It’s a Little League parents worst nightmare. Their child being hurt during a game that is…
Torn between jumping the fence to coddle their precious child, or let them take their lumps and learn to pick themselves back up. Within an instant a wild pitch hitting them in the back, an outfield collision or even a line drive to the pitchers mound can pierce even the hardest heart or make nerves of steel turn to Jell-O. Our children are our most precious commodity and while I have none of my own I understand the ferocity a parent feels when it comes to their off-springs well being.
Of course I’m not writing this blog about Little League and the dangers therein, but rather the topic of the year…steroids. Major League Baseball players are certainly not children, although they are handsomely rewarded for playing a child’s game. Nor are they incompetent, all of them understand the risks of putting themselves out on that field. From the pitcher to the right fielder, the chance of injury is always in the back of their minds.
For the past few days I have heard baseball players, executives, lawyers and even fans making apologies for why they or their players had been involved with steroids or HGH.
“Everyone was doing it; I was just trying to keep up with everyone else in the game.”
To me, that excuse is about as lame as a child saying,”MOMMY!!! HE STARTED IT!”
My mother always taught me that two wrongs will not make a right. It is more important to do the right thing then follow the crowd doing the wrong one. I’m sure many people remember the Red Sox Bryce Florie being hit by a line drive of the bat of the Yankees(and former Met) Ryan Thompson. It was a scene so grotesque I had trouble even thinking about it again. Especially after ESPN must have replayed it 100 times after it happened…
Florie was very lucky to have lived; he even pitched again later on. For some reason I can’t help but think about what will happen to not only the next person who gets hit, but rather the one who is hit by a drive off of the bat of a chemically enhanced ballplayer. Then what? Will it become a bigger issue when a pitcher lies on a mound dead? Imagine a young man, living his dream of playing in the big leagues. Home field, in front of his family, a young wife and friends…and in an instant, the time it takes for the pitch to leave his hand…Fade to black.
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