Bickley Blast: Drug problem? MLB has more of an image problem
Baseball doesn’t have a drug problem. It has an image problem.
It’s a sport dominated by cheaters, headhunting pitchers and big-time villains that can dominate any conversation.
It has very few guys capable of wearing the white hat with any sincerity.
Look at how the current news cycle is dominated by Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, two disgraced players who have done the impossible: They are actually more loathsome than Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.
Look across Major League Baseball: Many of the best players are of Latino descent, and only a few have been able to cross into the mainstream. Look at poor Miguel Cabrera, who might be pulling off the biggest hitting feat of his generation, slugging his way to successive Triple Crowns. And he can’t even spark a Internet discussion.
Imagine what it’s like being Manny Machado.
So who are baseball’s new celebrity stars? Stephen Strasburg? Nope. Bryce Harper? Great potential, but sometimes, he comes off as a punk. So unless I’m forgetting somebody, that leaves Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt.
That’s something that Diamondbacks can celebrate: Even if Goldschmidt doesn’t win the MVP in 2013, at least he’s one of the good guys.
Even if the cowboy hat he wears is actually black.
The above was transcribed from the Bickley Blast, heard every Monday through Friday at 12:00 noon on Arizona Sports 620.
