Ryan Malmstrom’s Blog

First off, let me say that I listen to “MLB Home Plate” on XM Radio every single day.  I probably listen to it more than music, to be honest with you.  At least two hours a day.

That being said, I knew the airwaves would be flooded with A-Rod talk.  (if you’re just finding this out for the first time, according to a report by Sports Illustrated, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2003.) 

So i knew what I’d be up against when I listened on the way out to Grampa Al’s in Faribault, which is a good hour drive for me.  I listened for 3 minutes and couldn’t listen any longer.  It made me sick.

Alex Rodriguez has always been one of my favorite players, despite the fact that he is a Yankee.  I even had more respect for him after the Mitchell Report came out and his name wasn’t in there.  I figured, if there was a “pure ballplayer” — there he is.  Barry Bonds would break Hank Aaron’s home run record, but it wouldn’t matter because a clean player would take on the record in a few years anyways.

I recently read Rob Neyer’s “Big Book of Baseball Lineups” (published in 2002) and each time I got to Alex Rodriguez’s name, I said to myself “wow, what an amazing ballplayer.”  Each time I got to a part about Roger Clemens, I shook my head. 

Oops.

I don’t think I’ve ever turned off baseball in any form.  Even in an off-season that has been focused on where Manny Ramirez will end up.  It’s a game that I’ve loved since my dad and brother introduced me to it.  Yes, I loved the Braves in the 80s.  And since then, I’ve just loved the game, win or lose.

But this one hit me hard and I don’t know how I’ll look at baseball from here on out.  I won’t give up on the game, but I can’t fully trust it either.  Maybe because I fear other of my favorite players being involved.

Alex Rodriguez was the guy that was going to save baseball.  Sort of like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa brought the fans back to the game after the strike of 1995 and put on a show in 1998.  Turns out that all of their paths to saving baseball was by cheating.

“Chicks dig the long ball” but I imagine kids would dig the role model that is clean with pure athletic ability.  Who will save the game this time?  And will they come back?