Former Cub and Ranger Sammy Sosa joined Alex Rodriguez this week, being the second player named from the ‘confidential’ steroid testing list of 2003. Do baseball fans deserve to know who the other 102 players from the list are? Let’s look at both sides.On one hand, I say no. The only reason the player’s union agreed to testing in the first place was that it was supposed to be confidential. If over 5% of players tested positive, then they would agree to drug testing. It was obviously much higher. 104 players in total tested positive. You could argue that all players from that season have a right to privacy as agreed upon by the MLB and player’s union.
Even when a player is ousted by a news story, who is to say it’s correct? While there is little doubt Sammy Sosa is a cheater (corked bat included), there is no way to verify the New York Times story. What if the next story is about Ken Griffey Jr.? Everyone assumes he is innocent; but what if he was named next? Just because an investigative reporter publishes a story, the general public cannot blindly accept the story. They don’t have to name their sources and there is no evidence. It becomes nothing more than he said, he said. Steroids weren’t illegal in baseball before 2004. These players deserve the privacy that was promised their union.
On the other hand, I say yes. In the age of general public access to every facet of sports superstars' lives, we must know everything about everyone. What if Griffey was sick of being injured and decided he wanted a boost since half the lineups in baseball were doing it? Since he's considered a first ballot Hall of Famer, wouldn't we want to know that? The fans of the game deserve to know who was cheating before they are Hall of Fame eligible. Baseball is a numbers game more than any other sport. We don’t need Barry Bonds’ HR’s erased from the books to consider Aaron the Homer King in our minds. If the remaining 102 are named, it would greatly impact their all-star votes in the future, free agent earnings, endorsement deals, and overall marketability. But rightfully so! These players took a short cut to get ahead and if that hurts them in the long-run, so be it.
Do we as fans of baseball deserve to know the remaining 102 players from 2003, or are they rightfully protected by the secrecy promised to them?
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