A fellow Cav Daily sports writer wrote a few weeks ago about how Rick Ankiel's recent home runs mean more to the sports world than Barry Bonds' record-breaking shots. I disagreed with him then, and I still do, because of the magnitude of Bonds' accomplishments, tainted or not.
I am bringing this up now because of another connection between these two particular men that is sure to spoil one man's great story. This past Friday, the New York Daily News reported that in 2004, Ankiel received a full year's supply of human growth hormone (HGH). The sports world was shocked.
You might be sick of reading about steroids. You might be sick of reading about Bonds. I will admit, I am too. But I needed to write about this particular controversy. Hear me out.
I first asked myself, do I care about Ankiel having received HGH in '04, when he was still a pitcher? (He actually threw 10 innings for the Cardinals that season.) Major League Baseball didn't ban HGH until the following year, so even if Ankiel was taking the drug during 2004, it wasn't illegal at the time.
(Oh wait, scratch that. Steroids ARE ILLEGAL in this country, but not in baseball. Makes sense, doesn't it?)
It took me a while to come to a conclusion on the issue, but my answer is yes, I do care. I care because baseball is a sport that I love with great passion, and any type of drug-enhanced performance ruins the integrity of a game that gained the reputation of America's favorite game because of hitters such as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron. I care because these men made the most of their natural ability and deserve the respect they get as some of the best hitters of all time.
Rick Ankiel's comeback was a great story ... before it turned sour in a heartbeat. He had great stuff as a pitcher but somehow lost the ability to throw a strike, causing many to believe his career was over. For him to come back and smash homers as if he were Roger Maris in 1961 was something to rejoice about, as it indeed showed that people could bounce back from obstacles and find success in other ways. Except now, there is this one nagging little question: Is Ankiel doing this the clean way or is he cheating? We won't know, just like we won't know about any of the other statistics accumulated during this "Steroid Era." We won't know about men as prominent as Mark McGwire or as meaningless as Brady Anderson (sorry, O's fans). The only thing left for us as baseball fans to do is just hope that he never took the steroids; if he did, we can hope that he at least isn't using them now.
I'm sorry for those of you who still want to believe in Ankiel and celebrate the "Comeback Kid" for what he's done this year, but I just can't do it anymore. If you need a story to hang on to from this season, I would rather you celebrate Josh Hamilton, the Reds outfielder who battled his way back from drug addiction to have a tremendous 2007 season without* using steroids. (I use the asterisk because I want to believe this, and I have no reason not to, but in this day and age, you never know. Note: I am by no means implying Hamilton might be on steroids.)
As for Barry Bonds, I ask myself every day whether or not I can legitimately call him a cheater, or if I should celebrate his record-breaking feats. Like it or not, he broke the most well-known and respected record in all of baseball. I am less likely to be happy for him because he doesn't come off as a nice person, whereas Hank Aaron is known to be a good guy. But whether he is friendly is meaningless compared to the question of his cheating the game. Anyone who has read "Game of Shadows" could not possibly still believe he did not use performance-enhancing drugs during his career. But, when did he use them? How did that affect his ability? He has been a great hitter throughout his career, so how did these drugs that he allegedly took really impact his home-run totals?
The fact of the matter is, nobody will ever be able to answer these questions. Baseball is no longer the pure sport it once was. And now, with yet another story of good guy turned cheater, I don't know if it is possible to watch a game without wondering if every player on the field is using drugs to improve his play. So what am I hoping for? Alex Rodriguez to break Hank Aar... no, Barry Bonds' home run record, and to never, ever touch steroids.
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