A Cruel Bargain for A-Rod and Boys With Baseball Dreams
I'll start the semester off with a great read about A-Rod. And now I'm not posting this because I grew up rooting for the Yankees; rather, I think this article and the steroid issues address one of the major themes we'll cover this semester: the fallen hero. Forget what you think of the over-paid geezer, A-Rod has an impressive baseball resumé and relationship with the game. But then things changed.
What are your thoughts on the idea of A-Rod as a fallen hero? Was his trajectory unavoidable? Is the pressure to be better, faster, stronger partly to blame for his fall?
Ben Lyons:
ReplyDeleteI think that A-Rod is the perfect example of a fallen hero. Regardless of my lacking knowledge of his earlier career, I think it's safe to assume that many respected his baseball ability, and that many young kids, who wanted to grow up and be like him, saw him as a hero. However, I do not think his trajectory was unavoidable. Yes, the pressure from the media and the fans to be better played a role in his decision to use enhancement drugs, however, many other players deal with the same type of pressure that A-Rod dealt with, and overcome the desire to "cheat" their way to the top. It is a question of a player’s integrity and morals to choose against using drugs to improve their game, and not succumbing to the pressures that they face from their surroundings. Thankfully, A-Rod is an example of the minority of players in baseball, and the sport hasn’t been completely lost to this cause. However, A-Rod should be a warning for the rest of the Majors to the consequences of the choices that players make to further their careers.
A-Rod’s doping scandal, along with others in recent years demonstrates the high standards the public and the media hold players to in all professional sports. The public and the media build athletes up, supporting them when they do well, applauding moments of genius, and shaping them into heroes. When they save the game with one catch or one pitch the media adds to the image they have created that the athletes can do no wrong. But on the flipside of that, the public and media is eager to let the pedestal of professional athletes crumble the instant they do something wrong. Whether it is as extreme as performance enhancing drugs or as small as missing a catch that could have changed the outcome of the game, it seems that the media is just as keen to tear the athletes down as it is to build them up. In the case of A-Rod, every news outlet seems to be touting the story that he has fallen from grace and his pedestal has been reduced to ash. Personally, I don’t see A-Rod as a fallen hero. His status and credibility have taken a rough beating, but if you think about the pressure he was under to maintain that status, its not surprising that he felt like he had to turn to drugs. A great player he might be, but he is not immune to the struggle many athletes face to retain a high level of play even when it is not physically possible. I believe his trajectory was avoidable, that he could have made better decisions, but I have also never felt anything close to the pressures he felt. If I was in the same situation, who knows what choices I would have made?
ReplyDeleteSandy Schenker:
ReplyDeleteI believe that A-Rod is indeed a fallen hero. I believe this because A-Rod was looked up to by millions of Americans around the country, especially New York, prior to his steroids scandal. He went from one of the most loved New Yorkers to one of the must despised New Yorkers in about 1 year. Although the choice to take steroids was 100% A-Rod's, I believe that his trajectory was unavoidable because of the unspoken encouragement from owners and GM's around the league to take performance enhancing drugs. There or many examples of great, Barry Bonds, Very good/great , A-Rod, average Johnny Peralta or below average, Melky Cabrera, players who choose to take steroids for their own personal reasons. Out of the 4 players who I just named, there is no doubt that steroids helped their careers. Whether it was reviving it or pushing it to the next level all of those players took steroids and were rewarded by it. I personally believe that the best example of the unspoken encouragement to take steroids was Melky Cabrera. Cabrera, who never batted above 280 in his career, and was barely starting at times, got himself an all-star game MVP and a 2 year 16 million dollar deal with the Blue Jays as a reward for cheating. In the present days of baseball, cheating, whether or not caught, helps a players career. I believe that this all shows that even for a previously amazing player like A-Rod, the pressure to better than your best pushes people to cheating, which in the end unfortunately helps their career. I do not personally support A-Rod's suspension beyond 50 games, but I believe that the issue of steroids in baseball will only worsen until baseball players are kicked out of the MLB for cheating.
