At my personal blog, Rantings of a Young Evangelical, a friend and fellow blogger made a comment on my most recent post. You see, at my personal blog I write about several things; God, the Scriptures, politics, and of course, college football. In my most recent post, Year of the Big 12 North, Dave answered my question and then in Dave fashion asked why I waste my time talking about the Big 12 North when I could talk about the Yankees!!!
Here is my response:
Who are the Yankees? Oh, thats the team that keeps getting busted for steroids. I’ll pay attention to baseball when they care enough to make players stop cheating. Until then, Go Huskers!
I played baseball until I was a junior in High School. The closest we got to winning state was losing in the semi-finals to a team that had a pitcher that could strike out A-roid. In recent years,I must admit, I have completely stopped watching baseball and I have stopped following anything that goes on with baseball. Even with my purposeful attempt to avoid baseball, I can’t. Why? Because a new steroid scandal is all over the news seemingly every week.
What seems interesting to me is that the consensus feeling towards baseball players caught using steroids is, “Oh, they shouldn’t do that, but every makes mistakes.” Should that be the response? I am still trying to completely abandon baseball because I am tired of the steroid stories and lack of integrity in the game.
I am not saying all Christians should abandon baseball. Clearly, Dave Miller would never abandon the team he loves even though all of them are cheating millionaires. So what should the Christian response be towards steroids? (by the way, I am not talking about boycotting. Any time Christians ‘boycott’ it is dumb.) But should our attitude towards the MLB and any league that is so soft on cheating be this nonchalant “well we all mess up.” In my opinion, any player that gets caught with steroids should be kicked out of Baseball for good. And by the way, if the MLB did take steroids seriously this is exactly what they would do. Instead, they could care less about ethics and integrity as long as people are filling the stadiums.
I am a Nebraska Cornhusker fan… If ANY player on our team got busted with steroids I would only be happy if he was released from the team never to play again, especially, if it was our “best player.” Shouldn’t that be the Christian response? In all areas of life, shouldn’t we desire accountability and integrity. Even with silly things such as sports we should care deeply about integrity and as Christians we should always promote this?
I write this post for two reasons: 1) I know people in the South love there sports. When you have the overrated SEC, baseball, basketball, and every other sport there are going to be a lot of Christians interacting with these sports. 2) I desire all Christians to think biblically in all areas of life, even sports.
Final question: How do you respond when you hear of another baseball player, probably a Yankee, is caught using steroids or any other athlete is caught cheating?
{ 18 comments }
Hey Dave, this post is for you and your Roidian Yankees.
Oh, Dude, now its on!!!
By the way, the folks being caught recently are not Yankees, but Red Sox (whom I call the Boston Satans).
.-= Dave Miller´s last blog ..WOW! Words of Wisdom from "Between the Times" =-.
Matt,
What do you believe the Christian response should be towards non-steroid, performance-enhancing products that are legal?
Yea, Dave is right. Manny and Big Papi ain’t Yankees. With a little luck, I hope to see my Yankees play the Rangers in October!
Sincerely,
A (non-anabolic) prescription steroid user.
.-= Big Daddy Weave´s last blog ..Quote of the Day from the Baptist Blogosphere =-.
I will give a serious answer to what you have said. First of all, there have been several Yankees (most not current) who have been implicated in the steroids controversy. However, two prominent Yankees have been implicated (A-rod, who claims to have used when a Ranger, and Pettitte).
The fact is, every major sport has a PED problem. And, within baseball, the idea that the Yankees have been the steroids team is good grist for the mill, but it ignores the evidence that baseball had a steroids/HGH problem that was rampant.
I think those who cheated should pay the penalties and will always live with a black mark against their names (and their records). McGwire, Sosa, Bonds.
I would be willing to wager my spleen that lots of Huskers took PED’s as well as Buckeyes and Trojans and Gators and even Hawkeyes.
I assume you are connecting the Yankees and steroids to get my goat, since I harrassed you on your blog. I respect that.
But if you are seriously arguing that the Yankees are any different than any other modern sports team relative to steroids, that argument would be ridiculous.
Jeter, Posada, Mariano Rivera, and many of the Yankee greats of the modern era have played with dignity and no stain on their records. Clemens – he’s a mess (and not just when he played for NY). Giambi was a poster-boy for the steroids era, but his greatest days came with the A’s. He was never a great Yankee. A-rod? He’s a mess. What more can you say? He’s not exactly the most beloved Yankee of all time.
