ASTERISKS

The revelation of steroid use by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez creates significant problems for Major League Baseball.  The disclosure was hardly a surprise; Manny had been exposed eariier in the season, and anyone who has foloowed Big Papi’s career knew that he was dirty.  After all, this is a guy who was released by the Twins at age 26 after the 2002 season.  He turned up in Boston the following year, and was suddenly the second coming of Carl Yastrzemski.  Then after the Mitchell Report was issued and testing began, he suddenly couldn’t hit any more.  So it was hardly a shock to have it confirmed that he was juicing.

But Major League Baseball now has a significant problem.  For the first time, we know that a World Series Championship was won by using steroids.  Two actually.  The Red Sox champions of 2004 and 2007 were built around Ortiz and Ramirez.  Without them the Red Sox don’t even contend, let alone win.

Such has not been the case up to now.  The Yankee players who have been tied to illegal substance use did so after the championship years of 1996-2000.  The only possible exception is Roger Clemens, and Clemens was only a significant player in 2000 (he was with the team in 1999, but was hurt most of the year and was only the fourth starter).  None of the significant players on the 2001 Diamondbacks, the 2002 Angels (who fortunately beat the Barry Bonds-led Giants), the 2003 Marlins, the 2005 White Sox, the 2006 Cardinals, or the 2008 Phillies has been tied directly to steroids.

But with the outing of Ortiz and Ramirez, no one can doubt that the two Red Sox champions were built around steroids.  The question now becomes, how should these teams be addressed in baseball history?  Should their championships be rescinded and awarded to the National League teams?  If I were a Cardinal or a Rockies fan, that’s the remedy I would be demanding.

Or should the record books put a big asterisk next to those teams places on the list of chamions?  Such a solution has been suggested for Barry Bonds’ home run records.  Can those Red Sox teams remain on the list without something to denote the taint on their accomplishments?

And inevitably other quesitons will arise.  Have the Red Sox cheated in other ways?  Why are they such a good team at home, but a sub-.500 team on the road (except when playing the moribund Orioles)?

What is clear is that doubt will now surround everything that happens in Fenway Park.  The suspicion will grow that a culture of corruption permeates the Red Sox clubhouse.  Major League Baseball needs to confront this problem before it infects all of baseball.

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