Delaney: PED Sox another chapter in steroid era
I'm a sentimental sports fan. I melt at the sight of a 1980 Miracle on Ice video clip, Pete Sampras climbing into the Wimbledon stands, or the final scene from 'Field of Dreams.'
It's not surprising that I would've saved a national sports magazine from 2004. There were four smiling faces on the cover of the late-fall issue, and one of those was David Ortiz.
Ortiz is the latest noteworthy name found to have used a performance-enhancing drug. Manny Ramirez, Ortiz's former Boston teammate, also apparently used PEDs. There will be more players, for sure. Sadly, the effects of the so-called 'steroid era' won't be fully understood for many years. Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) will be the most influential group in recording how this time in baseball history is regarded.
On the cover of my old magazine, Ortiz was pictured with three then-Red Sox teammates and the World Series trophy - the first for Boston in 86 years. This week, Ortiz was identified as one of the 100-plus players to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. His smile, or those of Johnny Damon, Curt Schilling or Pedro Martinez does not make me shiver remembering what I thought to be the second-greatest moment in American sports history.
Barry Bonds' 756th home run nearly two years ago to the day also fails to move me. Footage of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, both of whom were thought to have contributed to the resurgence of baseball 11 years ago with a magical home run chase, also fails to bring up true emotion.
I can't get sentimental from those moments. They leave me numb.
It's not surprising that I would've saved a national sports magazine from 2004. There were four smiling faces on the cover of the late-fall issue, and one of those was David Ortiz.
Ortiz is the latest noteworthy name found to have used a performance-enhancing drug. Manny Ramirez, Ortiz's former Boston teammate, also apparently used PEDs. There will be more players, for sure. Sadly, the effects of the so-called 'steroid era' won't be fully understood for many years. Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) will be the most influential group in recording how this time in baseball history is regarded.
On the cover of my old magazine, Ortiz was pictured with three then-Red Sox teammates and the World Series trophy - the first for Boston in 86 years. This week, Ortiz was identified as one of the 100-plus players to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. His smile, or those of Johnny Damon, Curt Schilling or Pedro Martinez does not make me shiver remembering what I thought to be the second-greatest moment in American sports history.
Barry Bonds' 756th home run nearly two years ago to the day also fails to move me. Footage of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, both of whom were thought to have contributed to the resurgence of baseball 11 years ago with a magical home run chase, also fails to bring up true emotion.
I can't get sentimental from those moments. They leave me numb.
posted by Anne Delaney at
4:36 PM
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