Do I feel cheated? Heck no!

So I'm sure that even those of you that do not follow baseball regularly heard about the "Mitchell Report" that came out yesterday naming names and detailing the use of steroids in baseball. In order to get a better perspective on the report, I called DH to get his thoughts. It was his opinion that this report was necessary in order to bring closure to the issue that had been ignored for many, many years. Nothing will come of it, and now baseball can move on.

I can see and appreciate his point of view. He is an athlete and was a former baseball player who came very close to playing pro. In this day and age of million dollar contracts and fans longing for exciting performance... steroid use was to be expected.

But the illegal use of steroids to help a person achieve a higher level of performance constitutes cheating. And this is the issue that perplexes me. How do I explain this to my almost 7 year old son who is just beginning his baseball career. We try to teach and emphasize good sportsmanship, spirit of competition and the wrongs of cheating to him. But at the same time as a fan, we celebrate home runs, exciting victories and World Series Rings. Some of the names in that report were Angels. Three of them were on the 2002 World Championship Team. One was the World Series MVP. Do I feel cheated as a fan? Heck no. One individual does not win a Championship, it takes a team. And it is my opinion that the industry and business of baseball turned a blind eye to this problem. They should have policed it, they should have had consequences. They didn't do that, nor can they go back and do it now.

And playing devil's advocate, I sometimes wonder if some of the names on the list really did use steroids. Imagine for a second that my DH was a professional baseball player. In 2003, we purchased and used injected steroids on our 10 month old daughter as prescribed by her doctor to help stop her seizures. And for the record, steroids are expensive and nasty. Jenelle had two injections a day - at the cost of $1,000 an injection (with a 2 inch needle.) The side effects are just hideous. Jenelle's face grew plump, she gained weight, she grew pubic hair, and when she wasn't sleepy, she was a cranky, hungry mess. The steroid ACTH didn't stop her seizures, and we were off them within 8 weeks. But what if my DH were a professional baseball player? Could our purchase of steroids land him on that list too?

As a fan, I don't feel cheated, but it saddens me to see that the sport has come to this. And yes, this is a difficult lesson to teach my son about a sport he is learning to love. In a way and in time, we will get past this. I look forward to future records breakers and baseball players who will bring back the spirit and integrity to baseball. And in a weird, Mom sort of way... I hope one of those future athletes is my son! Because he will learn from this and make the sport better for all.