The Doug Glanville Perspective

Before names were named in baseball's steroid scandal, if someone came up to you and said Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco were cheaters, you would probably have stopped and thought about it before concluding, "yeah, I can see that."

Given their personalities, it isn't hard to imagine how they might do such a thing.  But on the other hand, if someone told you back then that Mark McGwire, David Bell and Andy Pettitte -- among others -- were cheaters, disbelief would probably be your first reaction.  They just don't seem like the type.

But in an Op-Ed piece in yesterday's New York Times, former Phillie Doug Glanville, who says he did not use performance-enhancing drugs and doesn't seem like the type who would either, explained how any player might be tempted to use them.  He writes:

There is a tipping point in a player’s career where he goes from chasing the dream to running from a nightmare. At that point, ambition is replaced with anxiety, passion is replaced with survival. It is a downhill run and it spares no one.

[...]

We’re scared of failure, aging, vulnerability, leaving too soon, being passed up — and in the quest to conquer these fears, we are inspired by those who do whatever it takes to rise above and beat these odds. We call it “drive” or “ambition,” but when doing “whatever it takes” leads us down the wrong road, it can erode our humanity. The game ends up playing us.

As you would expect from Glanville, the entire article is well-written, and he even mentions the advice he received from a sage rookie by the name of Jimmy Rollins.

If you are a baseball fan struggling with how to make sense of the steroid-era [aren't we all?], this article is well-worth your time. 

Link: In Baseball, Fear Bats at the Top of the Order - New York Times.