In some
states, hunting laws state it is illegal to hunt in “baited” areas. That is, a
person may not scatter corn or other foods with the intention of attracting
game animals for an easy kill. In most of those cases, whether or not a person
knows the area is baited matters not; they will still be prosecuted. On that
end, when a person hunts an area he better make damn sure the area he’s hunting
isn’t baited. The average fine for hunting a baited area can be up to five hundred
dollars in some states
As we all
now know, when it comes to Major League Baseball the financial penalty for
“unknowingly” taking a banned substance depends on the size of the suspension
as well as the players salary. At last count, this will amount to around 2.9
million dollars for Fernando Tatis jr. Or, more than double the amount both
Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb made over forty-four total seasons.
But what
is the real cost of Tatis’ mistake, if that’s what it really was? No word yet
on endorsements but it’s a safe bet to say the people at Gatorade aren’t
exactly enamored with El Nino. And I won’t even get into the speculation that
sprang up in the immediate aftermath. Hell, I am certain there are some tinfoil-hatted
nutjobs out there who are convinced this situation has roots in the New World
Order or some other such far-fetched conspiracy.
But one
thing is certain; in the minds of baseball fans across the country, his name is
tainted on a level surpassed only by Bonds and Clemens. And it will remain so
for the duration not only of the suspension but also his career and beyond.
Unless of course, he comes back and performs. Home runs will bring forgiveness
and if the Padres part ways with him (something I feel would take yet another
seriously bad decision on his part to happen), whichever team he ends up with
will have a fan base that will quickly forget his past deeds. And they will be
forgotten even quicker if he begins with a hot streak at the plate.
Why?
Simple.
Many of us tend to judge players by the color of their… jersey.
I will use
a decidedly more harmless example of my own experiences in having borderline
hypocritical thought when it comes to baseball. Nomar Garciaparra. Great player
with borderline Hall of Fame credentials. He had that little quirk between
pitches which looked like he was adjusting his batting gloves. When he came to
the plate with the Red Sox, I would smile and think to myself “What a
weirdo! But a hell of a ballplayer.”
Later in
his career he’s with the Dodgers and I don’t think it’s weird anymore. In fact,
my thoughts run more along the lines of “What an a**hole! Someone should
chop his f***ing hands off if he keeps delaying the damn game like that!” Yes,
I often did think that way with a beer in my hand.
All
because the color of his jersey…
When it
comes to PED’s I was no less hypocritical than a preacher taking the offering
plate to the casino. Barry Bonds. I booed every chance I got, I laughed at
every insult hurled from the stands. But when it came to Ken Caminiti, I
mustered every excuse I could to justify his actions with as much fervor as I
showed in my hatred for Bonds. “He only did steroids to help heal properly”
or “At least he admitted to it”.
In 1996 Cammy
was the most electrifying player in Major League Baseball. And he was our
guy. As Ted Leitner wrote, and if anyone has the pedigree to say such a thing,
it’s him; no one electrified the city quite like Ken Caminiti. His exploits
that season were not only the greatest in Padres history but among the greatest
in baseball history as well. Add to that his intense but caring personality and
its little surprise some of us chose to defend him while condemning Bond’s
standoffish and sometimes surly nature.
Ken
Caminiti was the closest we ever had to being the Face of Baseball and I find
it ironic yet not at all surprising that the next and only other Padres player
to be considered such has found himself caught up being the biggest story in
baseball for all the wrong reasons. It makes me wonder what things would have
been like had we been afforded access to social networking in Caminiti’s day.
Any time
any celebrity gets negative press for any reason, someone will invariably say “You
can’t judge…” Which really means “You have an opinion which is better informed than mine, but I don’t agree with it so I’m pulling the ‘judge’ card…
Others
have said “You don’t know the pressure he’s under.” They’re right. And
he doesn’t know the pressure I am under to raise four children and guide
thirty-five Scouts to be good adults with strong moral compasses…
Baseball
is a form of entertainment, a form of exercise and can also be a means to look
in the mirror. When Mookie Betts made that late inning, rally killing catch
against us in early 2021 he began pounding his chest. Padre fans complained
about how cocky he was. Not me. Hell, even I clapped my hands a few times. As
much as that catch hurt, as a baseball fan I could not help but cheer it. Funny
how the ones who pissed and moaned about Betts were the same ones who defended
that bush-league stutter-step and god-awful swag chain as “entertainment” …
As against
as I was of Tingler publicly blasting Tatis for grand slam, I am equally for
Preller speaking out this time around. Tatis didn’t just hurt himself, his team
or even the game of baseball. He betrayed the trust of every San Diegan wearing
a number 23 on their backs…
A recent
article in the San Diego Union-Tribune stated that of all the Major Leaguers
fined and/or suspended due to violation of anti-doping laws, 57% of them came
from the Dominican Republic. Not to justify or rationalize use, but the story
makes some good points considering the DR standard for “poor” makes poor people
in the US look like lottery winners. This does not apply to Jr, as his dad made
a total of 17 million US dollars in his career. Not exactly poor by any
standards…
When Jr
signed his “statue” contract it was reported around eight percent of his money
would go to Big League Advance, a company which loans money to minor leaguers
in anticipation of a big payday once they reach the majors. No word on whether
or not he’ll owe for money lost due to suspension…
More than
a few season ticket holders have asked for a refund due to Tatis’ suspension. I
wonder if they’re also asking for refund on those swag chain replicas…
Elsewhere
in the league, Pirates rookie Rodolfo Castro was suspended one game for bringing
his cell phone onto the field during a game. According to him, “None of this
was intentional…” I don’t know how a man can put a phone in his pocket
without intending to…
Castro’s
blunder has to be the biggest “Rookie Mistake” since Ruben Rivera stole a glove
from Derek Jeter’s locker. In his 8th season in the Majors…
On a
brighter note, Ted Leitner and Larry Lucchino were inducted into the Padres
Hall of Fame. Much deserved, as Uncle Teddy will likely go down in history as
the longest serving Voice of the Padres and Larry, well, I can count on one
hand the others who were equally as important to the team. But none have been
more important…
HoF Part
Deaux: still waiting for Bob Chandler and Jack Murphy to get the Call from the
Hall. Bob was there through the good and bad; Jack ranks right up there with
Larry…
Jonathan
Papelbon said he would drill Tatis if he were still playing. I wonder if he
would be playing if he had said such a thing while he was playing…
Gotta wonder
why Commissioner Manfred didn’t threaten harsh punishment for any active (relevant)
pitcher who may throw at Tatis? I guess The Commish felt El Nino didn’t deserve
the protection he gave the Houston *Astros…
Speaking
of drilling players, always thought it was ironic how Randy Johnson would pitch
high and tight to batters who dared to bunt against him. Yes, the same Randy
Johnson who used to bunt during the vast majority of his at bats…
My god I
hope I’m not jinxing anything but if Aaron Judge hits sixteen more home runs to
make 62, should they put an asterisk indicating the feat was accomplished without
PED’s?...
Okay, enough
about baseball and PED’s. Fall us upon us and you know what that means: NFL
football and social media taken over by people complaining about pumpkin spice
everything. So glad we live in a world where that’s the biggest concern for so
many…
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