As a player who has been a part of the Yankees for years, Alex Rodriguez experiences increased pressure from a team that has quite a reputation for success. His famous career leads MLB fans to set their expectations remarkably high for his performance each season. The combined pressure from his team and the public eye has made the celebrated athlete desperate to maintain his status as the “A-Rod” that fans know and love. The drive to improve his game each season made the trajectory of his career unavoidable. Sports media’s determination to publicize his fall heightened the baseball league’s determination to take a strong stance against performance-enhancing drugs and resulted in an extreme penalty for Rodriguez. I believe that A-Rod is not a fallen hero; rather, he is a baseball star who fell victim to the pressures of the game.
ReplyDeleteGrace Donahoe:
ReplyDeleteI believe that in many ways baseball is representative of the American Dream and its reality. This is especially true in the care of A-Rod. In the case of the American Dream, as more and more people want to find success there is increasing levels of competition. Students are competing to get into the top schools, fill their resumes with the best looking jobs, and finding a career that will pay for their luxurious lifestyle. Now, if someone wants to obtain their piece of the Dream, they have to raise themselves to that level. This is the same thing that has happened in baseball that has caused A-Rod and others like him to use steroids. As it is getting more and more competitive to become a successful professional baseball player, players are feeling the pressure to rise up to the levels of other players. They feel that it is perhaps inadequate to simply train harder or put in more hours, and this leads them down the path of steroids. The same thing that has made it virtually impossible to have the success characterized by the American Dream has also made it harder to become one of the great professional baseball players with only one's natural skill and strength. That being said, I do not believe the actions of A-Rod are completely justified. When I was a little girl, I used to sit in the stands and watch Bonds' home runs with awe. Now, whenever I go to games and watch what appears to be a spectacular feat or even a miracle, I tend to be a bit of a skeptic.
Alex Rodriguez's fall seemed to be inevitable due to the constant pressure to perform on a team that seems to breed success. I think the pressure to become faster, stronger and better is partially to blame for his choice to use performance enhancing drugs but I also think the league is responsible because besides game suspensions, a raise of millions of dollars is another consequence. To me, this is preposterous. Moving forward, I think Alex Rodriguez's case should be a turning point for the league. It is an opportunity for change to be made and for harsh consequences to be implemented. Furthermore, as the doping scandals increase and take over the media, I think the joy of baseball becomes lost and the sport loses its heroes, its enthusiasm and its hope. I am no baseball expert but I believe it is possible that A-Rod lost sight of this joy and pressure amounted to something he had to quickly do something about. Yet, I do not think using the drugs is the way to handle the pressure, no matter how great it may be. In the future, I hope more can be done and that this is a lesson to all professional baseball players.
ReplyDeleteA-Rod's fall seemed to be inevitable because of baseballs pressure to always be the best. From the beginning of his baseball career Alex always wanted to be the greatest, whether it was in the major leagues or little league. With baseballs pressure for him to always be better than he was in the previous season, his fall was inevitable. If baseball had taken A-Rod as the amazing player that he was from the beginning, and known that there might not be an infinite amount of seasons that he would play, Alex may not have turned to doping in the first place. The MLB has made it nearly impossible for players not to turn to enhancement drugs, because of the level that the MLB wishes its players to preform has become so high. Also, the consequences do not seem to out weigh the benefits, which makes a higher incentive for the players to cheat. A-Rod is not all to blame for being a fallen hero, and although he could have prevented himself from the mistakes that he made, the MLB is at fault too.
