ONE OF THE BEAUTIES of baseball is that the game follows the rhythms of life, but both can offer unexpected disappointments.
Red Sox slugger David Ortiz’s much-awaited explanation of his positive test for having taken a banned substance back in 2003 - that he was careless about his dietary supplements - was, compared with those of his peers, minimally persuasive. That is to say it was more plausible than Roger Clemens’s furious denial (coupled with his assertion that a steroid delivery to his house was for his wife) but about on par with Alex Rodriguez’s curious claim that his cousin injected him with substances that he didn’t completely understand. At least Ortiz’s apology seemed heartfelt, more than that of most players implicated in the steroid scandal.
Still, it’s a blow to Ortiz and all of Boston to have the beloved Big Papi take his place on baseball’s roster of tall tales, unsatisfying explanations, and equivocations about the use of banned substances. It may never be known whether Ortiz is offering most of the facts or only some. Even he acknowledges that the whole story isn’t clear. Nonetheless, after Ortiz copped to about the least amount of culpability as would be conceivable for his failed drug test, Red Sox manager Terry Francona praised him as if he had courageously confronted a lifetime of demons. That he had not done. Francona seemed to be channeling his wish that the whole drama would end there.
If so, Ortiz should be appropriately shamed by the setting of his admission - Yankee Stadium, during a disastrous series in which his declining skills contributed as much as the distraction of his failed drug test to a sorry weekend for Red Sox Nation. But he should be heartened by the loyalty of Boston fans, many of whom referenced Ortiz’s past demonstrations of character and leadership as much as his clutch hitting.
Those fans, including the many children who look up to Ortiz, can take away the lesson that life is complicated. It carries the ever-present fear of disappointment. But it also offers opportunities for grace and redemption. One of the many charms of David Ortiz - local legend, folk hero, tainted slugger - is that he always had a better grip on that reality than most players. His story will go on.
