I want to start off my article by saying that Boston Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster is a scumbag for throwing at the biggest scumbag of them all in New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
However, no matter how bush-league this was,
Courtesy: USA Today
somebody had to be the “good guy” and hit the “evil villain” that is A-Rod.
Rodriguez isn’t alone in terms of destroying the integrity of the game of baseball… that was done a long time ago in the 80’s with the “Bash Brothers” in Oakland — Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco.
Once the “Steroid Era” began, it was only a matter of time before the liars and cheats would get exposed to the players, coaches and fans who deeply love the purity of America’s pastime.
But, Rodriguez has been the face of what has been baseball’s biggest scandal since the Mitchell Report was released in Dec. , 2007 — the Biogenesis reports implicating Major League stars like Rodriguez, Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz and the 2011 NL MVP Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun.
And the way Rodriguz has handled the situation has been so smug and cocky, that it has to infuriate his peers as much as it infuriates you and I who watch the games each and every night.
If you don’t already have some sort of disdain for Alex, watch this and pay attention to his body language and gestures:
He thinks it’s a joke and rightfully so because no one cares about him anymore as a hero.
Why would A-Rod care though?
He’s made his money. He’s rich and only wants more.
So Dempster did what everyone wanted to do… he drilled him.
Was he wrong?
According to baseball’s unwritten rules, yes.
Stick the rules. What Ryan Dempster did was exactly what everyone wanted to do… it just so happened that he did it on the biggest stage on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball game in the sport’s biggest rivalry — New York Yankees- Boston Red Sox.
It was a matter of time before someone else was going to do it anyways. It happens in baseball. Pitchers hit players intentionally to send a message.
What is the message that Dempster sent? I bet it goes a little something like this:
“Hey, I don’t have any dignity, but I’m representing my sport. There are guys that do it the right way and you are the epitome of what is wrong with the game of baseball. You act as if you’ve done nothing wrong, yet all of the people that viewed you as a role model and hero are disappointed to know that you are a fraud. Take this.”
Is it childish?
Sure.
Given the situation, it was completely unnecessary that it took two attempts to intentionally drill the troubled third baseman. And he never threw a ball.
Yet, what the Red Sox right-hander did was represent the people that care about the game of baseball and it’s mission to rid the game of imposters.
