Roche: Time To Appreciate David Ortiz For Slugger He Is
BOSTON (CBS) -- Believe what you want. Word was leaked that David Ortiz tested positive for some type of performance enhancing drug in 2003. No one from MLB has ever told Ortiz what exactly he tested positive for.
So be it. If you want to call Ortiz a cheater for that test - fine. However, since then, David Ortiz, as he has told me over and over again, believes he has been tested more than any other player in the game. Zero positive tests.
ZERO.
I know we live in a society where we now find people guilty before they have a chance to even prove their innocence. It's the way it is - especially in the social media and sports talk radio world we live in.
I remember going on a radio show the day of Game Six of the 2013 World Series and instead of talking about how the the Sox were about to win their third title in the last 10 seasons, the topic of discussion was about Ortiz, "Having to be on steroids or some PED" because he was hitting .600 in the Fall Classic.
Folks assume Ortiz has cheated his way to historic numbers. His 30 home runs and 100 RBI nearly every year? Had to be PEDs.
But, the bottom line is, David Ortiz has been tested since 2004 over and over AND over again. ZERO positive tests.
There's also been no one like him. Take a look at the production levels of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, etc after 2004. Some good numbers, but age and perhaps "other factors" caught up to them. And, yes, Alex Rodriguez has put up great numbers, but... he tested positive.
Ortiz put out his own story on Derek Jeter's website The Players' Tribune on Thursday, where he makes a lot of spot-on points. He did the same roughly a year ago in an interview I did with him down in Fort Myers, Florida (PED talk begins around the three minute mark):
"It got to the point where it doesn't really bother me," he said of the allegations. "We put ourselves in the situation once, with the steroid talk and the PED stuff starting to kick in. We're suffering for what others did to the game. The true players are suffering because of it. In a lot of people's minds there are not true players in today's game.
"The bottom line is, it's not what people say or what people think of. It's the results we get from our testing. [I get tested] all the time. It's something I don't worry about. I have too much to lose when it comes down to that," he continued. "[That] one comment everyone makes when you're doing good, I just wrap it up and throw it in the garbage."
However, those that have made up their minds will never change. He's guilty. And some of those folks are Hall of Fame voters.
As for me? I can reason that even if he took something illegally prior to 2004 then you can erase that from the record books. So, worse-case scenario, Ortiz should be looked at for his numbers from 2004 and on. And those numbers are indisputable.
That's worse case, too. So, I think it's time to leave the guy alone and appreciate what he's done and continues to do at age 39.
With that, just remember, it may not last much longer, if age ever catches up to Big Papi.
Follow WBZ-TV's Dan Roche on Twitter @RochieWBZ.