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ReplyDeleteA-Rod like many amazing players in the steroid era are great examples of fallen heroes. Bonds, A-rod and Clemens were all amazing athletes that many looked up too. However, due to their participation in doping their legacy will always be altered. His trajectory was avoidable but he sadly caved into the pressure put on by the fans and the owners to sell tickets. However, I find it unfair that all of these players are looked at as the enemy. It is unfair to put sole responsibility on these men. They made stupid decisions however all of them deserve to be recognized by the baseball world as amazing talents that deserve to be in the hall of fame.
ReplyDeleteI believe that A-Rod is a great example of a fallen hero. As we read in the article, baseball was a crucial aspect of A-Rod's identity and became an escape from the difficult childhood he had. The brief summary of his dedication and love for baseball as a kid has lead me to believe that the pressure to be better, faster, and stronger had a key role in his decision to start doping. Having millions of fans that look up to you, playing for a renowned team such as the Yankees, and being rewarded for a dishonorable act would cause an individual to think twice about what is right and wrong. Would you do the right thing or would you decide to protect your image and receive more benefits? Honestly, his plight was inevitable. It would have to take serious circumstances to decide to cheat, when you have spent years of hard work and dedication to finally attain your dreams and then suddenly lose everything. Yes, you could say, "well there are other great players who decided to do the right thing and not cheat", but were they in the same situation as the great A-Rod?
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ReplyDeleteA-Rod was unquestionably a fallen hero, but his downfall was certainly avoidable, as shown by the athletic successes exemplified by players such as Greg Maddux, Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones, who managed to abstain from competitive advantages offered by the use of PED's. The article's "it pays to cheat" argument certainly has weight, as shown by the fact that many of the highest earners over the past few decades have been steroid users, but many players have achieved both monetary and athletic success without sacrificing their morals and integrity in the process. That is why the presumption that the league is responsible for A-Rod's corruption is ignorant, as it allows players to hide behind the facade that they hold no responsibility for their actions. That is not to say that A-Rod's indisputable success is entirely based on his use of PED's, as many player who took, and take, have to failed to achieve even a fraction of his success, but he is definitely responsible for his own downfall.-Paul
ReplyDeleteThe author of this article clearly thinks that the young, innocent baseball-loving Alex Rodriguez fell victim of the "cruel bargain" of baseball in which "it pays to cheat." I definitely agree with this in how A-Rod benefitted so much from his steroid use in 2003. (Sports Illustrated, 2009). After creating a nationwide name for himself as well as a legacy for his fanbase, I can absolutely see the rationality behind his decision to continue using performance enhancers. However, I believe that this trajectory only became unavoidable after he had already began using. If he were to suddenly stop as he claimed he did in 2003 he would've had to watch his scores go down and his fanbase (and even potentially his job) vanish. As for being a fallen hero, I think that he definitely does fit into this archetype but I am not really sure if I see him this way.
ReplyDeleteA-Rod's fall from glory is far more than just becoming a fallen hero. It has caused me to question whether or not he deserves the title of a hero in the first place. His resume is incredible, and he is one of the best and highest paid players in the MLB. He is an inspiration to young players everywhere but unfortunately his entire record is tainted. When it comes down to it, he cheated. There is no doubt that he is a victim of a shifting environment in the MLB that makes doping seem okay, if not necessary to succeed. However, his buying into this idea has raised him above the players who play the game without added help. This leads to children walking around with a jersey with his name on it when other players may have more natural talent that is overshadowed by the power of drugs. A-Rod has lost his image as a hero, and is just one of many recent athletes whose records and accomplishments will forever have an asterisk next to them.
ReplyDelete-Wes
What are your thoughts on the idea of A-Rod as a fallen hero? Was his trajectory unavoidable? Is the pressure to be better, faster, stronger partly to blame for his fall?
