What Now?

   "Down the left field line, is it enough? Gonneee!!! There it is!!!! 62!!!! Touch first Mark, you are the new single season home-run king!!!"

    We all remember where we were on that September night in 1998, when Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris's single season home-run record of 61 home-runs. I was thirteen at the time, and I was lost in the moment. Words couldn't describe how I felt watching McGwire circling the bases giving the Chicago Cubs players high-fives, and hugs. Watching the greatest moment in baseball of my youth. Looking back, I can't believe how naive I ,and even the world were.

     A few days ago McGwire admitted that he used Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) during majority of his baseball career, including 1998. I feel so used.  I worshiped this guy that year. My summer was revolved around the home-run race between McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

     McGwire may be the poster child of what is known as " the steroid era," in baseball, but he is just the beginning. Yesterday, on ESPN radio 1000 in Chicago, former Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel, who gave up # 62, was asked how many players he played against he thought used PEDs? His response, " 10%." Wait, 10%! That averages out to be 2 players per team. That means when I use to watch Cubs games there were a total of 4 players using PEDs on the t.v. These guys were my hero's growing up. They were the reason I love the game. Sixty years from no how can I tell my grand-kids that the baseball players of my youth were cheaters. Something has to be done about all of this.

     Major League Baseball needs to punish these players that have admitted or got caught taking PEDs. There has been a couple of ideas floated around.

     One is to go and strip away all of the players numbers. Meaning Barry Bonds, who has admitted to accidentally taking a form of PEDs called "the cream," wouldn't be the all-time home-run leader. Mark McGwire's 583 home-runs would be gone, and Roger Clemens 354 wins would be gone. If they go that route then they need to go back and look to see how many game winning hits these players  had and take the win away from their respected teams. Same with Clemens's wins, which means the Yankees wouldn't have won the World Series in 1999 and 2000. MLB won't do that, so this scenario won't work.

     The other is to not vote these players into the Hall of Fame. That's a good one you are only hurting the player not the team. The problem with that is what about players like Brian Roberts or Migual Tejada, who weren't going to be in the Hall of Fame anyways, how do you punish them. 

     I have solution that is fair. Take all the players who have admitted to or been caught using any form of PEDs and BAN THEM FROM BASEBALL FOR LIFE! That's right ban them. These players cheated. Pete Rose bet on baseball and he got banned. Using PEDs is A LOT worse.  Banning them would be the way for MLB to take of this problem.

     Bud Selig and Major League Baseball have somethings to workout. Right now they are telling us, the fan, that these players cheated and all they are going to get is a slap om the wrist. Whats that tell the youth baseball players. Go ahead and cheat all you will get is a Stern talking too. This needs to be fixed, or until it does next time I am watching a game I will be wondering who is clean and who isn't.