Noe 1 Tyler Noe Mr.

Newman English 101: Rhetoric 8 November 2013 The $275 Million Benchwarmer Chicks dig the longball. This was the basis of a baseball-themed Nike ad campaign in the 1990s. This was a perfectly timed campaign too, as avid baseball advocates and casual fans alike were reveling at the 450+ foot bombs being launched nightly by sluggers like Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Jose Canseco. The number of homeruns in baseball increased drastically. It was an exciting time for baseball. What many of those fans didnt realize was that they were witnessing the results of baseballs Steroid Era. Since the 2007 Mitchell Report, Major League Baseball has been relentless in trying to clear its name and punish those whove tainted the game with steroid use. Such is the case with Yankees $275 million third baseman Alex Rodriguez. In 2009 Rodriguez admitted to using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) from 2001-2004, but claimed to never have touched them again. He wasnt caught, so there was no punishment, but the connection of Alex Rodriguez and steroids was now officially there. And in August of 2013 he was found to be connected to a biogenesis lab in Florida, which had just been caught dealing PEDs to baseball players. There has been controversy, however, on how MLB has handled Rodriguezs punishment for being caught. The usual punishment for being caught with PEDs a 1st time is a 50 game ban; Rodriguez was suspended through the 2014 season, a 211 game ban. MLBs justification for the seemingly harsh punishment is that not only does it cover his steroid use, but

Noe 2 also his alleged attempts to obscure and corrupt evidence against him. Many have argued that Rodriguez is getting exactly what he deserves for cheating and lying. However, there is more at play than just punishment for using PEDs. The suspension of Alex Rodriguez is unjustified because he is being scapegoated by MLB to give the impression that they are cracking down on steroid users. Steroids are a big problem in baseball; this is not new information. Theyve been in play since the early 90s. For the longest time, Major League Baseball did nothing about it. They didnt question the alarming increase in homeruns, because they brought in revenue. As Donald Lee, principal of a sports management and consulting firm, puts it: Nothing sells the baseball television product better than home runs. It wasnt until rampant PED use in baseball became public that MLB stepped their foot down to punish offenders. Or did they? Jessica Danielle, creator of the Player Perspective sports blog, hits the nail right on the head when she writes that Commissioner Bud Selig knows the truth: suspending Alex Rodriguez is just another high profile attempt to make himself look serious about cracking down on performance-enhancing drugs. The key term there is high profile. It isnt a big deal with John Smith in the minors gets caught with PEDs; he serves his 50 games quietly and its done. But when a star player is caught, Commissioner Selig uses the opportunity to publicly ridicule the player, giving the impression hes putting an end to steroid use. Alex Rodriguez falls into this star player mold. Had he been a utility man on the San Diego Padres, it likely wouldve been a 50 game suspension, and nobody would have heard about it. Rodriguezs 211 game suspension is Commissioner Seligs best attempt to shake the criticism about how hes handled the Steroid Era.

Noe 3 Alex Rodriguez is not the first steroid scapegoat. Donald Yee is absolutely right when he says that Alex Rodriguez may or may not have broken the "rules." But if he did, he surely isnt alone. Star left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers and 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun was also involved in the Biogenesis scandal, and it was also his second time being caught. (The first time, a testing error got Braun off the hook, and therefore didnt have to serve his 50 games). By the labor laws and the Collective Bargaining Agreement in place between the MLB Players Union (MLBPA) and the MLB, Brauns connection to the clinic shouldve netted him a 50 game suspension at most. Instead, Selig hit him with a 65 game ban. The justification was that the extra 15 games were because of his actions during the grievance that resulted in his test results being overturned the first time. Technically, Selig shouldnt have been able to do this, but because Braun was playing for a non-competitive team, he decided to just take the suspension. Then, 2 months after Braun was suspended, MLB took action against Alex Rodriguez, action that stepped over the official number of games suspended for first time offenders. Unlike Braun, however, Rodriguez fought back. Rodriguez and Braun have both been pawns in Commissioner Seligs chess game with fans over PED use. Every time it looks like power is slipping away from the league in regards to steroids, Selig has picked the biggest player and over-stepped his boundaries in order to improve his own image. The counter-argument is, of course, that Rodriguez deserves what hes getting. William B. Gould IV, professor emeritus at Stanford Law School and author of Bargaining with Baseball: Labor Relations in an Age of Prosperous Turmoil, writes that [t]he penalty imposed on Rodriguez, a previously confessed drug user, is attributable to obstruction of the investigative process as well as illegal use. In short, hes saying that MLB is entirely justified in its actions because Rodriguez got in the way of their investigation, which warrants further punishment.

Noe 4 Cesar R. Torres, professor in the department of kinesiology, sport studies and physical education at The College at Brockport, agrees, saying that [a]t least from a formal point of view, due process was followed and the suspension is within the leagues antidoping rules. However, what these gentlemen fail to realize is that there is no hard evidence against Rodriguez in any of these accusations; the entire punishment is based off of accusations and connections. Beyond that, nowhere is it explicitly stated that the commissioner can just slap whatever suspension length he wishes, based entirely off of what he thinks a player did. Again, Rodriguez is being used as a scapegoat, and MLB accusing him of tampering with the investigation is just another example of that. In a recent interview, Alex Rodriguez said that [Commissioner] Selig is trying to destroy me and put me on his big mantle on the way out. Its a fair accusation, as Rodriguez is one of many scapegoats Selig has cracked the whip on in recent years. Through public ridicule and outlandish suspensions, Selig made an example of several major league baseball players in an attempt to cover up his inability to relinquish the steroid beast that has haunted MLB for 20 years. Alex Rodriguez is just another player in Seligs game, a game Selig himself wrote the rules for. Yes, its likely Alex Rodriguez used steroids. But a suspension long enough to ultimately derail the aging Rodriguezs career, a suspension 161 games longer than it should be, is highly unfair for the soon-to-be $275 million benchwarmer.

Noe 5 Works Cited Danielle, Jessica. "Alex Rodriguez Is an Easy Target." Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Gould, William B., IV. "The Penalty Fits the Crime." Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Torres, Cesar R. "More Information is Needed." Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Yee, Donald H. "One More Step in a Long Decline." Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.