ReplyDeleteWith popularity and shame associated with A-Rod's name, it is an unaviodable result that the MLB decided to make an example out of A-Rod's doping situation. There is a huge problem among the MLB players that everyone needs to be faster, stronger, and bigger. Doping usage has gone out while popularity with the players has gone down. Alex Rodriguez was a man among children. In the eyes of New Yorkers and everyone else, he was one of the best and most respected players on the field. Just like Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds, his followers will dwindle and his reputation, already changing, will tarnish. His records will be erased and in time he might be forgotten. The game of baseball has changed and sadly it has changed for the worse. With the massive punishment given to A-Rod baseball fans can only hope that others like him will either retire or permanently stop using drugs. A clean version of baseball is better than one tainted by dope users. In my mind, A-Rod has fallen from the title of hero and into the depths of a cheater and fraud.
This is Trevor.
DeleteAs most of the comments above say, I too agree with the idea that A-Rod is a fallen hero. With the increasing spotlight he began to get before the doping scandal, like every baseball career, it would eventually have to go down at a point; however, with A-Rod's love for the game, he wanted to postpone that decline for as long as he could and keep himself in the spotlight, but in the right way, which he inevitably avoided doing. The pressure and impossible task to remain the strongest and the best in the league put on him by the people around him and fans of the sport, caused him to go to lengths to maintain that role as one of the top players in the league. Although I do believe his downward trajectory was avoidable, it could only be avoided by putting up worse numbers, which for someone who dreams of being the best in baseball, is not an option. I do not support the idea that you should cheat to be the best when other top players in the league are playing fair, but I feel as if A-Rod had grown around baseball, and in order to remain a hero and a role model to youth around him that wanted to follow in his footsteps, the only way to stay on that pedestal was to take steroids and in turn remain one of the top players
ReplyDelete-Patchy
A-Rod, along with many other great past and present baseball players, fell in to the trap of doing anything to become the best player ever. With all the pressure that comes with being one of the most famous athletes in the United States, A-Rod's trajectory was always unavoidable. As we read in many of the poems and short stories for class, baseball is rough when it comes to its fans. The energy and pressure that they put on the players in unbelievable and scary in some ways. And then, when a player like A-Rod comes on to a team, fans expect 150% effort from him and also expect him to hit a grandslam to win the World Series. The expectations were too much for A-Rod, in my opinion. Though he had come so far in his life, I think he felt that not performing well and letting his team and fans and family down would be worst than using steroids. And so rather than accepting that he wouldn't be one of the top players anymore, he chose the way of cheating to become the best.
ReplyDeleteI see A-Rod as a fallen hero. Growing up, I was a huge Barry Bond fan. He was my favorite player and I was always amazed on how easy it seemed for him to hit home runs. As a child, I never knew about his use of performance enhancing drugs and sometimes didn't understand why a lot of people didn't like him as much as I did. When I found out he used substances to make him bigger, I was crushed. I was furious and disappointed and never saw him as the same man.
ReplyDeleteWhen A rod started to become popular I thought he was going to break the home run record without using substances and thought of him as a new great player. Now that I know he has abused substances my mindset has changed. I am upset and disappointed with him and now worried about other players in the MLB. Maybe the need to become stronger, faster and better has provoked a new mid set within all baseball players. As seen with A Rod, maybe now even the best only think they can stay the best with a little help. It is disappointing to me that this may have been the only way A- Rod thought he could be successful.
Although based on the numbers Arod may have been one of the most skilled players in modern baseball, I do no think that the term fallen hero can properly apply to him. This is because I do not believe he was ever an actual hero to begin with. Google defines hero as an individual with "noble qualities" who is "idealized for courage" and Arod has far from reached that point in his life. From his doping scandal to the way he acts on the field and on the bench, Arod is not one to be looked up to. If you're looking for a mentor for America's national pastime, follow him closely. If you're looking for a role model, you're in the wrong place. From using substances to create an unfair advantage to others working even harder than him, to numbers counts of cheating and attempts to have the game be played the way he wants it, to nasty attitudes and poor sportsmanship, Arod is no hero. Nobody is to blame for what happened to him but himself.
ReplyDeleteAnd my mom won't stop telling me how hot he is...stop mom. stop.