WASHINGTON, April 9, 2011—Until yesterday, no one thought that anyone, including Manny Ramirez, could be that stupid. Didn’t he learn a lesson when he became the first MLB superstar to be hit with a significant suspension under the league’s substance-abuse policy? And why did he choose to finally retire rather than serve out a 100-game suspension?
Just walk away.
In every sport, outsiders seem willing to give one free pass. That illegal drug could have been applied without the athlete’s knowledge (as claimed by Barry Bonds); it could have been an ingredient in a hair-growth product (Zach Lund); or it could have been a contaminant in a steak (Alberto Contador). Okay, it’s not particularly plausible that Manny Ramirez’s doctor would have given Ramirez a women’s fertility drug, but hey, any excuse is valid. (For the record, Lund was suspended for his hair-product use, though absolved of knowingly cheating, and Contador was completely acquitted.)
Manny Ramirez
Manny blew that pass. When he was suspended for the first time, 50 games back in May of 2009, it suggested to the sport that the drug policy actually worked, and might dissuade players away from drug use. Apparently not.
Just walk away.
Now, Ramirez’s credibility is shot, if the show-boater ever had any in the first place. Once is a mistake, anything else makes all accomplishments a fiction. Those five 40-homerun seasons and 555 career homers? Gone. Those 1800 plus runs batted in? Gone. Those 2500 hits? Gone. Those nine Silver Slugger awards and twelve All-Star selections? Gone.
Just walk away.
Ramirez shouldn’t be honored for deciding to reitre, but it might be the best choice. He may have made the decision to avoid shame, instead of out of personal responsibility, but there was hardly much of an alternative. If he had stayed, he probably would have been hit with the assumption that he didn’t care, and for some athletes that would be worse than death. Perhaps his career would have been effectively over after that long suspension anyway. He won’t answer that question, and he doesn’t need to. He’s chosen the best path away from all this.
Just walk away.
Read more of Arjuna’s baseball commentary at Baseball’s Labyrinth, and his fencing commentary at To The Point.
KB 4/11
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