David Ortiz And Manny Ramirez Took Steroids, Too, Who Can We Turn To?

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez joined an elite group of their compadres today as some lawyers revealed that the two MLB players tested positive for steroids in 2003. Ortiz and Ramirez formed the core of the Red Sox 2004 championship team, so this pretty much blows. Miguel Tejada, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds have all received a tramping in the media for having used back in 2003, so the guys are in good company, to be sure. But, what have these scandals done to the game’s mystique and the legends that surround baseball? Just as knowing how a magician does his tricks ruins the show, is it sometimes better not to know how MLB players make the sausage?

In 2004, the Red Sox were in the World Series against the Cardinals, and David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were the two best hitters on the team. That series ended with the championship going to the Red Sox for the first time in 86 years. The legend says that the Red Sox were suffering under the “Curse of the Bambino”, which began in 1918 when Red Sox owner Bill Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the hated Yankees in order to finance a Broadway show called No, No Nanette. It was said that the baseball gods and the fat ghost of Babe Ruth were going to keep the Sox from ever winning a World Series again. It seemed to be true, as several times the Sox blew the World Series at the last moment. Many Boston fans took this curse as gospel truth, and hoped that the next year would be the year when they would finally “Reverse the Curse.” That finally happened in 2004 thanks to Ortiz and Ramirez, who had somehow appeased the gods of baseball and finally broken the curse.

This, of course, was just a myth, but is knowing the truth–that Ortiz and Ramirez had the added boost of steroids working in their favor–the best thing? To follow a team and cheer them on is to believe in something bigger than yourself. Your community, your team mean something and they represent you. To many in the Red Sox nation, the news that these two guys used ‘roids to break the curse is akin to the Catholic priest sex scandals of the last few years. It has shaken people’s faith, possibly beyond repair. [Ed. Note: Though unlike steroid users, child-molesting priests should be strung up by their nuts.]

What these guys did was wrong, there is no doubt about that. They are ultimately the ones to blame for the damage they did to baseball. There has to be a part of fans, though, that wishes they did not know. That their faith could still be pure.

Ortiz And Ramirez Said To Be On 2003 Doping List [NY Times]
Major League Baseball Hit Again With Ramirez And Ortiz Named In Report [Examiner]