A-Rod: The Steroid Era's Great Brown Hope

It's funny how everyone is making a big deal about his steroid use. Are his numbers tainted? Is his legacy stained beyond repair? No. How old is he again? A-Rod is 33 yrs old; and I really think that he has many years of playing left--he is still in his prime after all. Also, we need to think about the environment in which A-Rod was in when he decided to use steroids. 

In 2001, assuming that the majority of Baseball player's were using some form of performance enhancing drugs--and as we are starting to find out this assumption is being validated as fact quite rapidly, A-Rod saw the results of players like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmero, players whose best years were definitely behind them, still continue to be productive. Entering the first year of his record breaking contract, his decision to use steroids or any other performance-enhancing drugs was a mere formality. 

A-Rod took his organization's lack of regulating 'performance-enhancing' products as a sign for him to do whatever was necessary to produce his MVP quality numbers, helping increase attendance, boost revenue, and widen their market. Alex, for better or for worst, represents the need for the MLB to create progressive systemic changes that would hold not only the player accountable but the organization as well.