Manny won't be Manny anymore

I was saddened to hear yesterday that Manny Ramirez has decided to retire from Major League Baseball. Not that he isn't old enough to be doing it, but the way in which he is leaving is very sad, and only highlights the problems of baseball in the 1990's and 2000's or, as the media have dubbed it, the "steroid era".

For my non-North American friends (others can skip to next paragraph). From 1993-2002 many Major League Baseball players were using various steroids and growth hormones. This was possible because, while they are illegal in the US, MLB had no testing program in place for them (though they did for marijuana, which you think would have the opposite effect, but anyway). The result was that many of the top players such as Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Mark MgGwire and Roger Clemens were all using them and setting various hitting records and recovering from injuries in record time. It has thrown in to question the legitimacy of many records set during that time (including single season and career home run records, some of which had stood for 50 years). It also means that players such as Ken Griffey Jr. who has never tested positive, is denied his rightful place in the record books (he is arguably the best power hitter of all time, but he missed whole seasons due to injury, one wonders what records he'd have set if he'd been using the same drugs, he is still one of only 25 players to have over 400 home runs and one of only 5 to have more than 600) because guys who did use them hit even more home runs than he did. As to Manny Ramirez. He was almost as famous for his off field antics than anything he did on the field. He skipped a games, he lied about family tragedy to get out of spring training and he often said things that sports journalists would then spend days talking about. However, he was undoubtedly one of the best offensive players of all time, and he revitalised the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox (both of which needed serious revitalising). His team mates all seemed to love him and it's hard to argue with four World Series appearances and two wins (2 with Cleveland, two with Boston. Both wins with Boston). In 2009 Manny was busted for using them and suspended for 50 games (of a 162 game regular season). Then this April he was busted again and was set to be suspended 100 games before he decided to retire just 6 games in to his one year contract with Tampa Bay. Thus ends one of the greatest baseball careers of all time.

It's sad because another of the best power hitters of this generation is most likely another steroid user (he tested positive twice AFTER the testing was introduced in 2004, what are the odds it was his first and second time?). Leaving like this also ensures that he will not make it in to the Hall of Fame or even be remembered that fondly. It's a sad reminder of the amount of cheating that actually went on during this period and Manny joins the ever growing list of players that it's hard to like just cause you know that they are cheaters (I guess Mike Lowell, Ichiro Suzuki and Ken Griffey Jr. are still safe... we hope). It's also sad because Manny was a great player when he was key to the offensive success of two franchises. Also, despite the antics, he was just a really fun player to watch.

Let's  hope the rest of the 2011 season is more uplifting.