stir just what do they hope to accomplish by having these ballplayers testify? Also, why are only baseball players being called? Are you going to tell me football players are not juicing up? Why is baseball the only sport being picked on? Trust me this all about politics and getting some recognition. It is a complete waste of time and energy.

So I say supply all trainers in Major League Baseball with training on how to effectively and safely administer steroids. Any player who wants to take them can legally go to the trainer and they can administer them. This way the players are being supervised with their usage and we can avoid over using them as obviously a McGwire and Sosa did. Sure steroids are dangerous and that is all the more reason why they need to be supervised. Abstinence never works and anytime it is used as policy it will be taken advantage of.