Young stars have chance to lead game back
And they saw some of the game's biggest stars — Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens — lose their reputations over allegations that they used performance-enhancing drugs.
"Just knowing what Clemens, (Andy) Pettitte and all these guys have gone through, I think that if anybody ever had any inclination of trying to do anything, then that would discourage them from even considering it," Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun says.
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| Fans probably don't have much to worry about with this generation. (Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press) |
No one should be naive enough to think that PEDs will disappear from baseball. But players such as Braun, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, are keenly aware that the game's image needs to be repaired. Even more important, they're willing to help repair it.
This, then, is the hope entering the 2008 season, following another tumultuous winter of dispiriting steroid news. Clemens, Barry Bonds and several other faces of the Steroid Era are out, at least at the moment. A number of bright, gifted young stars are ready not only to replace them, but also to lead the sport to a better day.
"I'd welcome that responsibility," Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki says. "I take great pride in that and have great respect for the game of baseball. I want to be in position to kind of turn that page, start with some new guys, get that out of the way of America's pastime and worry about baseball again."
Again, no one should be deluded into thinking the problem is over, or ever will be — gene therapy might be the next shortcut for athletes trying to get ahead. But in baseball, if not other sports, the chances of exposure have never been greater, the risks never more profound.
The Mitchell Report named 89 alleged users, and federal investigators keep turning up more. Yes, substances such as human growth hormone remain undetectable in baseball's testing. But players can be revealed as drug cheats in other ways.
Maybe, just maybe, the culture is changing.
"When we came into the minor leagues, the minor leagues already had a strict testing program," Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur says. "I don't think any of us ever thought about (using PEDs)."
Since 2002, minor leaguers have been subjected to four unannounced tests per year, including some in the off-season, and unpaid suspensions ranging from 15 games for a first offense to a lifetime ban for a fifth. The program, which applies to players who are not on 40-man rosters, covers players such as Francoeur only briefly. But the rules help set a tone.
In Nov. 2005, the major leagues adopted its current penalties — 50 games for a first positive test, 100 for a second and a lifetime ban for a third. Amphetamines also were banned, and many players became more wary of even legal substances. "I'm so worried about testing positive, I won't even take any supplements," Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick says.
Yet, staying clean should only be a starting point, the accepted norm.
"For anybody who is in any kind of limelight at all, the best way to help change things is to set an example," Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young says. "When you talk to kids, you put it out there: That's not the only way to go. There's a safer way to go. Just hard work."
Adds Kendrick: "It's up to us to make our own choices. And our choices will affect other people, whether we decide to do something or not. The way we go about the game, the way we play, give back to the fans, just doing little things here and there, people will say, 'Hey, these guys care about the game, they care about the fans.'"
Young goes even further — he wants the sport's hierarchy to become more aggressive in promoting young stars, especially at a time when Clemens and Bonds are never far from the headlines.
Baseball, enjoying a rare period of labor peace, has done a better job of marketing players in recent years. It also has produced a series of anti-steroid public-service announcements in conjunction with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
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| Today's younger players are used to playing it clean. (Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images) |
Why not combine the two efforts?
"You've got to put us out there," Young says. "That's part of it, too. The guys who are seen out there are only the guys whose names are out there for the wrong reasons. You need to get guys out there who are doing it the right way. Put the spotlight on those guys."
PEDs will remain in the news regardless. Bonds has been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. The federal investigations of Clemens and Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada are ongoing. The Hall of Fame elections, at least for the forseeable future, could amount to "Did he or didn't he?" referendums.
The sport isn't exactly suffering, generating more than $6 billion in revenue — a record amount — last season. Still, as commissioner Bud Selig prepares to act on the recommendations of the Mitchell report, baseball can help shift the conversation.
"There are so many great storylines, so many great players, so many great things going on, it's unfortunate that (PEDs) are such a recurring issue," Braun says. "Obviously, it's understandable, but hopefully we can put it behind us and people can just appreciate the talent that is in the game right now."
It's a different era, all right. Doesn't mean it's cursed.
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