Meeting A Great Man

For those who do not follow baseball, Dale Murphy was one of the greatest players to ever wear an Atlanta Braves uniform. As one of the best and most complete players during the 1980’s, Murphy won numerous awards, including offensive and defensive awards. The fact that he has not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame is an injustice that I hope will one day be rectified.

There are lots of players who have great careers - players who can hit the ball, or throw the ball, or catch the ball, a lot better than their peers. However, very few can truly be called great people. What sets Dale Murphy apart from other players of his era, and indeed, from players of any era, was his work off the field.

Dale Murphy is, quite frankly, one of the cleanest and most honorable men ever to play professional sports. His picture should be beside the definition of “role model” in the dictionary. He never cheated. I can not remember a time when he lost his temper. He was simply the type person you knew you would love to count as a friend, and I have always felt he deserved the name Hero.

The reason I tell you about Murph (I can still hear Skip Carey on TBS calling that name) is that I had the distinct honor and great fortune to meet the man this weekend.

My daughter has developed a love for baseball. That thrills me to no end. She and I will go to the local park and catch a minor league game whenever given the chance. She has learned to keep a scorecard, and she listens carefully when I tell one of my long-winded stories about this player or that team. This has become one of our bonding rituals, and it’s time that I cherish.

We were at the park the other night, and they had announced since the season began that Dale Murphy was going to be present at the game. I had thought it was simply going to be an instance where he would toss out the first pitch (which he did), and maybe say a few words (ditto), and then he would head out, maybe to another speaking engagement. That last part was where I was wrong, and I should have known better.

Murph was going to set up camp and sign autographs for the fans. By the time the autograph session began, the line stretched halfway around the stadium concourse. I am not exaggerating when I say I believe there were more people in line to meet Dale Murphy than there were in the stands watching the game. My daughter and I waited patiently for our turn to stand in front of greatness.

Fortunately for Murphy’s hands, the people running the show placed a limit on autographs to one item per person. Although there were people who sought to abuse the rules, the vast majority of us in line waited our turn, oblivious to the game or anything else going on.

Finally the moment arrived. My daughter went first, while I snapped away with the camera, getting as many shots of Dale Murphy as I could. Then we swapped places and she took pictures as I handed over my one item to be signed.

I had thought long and hard as to what I would say to Mr. Murphy. After all, I could not take much of his time – there were still a lot of people behind us, and the line was moving quickly. But I wanted him to know I regarded him as a hero to all of us. What to say in a moment like that?

As he signed my card, I said, “You have always been one of my heroes, not for what you did on the field, but for the work you did off the field. A lot of us appreciate what you have done.” He smiled and thanked me, as he extended his hand. I was honored that he would shake my hand. My daughter later told me the word that described me was “giddy.” I don’t doubt that was the first time she had ever used that word in the same sentence as talking about me.

Murph now tours the country, speaking on behalf of his foundation, which seeks to alert kids to the dangers of performance enhancing drugs. I Won’t Cheat is an extremely worthwhile endeavor, and I intend to lend my support in whatever way possible.

That is why today, you won’t read any posts about politics, or crazy people doing crazy things, or why this country is headed down a dangerous path, or anything like that. Today, you will only find this post – a post about a great man who was a great player and now continues to do great things.

Today, you will read about how I came to have the luck to shake hands with a Hero.

Juice Me Up

I am sick and tired of hearing about steroids. So, my apologies for extending the conversation for even a few minutes. However, I am also sick and tired of apologists. I am tired of hearing the same old lame reasons why we should not hold cheaters accountable for their deliberately breaking rules, breaking laws, bilking others out of money, and violating the trust of the fans.

This morning, on the XM baseball channel, you could hear the standard drivel. It has not played since Barroids Bonds was a skinny line drive hitter with hair, and it certainly doesn’t play now.

Let’s go over some of these tired excuses.

They’re innocent until proven guilty

Any first year law student can tell you that only applies in a criminal court of law. The presumption of innocence is a basis on which the government operates when trying to prove someone broke the law and is trying to punish them for it. It has never applied anywhere else, such as the court of public opinion. There are literally hundreds of instances where innocent until proven guilty does not apply. It sounds good, but you’re off base to use it in this way.

He was a Hall of Famer before he used the steroids

This has to be my favorite of the insane excuses to justify cheating. I won’t go into the idiotic circular logic of such an obviously lame attempt, except to say this. Using this excuse is exactly the same as saying, “he was rich before he robbed the bank, therefore, he can keep the money and we shouldn’t put him in jail.”

Everyone did it

Ahh, the lemming excuse. Weak, especially when combined with…

If you punish him for it, you have to punish everyone who did it

This takes “everyone did it” to the next level. Asserting that you cannot punish one person for cheating unless you track down and punish every other single cheater falls flat, simply because when has that ever worked? Do we let all murderers go free because we can’t catch them all? Do all rapists get a pass because there are unsolved cases? Have you ever gotten out of a speeding ticket by using the “others were going fast, too” defense? I dare you to use that on the policeman with a straight face the next time you are pulled over – “Hey, you can’t give me a ticket unless you pull over everyone else who is speeding and ticket them too.” Yeah, that’ll work.

You have to blame everyone involved

This involves trying to shift the blame from someone injecting themselves intentionally with banned substances to people who may or may not have suspected or known that some people might have been using, and thereby lessening the responsibility on the cheaters. Wrong. That is two separate incidents, and there is plenty of blame to go around. The fact that the unions fought long and hard for years to prevent any type of testing, while reprehensible, in no way excuses any player who knowingly cheated and/or broke the law. The cheaters are responsible for what they did. The union is responsible for what it did. MLB executives are mostly responsible for not having much of a backbone and standing up to the union harder.

Let’s revisit the bank robber scenario. The police botch setting up road blocks and the robbers get away. Does that mean we should forget about the bank robbery and focus on the road block issue? No, it means there are two separate issues that should be looked at, and one is more severe than the other.

It wasn’t against the law so there was no harm done

I’ve heard this one so many times, and it really doesn’t take long to debunk. For those who say it wasn’t illegal, you are just plain wrong. It’s been illegal for many years to take controlled substances without a legal prescription. The only player I have ever heard of taking PED’s legally is Paul Byrd, who was being treated for a tumor on his pituitary gland, and there is no evidence he used it after MLB banned it.

For those who say it wasn’t against MLB rules, and therefore baseball can’t do anything to them, again, you are just plain wrong. The commissioner issued a paper in 1991 warning clubs to be watchful of any use of performance enhancing drugs, and detailing that it was against MLB policies. This is a well known fact. That there was no specific testing (thanks, union!) until years later in no way absolves cheaters.

The Hall of Fame will be less without including these players

Barroids Bonds (I declared long ago that I would use this as his name until he was fully and properly punished) should never sniff the Hall of Fame. The Black Sox scandal caused players to be punished. Pete Rose is still outside looking in. Bonds can join Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens on the outside. That sends a much better message to young athletes than just saying ho hum, oh well, let’s overlook cheating and illegal activity and reward them anyway.

A lot of people are not aware that the Hall of Fame has sections. There is a museum of baseball memorabilia. There is a wing where the players who are elected to the Hall are enshrined. You want Barroids, McGwire and Clemens in the Hall? Fine, make a display discussing use of PED’s and list their names, along with Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez and others. But keep them out of the Hall. I don’t care how much talent they had, they forfeited their eligibility when they knowingly cheated. They deserve punishment. I am not advocating jail, but keeping them from the Hall is a fitting compromise. Also, reinstate Hank Aaron as the true career Home Run King.