By the way, how many more Red Sox have to test positive before you guys start looking at their 2004 and 2007 teams?
.-= Dave Miller´s last blog ..WOW! Words of Wisdom from "Between the Times" =-.
Dave,
You are right, I only picked the Yankees as my poster-boy steroid team to harass you, not because they are actually the worst when it comes to PED.
I just look forward to the millennium when we will all be Yankees fans and they will win the World Series for 1000 consecutive years, going 162,000 and 0 in the regular season.
What a day that will be…
.-= Dave Miller´s last blog ..Its a Miracle!! =-.
In reality, the Yankees have been hurt bad by the steroids thing. We gave a HUGE contract to Giambi (20 million a year) based on his performance on steroids, then had to pay him when he went off steroids and his production fell dramatically.
Same thing might be happening with A-rod. Is he hurt this year, or has he begun a post-steroidal decline. Time will tell. But even he becomes a 20 home run, .265 hitter for the rest of his contract, we are still paying him 35 million a year for the next 8 years.
Baseball has made big money off steroids. Yankees have paid a pretty severe price – and will be for the next 8 years.
Not looking for sympathy – wouldn’t get it.
.-= Dave Miller´s last blog ..Its a Miracle!! =-.
By the way, Matt. A “one-strike-and-you-are-out” policy is pretty harsh.
.-= Dave Miller´s last blog ..WOW! Words of Wisdom from "Between the Times" =-.
It is very harsh… Which is why if it was implemented it would work. Players are willing to risk a few games and a lousy fine, but they wont be willing to risk the rest of their career. If you really want this problem solved a one-strike and your out policy will work.
I really believe that baseball, profiting as it was from the Home Run Derby and the exploits of McGwire, Sosa, Bonds and others intentionally turned a blind eye.
Baseball made money off steroids. Big Money.
I think the penalties are pretty good right now. First offense is 50 games. Second offense is, I believe, a year. After that, you are out of baseball until they decide to let you back in.
I do not favor the “death penalty” but I do favor stiff penalties.
.-= Dave Miller´s last blog ..Its a Miracle!! =-.
Dave,
You said you like these penalties, but then you also said you like “stiff” penalties. Do you really think these current penalties are “stiff?” At minimum first offense should be suspension for a year-without pay and the second offense should be 3 years without pay and then you have to try out for teams to be sure you are still good. Then if you get busted a third time you are gone forever, no chance at returning. That should be the MINIMUM.
I wouldn’t have a problem with a year for the first offense. The current penalties are WAY stiffer than the original baseball penalties. 10 games for first offense. That was a real deterent.
Actually, some other sports have a two-year first offense penalty. That might clean things up.
.-= Dave Miller´s last blog ..WOW! Words of Wisdom from "Between the Times" =-.
Do you really think steroids/PED is MORE of a problem in baseball than football?
.-= Dave Miller´s last blog ..Its a Miracle!! =-.
I have no clue… All I know is baseball players are getting caught every week and football players aren’t. Also, a Quarterback taking steroids might get him to throw the ball a little farther and a linebacker hit a little harder.. But in baseball it makes a much bigger difference, especially when it comes to statistics.
Although it is equally wrong in both it benefits baseball players a lot more than football.
I’m 54 and a life long St. Louis Cardinals fan. I don’t watch much baseball any more, though, precisely because of the steroid problem. And frankly, what turned me away more than the actualy steroid use was the constant lying and denials by players.
.-= Barry Wallace´s last blog ..A Southern Baptist elder’s encounter with demons… =-.
Barry,
Great minds and hearts think and feel alike? Well, idk about all that, but I am glad that we find ourselves in the same place!
I must say that you have lost all credibility to talk about sports…..at least football when you say the SEC is overrated. The First will be last does not apply to college football. My precious Ole Miss Rebels came and wiped away the Red Raiders while the Gators beat up a pretty good Sooner team. I don’t get why other conferences (namely those with the word “Big” in their title) feel the need to talk about the SEC being overrated when we continue to win it all. How can the conference that is continually ranked one after all the games are played be overrated?
Of course, I am being a little tongue in cheek. I don’t really care in the end though i am a massive college football fan. And I don’t think it would be possible for me to care less about baseball.
It is a sad day indeed for sports, both on the high school, college, or professional level, where we feel a need to add to what GOD has already given us. I have a love for football, baseball, track, and cross country, and I don’t believe that steriods has a place in any sport or game. It is clearly wrong for our young men and woman in sports to use steriods.
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