{"id":1702,"date":"2008-02-13T17:00:10","date_gmt":"2008-02-13T17:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2008\/02\/where-have-baseballs-heroes-go.html"},"modified":"2008-02-13T17:00:10","modified_gmt":"2008-02-13T17:00:10","slug":"where-have-baseballs-heroes-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2008\/02\/where-have-baseballs-heroes-go.html","title":{"rendered":"Where Have Baseball’s Heroes Gone?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"clemenssteroidspicbuzz.jpg\"The beautiful American Dream of baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet turned briefly into a near-nightmare today as one baseball\u2019s strongest candidates for \u201chero\u201d status\u2014Roger Clemens\u2014went before Congress to defend himself from allegations<\/a> that he has used steroids to give himself an illegal advantage over other players.
\nOne of the ways we feel good about ourselves as a culture is to look up to certain people who are bigger-than-life leaders worthy of our respect and admiration. Clemens\u2014through his wins and strikeouts, as well as his longevity\u2014has been one of those heroes, even though he\u2019s changed teams several times through his long career.
\nBut yesterday, he wasn\u2019t wearing pinstripes or a baseball cap\u2014he was wearing a suit and tie, like a mere mortal, answering questions before the Congressional committee investigating steroid use in major league baseball.
\nBaseball had better be careful. Pretty soon, we\u2019re not going to be frustrated with the unethical behavior of those playing in the great American pastime. We just won\u2019t care. And baseball just isn\u2019t exciting enough to be sustained without players we care for and look up to. At least football players hit each other really hard. Basketball guys fly through the air and shoot down to the basket. Hockey players fight. Race car drivers crash. But baseball? All it really is is a couple of guys playin\u2019 catch (one of whom spits a lot) while a guy with a bat tries to interrupt \u2018em every once in awhile; if he\u2019s lucky enough to hit it, there\u2019s eight other guys who get to play while the batter attempts to reach the high goal of running around and ending up back where he started.
\nBaseball needs heroes to be compelling as a sport, and its running out of them. And, perhaps worse than anything, there is no clarity to the issue at this point, and no closure.
\nClemens\u2019 trainer, Brian McNamee, stated under oath that \u201cI injected Roger Clemens with performance enhancing drugs,\u201d and \u201cI injected steroids and the human growth hormone at his (Clemens’) direction.\u201d
\nFor his part, Clemens rhetorically asked \u201cHow do you prove a negative?\u201d He went on: \u201cNo matter what we discuss here today, I\u2019m never going to clear my name.\u201c
\nClemens was implicated in a major report issued by former Senator George Mitchell\u2019s committee, which was assigned to investigate illegal drugs being used in professional baseball. I\u2019m not saying Senator Mitchell\u2019s report is entirely wrong,\u201d Clemens said today. \u201cI am saying Mr. McNamee\u2019s statements about me are wrong.\u201d
\nThe potential frustration of an American public was possibly summed up by Congressman Dan Burton who proclaimed to Brian McNamee, “This is disgusting! You’ve told lie after lie after lie after lie. I know one thing I don’t believe and that’s you.”
\nBaseball\u2019s issue with ethics has been going on for a long, long time. Joe Jackson and seven of his White Sox teammates were suspended from baseball for life for allegedly accepting money to throw baseball games. Mickey Mantle was excommunicated from representing the sport when he became a spokesperson for a casino. Pete Rose was suspended for life\u2014including the Hall of Fame\u2014for betting on baseball games. And now Clemens is joining Barry Bonds and other famous players under a cloud of suspicion for using steroids.
\nPerhaps the hearings will bring some clarity and closure. Or maybe we\u2019ll at least understand what Congress has to do with it all. But in the meantime, there will be several less fans\u2014especially young ones\u2014checking out the games this year. And even less will be taking up the sport in their backyards.
\nWhat a shame.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The beautiful American Dream of baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet turned briefly into a near-nightmare today as one baseball\u2019s strongest candidates for \u201chero\u201d status\u2014Roger Clemens\u2014went before Congress to defend himself from allegations that he has used steroids to give himself an illegal advantage over other players. 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