"Ramirez Steroid Shockwave Hits Chicago"
CBS Channel 2
May 7, 2009
Former White Sox player Ron Kittle expressed disappointment Thursday that Dodgers star Manny Ramirez tested positive for steroids. SlideIt's a big blow for baseball. Dodgers star Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games for using a substance banned by major league baseball.
CBS 2 chief correspondent Jay Levine explores how a superstar athlete who made millions — and had millions of fans — could've let down so many people.
It's called our national pastime. But some of its biggest stars have made it a national disgrace. None bigger than Manny Ramirez.
Manny Ramirez has a gift for hitting a baseball — hard. He also has a way of ruining a good thing, deserting world champions in Boston and now — for 50 games — the Dodgers who lured him back to Los Angeles for $25 million this year.
Is it arrogance or ignorance?
"A little of both," former White Sox player Ron Kittle said.
Former White Sox star Ron Kittle never made that kind of money. But even today, he's still giving back. Several bats are destined for charity auctions and raffles. He can only speculate as to what caused Ramirez to use a banned performance-enhancing drug.
"You know, some people, they have so much, they have to try something in the danger category, more of a thrill seeker to do something that takes them over the edge," Kittle said.
The impact of the suspension isn't limited to Los Angeles or the Dodgers but is also being felt thousands of miles away here in Chicago on a practice field at a high school named after a major-league legend.
"The big upset was A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez), and now I miss my hero, Manny Ramirez," said Enrique Gonzalez.
Gonzalez and his teammates play for Roberto Clemente High. They're good athletes and smart kids, with the highest grade point average of any sports team at Clemente. And you know, they sound a lot smarter than Manny Ramirez.
"It just upsets me because I can't look up to them ... because they're cheaters," Christian Ortiz said.
"If you're gonna cheat to do something that you love, then there's no point of doing it," Juan Figueroa said. "Because you're cheating for it.
Chicago law professor Eldon Ham, whose book "Larceny and Old Leather" chronicles baseball's 100-year legacy of cheating, says old habits die hard.
"Even though all the rules have changed, it's kind of hard to change the mentality sometimes," he said.
"Even though all the rules have changed, it's kind of hard to change the mentality sometimes," he said.
But each time a superstar like Manny Ramirez is disgraced, another role model is lost, leaving the next generation confused.
"There's been so many players in the majors that have taken steroids, you don't really know who to look up to," Clemente student Ishmael Lebron said.
Baseball will survive Manny Ramirez and the steroid era the same way it survived Chicago's Black Sox Scandal. But it won't be because of the multi-millionaires who let us down. But kids like those at Clemente still play for the love of the game.