What would Jackie do?
No man had a bigger impact on the history of baseball than Jackie Robinson. But could a drug-free Jackie Robinson have succeeded if his baseball era was as drug-infested as ours? Could he have beaten back both racism and juicers? Doubtful.
The lifeblood of sports is a level playing field, and baseball’s drug era is as level as Sanjaya Malakar’s hair. Baseball, at long last, officially said as much in the Mitchell Report, confirming what all but the most naive fans believed. When performance-enhancing drugs are “widespread” within the game, then players are either using or losing.
And that tilting of the playing field is the biggest crime of baseball’s drug era. It cheats the clean players of this era and all the players from previous ones.
There’s a reason sports, and particularly baseball, was such a gateway for the civil rights movement. It was a realm of clearly defined rules, and succeeding under those rules depended not on color, but ability.
Once Jackie Robinson got on the field, people may have still discriminated against him, but the game didn’t. By succeeding masterfully at that game, he made incalculable strides for African-Americans. He was judged by his numbers, and those numbers said he was one of the best. You couldn’t argue with the stats.
Today, you don’t just argue with the numbers, you hold full-fledged debates about them, and do so everywhere from the radio airwaves to the halls of Congress. The drugs mean you can’t trust the numbers, nor those who post them, because you’ll never truly know who’s dirty or clean.
Jackie succeeded because everyone trusted his performance was real. Be glad the bigots couldn’t shoot holes in that trust and the juicers couldn’t shoot holes in his numbers.
Was it worth it?
Plenty of prominent writers– including the Journal Sentinel’s Michael Hunt and ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark – are arguing the Mitchell Report wasn’t worth however many millions it cost. They are knowledgeable and talented people with respected reputations.
And on this point, they’re dead wrong.
You can’t clean up baseball simply with specimen cups and wishful thinking. You also need a healthy dose of shame, and that’s just what Mitchell’s report served up.
I saw a news report of a convicted drunk driver in England. Part of his punishment was standing under a giant upturned beer glass in the middle of a train station. Printed on the podium beneath him were the words ‘Don’t drink and drive.”
Now what will make more of an impression with this guy – a fine and some jail time in anonymity, or exposing his crime to those curious commuters in such a public manner?
The same holds true for baseball players. What’s more of a steroids deterrent to a young player coming up – the threat of backroom discipline or the threat of being outed in a sequel to the Mitchell Report?
That’s why this report had to be done and why Bud Selig is right when he says “there was a higher cost in not doing it.” Sure, it was equal parts investigation and public relations, but it sure had the cheats shaking in their cleats.
And what’s bad for the cheaters is good for baseball.
Quote of Note
“This touches a nerve with me and, based on the facts as I have them now, it is simply something I cannot tolerate.”
– UWM men’s basketball coach Rob Jeter, after indefinitely suspending leading scorer and rebounder Torre Johnson from the team for allegedly assaulting a woman.
The Panthers may be short on victories (a lowly 3-7 record through Monday), but Jeter overflows with integrity. Before the season he dismissed Avery Smith, the team’s top returning scorer, for violating team rules. It looks like he’ll take a similar action with Johnson.
That won’t help him win any games this season, but it’s won him plenty of respect. Here’s hoping it helps build the winning culture he talked about in a recent Capital Times story.
Front-seat Driver
Brett Favre has broken so many records that his reactions to them are sounding like, well … broken records.
But you got the sense after his latest one – Dan Marino’s passing yardage mark – that he was genuinely glad for who caught the ball that surpassed Marino.
“I’m happy that Donald was a part of it,” Favre said of Donald Driver’s 7-yard reception. “He goes down in my record book for a lot of things.”
Years down the road – perhaps when Peyton Manning is threatening Favre’s records – some TV crew will want Favre to re-create that 7-yard slant pass. Seems appropriate that Driver will be part of the reunion.
And finally
Tony Romo is about to have the most famous thumb this side of Siskel and Ebert.
Because while the revered movie critics only had to point their thumbs up or down, Romo actually has to throw with his. So expect frequent updates on what the Cowboys are only calling a sprain. Especially with Dallas facing the very real possibility of ceding NFC home field advantage to the Packers.
Yeah, it’s enough to knock any fan base off-kilter. How off?
Dallas fans have a scapegoat for Romo’s injury. It’s his girlfriend, Jessica Simpson.
Check out my new Tuesday morning radio segment with Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250. They call it Tuesday’s with Howie. I’ve been called worse.
And be sure to take a swig from our Bar Time column.
