Finally, a voice of reason amid all the lunacy (see the headline for Jayson Stark’s article: “A-Rod has destroyed game’s history”) and recriminations:
I hope Alex Rodriguez didn’t cheat. If we do find out that he cheated, I will wish that he hadn’t. But whatever happens, I’m not going to change my opinion that he’s a great baseball player. Like many of the greatest players, he’ll do whatever it takes to be the best player he can be. For a stretch of five or 10 years — and yes, perhaps even today still — being the best player could have meant cheating. Maybe the cheaters were wrong; that’s the direction in which I lean, probably because I’ve got a streak of the moralist in me. But I will not sit idly while great athletes looking for an edge — not all that different from the many generations before them — are demonized by the high priests of baseball opinion. I will not.
A fair and balanced position from Rob reminds us that some members of the media are neither preachy nor pedantic. I do not think that Rob is attempting to excuse A-Rod. Rather, he is just pointing out that players have always done something to get an edge. Demonizing A-Rod while lauding players from previous eras, in which things like greenies were commonplace, seems to be a little counter-intuitive. Did Alex make a mistake? Yes. Did he cheat? Certainly. But to make statements like “Alex has ruined the game’s history” because he did not live up to the mantle that the media created for him is absurd.
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5 Responses to Neyer: A-Rod Still Great
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TIQ IQ
Gaylord Perry is in the Hall of Fame. So is Whitey Ford. So are countless guys who corked bats, threw spitballs, and did everything they could to be good baseball players, even if it was against the rules. Buster Olney (link below) should either call for the expulsion of Whitey Ford and Gaylord Perry from the Hall of Fame or shut up and stop being a hypocrite. God I hate most of the sports media. Thank you Neyer for existing.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=olney_buster&id=3890934
That Olney article is hilarious. “tarnished forever.” Buster, where were you when steroids were running rampant in the Yankees locker room at the turn of the century? Oh, I know….the locker room. How did you miss it?
LOL at that locker room comment. Totally true. And yes, Rob Neyer is great.
Neyer really is a breath of fresh air when it comes to sports writers. From steroids, to sabermetrics to the HOF he always has a great point of view. I sincerely hope he represents the next generation of reporters and not just a one time exception.
I think that we are going to see more reasoned analysis going into sportswriting, as the fans brought up with at least some knowledge of sabermetrics go into the profession.