12.15.04
Cheaters
To understand the fallout from cheating, you need look no farther than where I’m writing this right now–Bainbridge Island, Washington.
In 2001 a group of 11- and 12-year-old boys from Bainbridge made it to the Little League World Series, beat a team from Iowa in their first game, then lost to teams from Florida and New York.
The top two teams from their bracket would have advanced to the American semi-finals. Bainbridge came in third. Eventually, the team from Apopka, Fla. beat the kids from The Bronx. Later, it was revealed that one of the players from New York, Danny Almonte, was actually 14. He had pitched a perfect game during the tournament, relying on fastballs rumored to travel up to 70 or 80 miles per hour. He was no kid.
Again, the point is Bainbridge came in third. The New Yorkers were forced to forfeit, so Bainbridge officially came in second place too late for it to matter. Also hosed in the affair was a team from State College, Pa., defeated by the New York team for the right to represent the Mid-Atlantic region in the World Series. Every team that league played lost out on an opportunity, because the team from the Bronx cheated.
Move forward a year and it’s the Giants and the Angels in the real World Series. We all suspect there was at least one cheater on the field, but no one would be surprised to learn there may have been more. If what guys like Caminiti and Canseco say is true, the numbers using steroids is so great that it’s difficult to doubt any team’s accomplishment, because if everyone is doing it the playing field is level.
My friend Brant explained a way, and perhaps it’s the major way, steroids is cheating. I have no doubt Bonds works his butt off in the off season. Where steroids can make a difference is in how long you have to wait between workouts. Brant told me one time he had a goal of benching 315 pounds. Working out every other day he felt great, so great in fact he decided to work out every day instead. Before long everything ached and the more often he worked out, the weaker he got. He took two weeks off, came back and could bench 315 after two weeks away. Had Brant been taking steroids, working out every day would have been just fine. Brian Bosworth, when he was caught by the NCAA, said steroids allowed him to bounce back from an injury quicker, because he didn’t need to rest between workouts. Bottom line, it’s cheating.
But when it comes to individual accomplishments, I may not trust any power records for a long time. Hank Aaron may end up in second place if Bonds continues his approach on the record. But really, who cares anymore? Sure, it will be big news on that day, the ball that lands in McCovey cove will probably fetch a few million. Still, who cares? In years to come video of the record-breaking home run will be regularly showed alongside the nail file flying out of Niekro’s pocket, and Danny Almonte. We’ll acknowledge the record because no one will ever prove Bonds did it illegitimately. But we will be begging for the next guy to come along and surpass Bonds, praying we can esteem the guy, believing he did it legitimately. Even then, we’ll never know.