It finally all went down Monday. On August fifth, the year 2013, the Biogenesis hammer was finally dropped, and only one man looked at the evidence that MLB had on him and decided that he was not going to take it, Alex Rodriguez.
When Ryan Braun looked at the same evidence, he plead for a 65 game suspension, the rest of the 2013 regular season, when MLB wanted to punish him hard for getting around a dirty test in 2011. Much like Braun, the 12 other men who were faced with suspensions caved and accepted their penalties when they were presented with the evidence. A-Rod did not agree. Now, many believe that he did not agree to his suspension because it was more than quadruple what the other 12 received, and more than three times what Braun accepted. Is he a martyr trying to save himself, or does he deserve everything he gets and more?
The answer is, yes, to both questions. If the accusations are true, and this is all based off of what ESPN’s Outside the Lines was reportedly told by an anonymous source, then A-Rod was using steroids much longer than anyone else on the list. On top of that, there is evidence that A-Rod may have interfered with MLB’s investigation when he purchased records from the Biogenesis lab so that MLB would not be able to find them. Does all of that, without a dirty test, equate to 211 game suspension, that could essentially be the end of his career?
It is hard to know for sure, without seeing the evidence that MLB has, if the penalty truly does fit the crime. Looking at it from what I can see, I believe MLB is trying to go hard after A-Rod to set an example to the rest of the league. If you cheat, not only will we catch you, but if you try and hide it, you will pay. But it is believed that MLB could’ve come much harder at A-Rod if they truly wanted to send a message. They could have used the best interest of baseball clause and not only suspended A-Rod, but banned him for life without allowing him to play through his appeal. Honestly, he probably deserves a lot more if we are to believe what we are told. The guy has lied about taking steroids, admitted to it to save his image and now lied about it again even though he is caught red handed. He has gone around MLB in every way he could, but it appears that MLB was afraid of going for it all with A-Rod and him getting it overturned in arbitration much like Braun did with his dirty test.
While MLB did not go for the gold with this suspension, they still well overdid it with A-Rod’s suspension. Unless there is a lot more evidence than what has already come out, then he did not do much more than Braun did after his dirty test. Sure, A-Rod tried to hide it by purchasing the records from the Biogenesis lab, but Braun found a loophole, made up a lame excuse about herpes medication and got away scot free on a dirty test, and all he is facing is a measly 65 game suspension. So how can MLB really believe that they are going to get away with doing this to A-Rod? How can they believe that it is reasonable to essentially end his career by suspending him for a full season plus 49 games? They believe it because it will be easier for them to get done than it would be to get a lifetime ban, and even if an arbitrator sides with A-Rod, he will most likely get his suspension reduced, not nullified, and it will be a win win situation for MLB.
In the end, you are going to make your own decision about A-Rod. You are either going to believe that he is the biggest cheater in the world, or that he is being made an example by MLB. Either way, in the end, A-Rod cheated just like all the rest, and the only one that can decide how bad it was is the arbitrator. It’s up to him to decide if this is the last we see of A-Rod for more than a full season or if MLB is coming down to harsh. In the end, we all have our opinions, but only one man’s counts.