THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: On the eve of Manny Ramirez’s return to the Dodgers I ask the following … do you think the average fan really cares about players using performance-enhancing drugs, or do you think fans just want to be entertained and don’t care about PEDs as long as their teams are winning and their favorite players are performing well?

RICK HUMMEL
I think many fans care about players associated with PEDs, but largely when they play for the other team. The more knowledgable ones will note that PEDs are not indigenous to baseball. But, in football, for some reason, a suspension for one-quarter of a season because of a violation of the drug policy, is treated much like a hamstring injury.

JEFF GORDON
I’d say most fans are pretty indifferent about PEDs right now. Most fans can figure out that abuse was rampant and that baseball is making a real effort to clean it up now. Some fans were turned off, of course, and some may have quit coming to games. But Manny Ramirez will get a mostly positive reaction when he returns to action for the Dodgers. The LA fans just want a winning team, like teams elsewhere. ManRam has been a force for that franchise during his brief time there, so most fans will rally behind him.

DAN O’NEILL
I think the latter part of the question is most true. Ultimately fans want to be entertained and want to watch a winner. They have become nearly immune to scandals, steroids, outlandish salaries, off-field shenanigans, etc. Do they frown on performance-enhancement, yes. Do they prefer players not use them, yes. Are they disappointed when the integrity of the competition is compromised, yes. But in the end, it’s not a make-or-break issue. If it turned out Albert Pujols was a user, would the majority of St. Louis baseball fans scorn him? C’mon. You know better.

REID LAYMANCE
I care. I get mad at the players and all of baseball for letting it go on for so long. I loved watching Barry Bonds play for the Pirates and even in his early years with the Giants. One of the game’s best. But in his final transformation in San Francisco (and despite his vows of doing nothing wrong), it has made it hard to still like the Bonds from the early years. Same with Roger Clemens, who’ve I seen play since high school. I still cheer for the players I like, but sometimes not as loudly. And that makes me mad. So I care.

KATHLEEN NELSON
Depends why you watch in the first place. I think fans who love Manny or enjoy the cult of personality don’t care much about performance enhancing drugs. I think fans who love baseball care that the use of PEDs damage the integrity of the game.

LUKE THOMPSON
I don’t think PEDs are a huge concern for the average fan. At this point, it seems like most people are getting tired of hearing about the steroid mess. Some are even attacking the media for blowing things out of proportion or speculating too much, while at the same time lashing out at them for not finding the original story sooner. For most people, the success of their team is paramount, and most fans are willing to overlook mistakes, especially when they can tell themselves things like, “Well, he had to do it to keep up.” But one potential problem that the steroid era created is that fans no longer have the same connection with players and respect for the sport as a whole. They can still root for their favorite team, but they may be less inclined to watch the Fox game of the week or a playoff series once their team is eliminated, because PEDs have distanced players even more from the fans who adore them.