I Believe Raffy

I believe Rafael Palmiero, suspended today for ten games for violating Major League Baseball’s substance abuse policy.

“I am here to make it very clear that I have never intentionally used steroids,” Palmeiro said in a statement. “Never. Ever. Period. I am sure you will ask how I tested positive for a banned substance. As I look back, I don’t have a specific answer to give.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to explain to the arbitrator how the banned substance entered my body. The arbitrator did not find that I used a banned substance intentionally — in fact, he said he found my testimony to be compelling — but he ruled that I could not meet the heavy burden imposed on players who test positive under the new drug policy.”

Raffy has been one of those rare birds in professional sports – a man who truly loves what he does, yet takes it seriously and professionally, who lives his life quietly and with respect, and who is a role model not only for the community but also for his fellow players. He’s never given me a reason to believe that he’s ever done anything untoward, and certainly not that he’s ever juiced.

Look at the man’s numbers. IN his prime yers, his power numbers, RBIs, and average were as consistent as anyone in the league. His durability is beyond question. These are not the numbers of someone who abuses steroids.

More so, watch highlights of Palmiero at any point int he last fifteen years. Watch his swing. Watch how easy and effortless it is and how the ball leaps off the bat as if rocket-propelled. The man has perhaps the most perfect stroke in baseball. It’s that swing, not steroids, that have made him the player that ought to be a first-ballot All-Star.

When he says he’s never intentionally used steroids, I believe him. When he says, without equivocation, that he doesn’t know how he tested positive for a banned substance, I believe him. He’s earned that trust from me as a fan. I’d think he’d more than earned it from his fellow players.

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