Howard Bryant is one of ESPN’s main baseball writers. He covers the American League Championship Series in October, but during the rest of the year, Bryant is the main reporter involved on steroid stories. Just this spring alone, he’s written several articles about Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and now Sammy Sosa.
Bryant wrote “Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball.”
He was interviewed by the Daily Nebraskan the day after it was reported that Sammy Sosa did in fact use steroids in 2003.
Daily Nebraskan: When did you first hear the Sosa news?
Bryant: I first heard about it yesterday. One of my editors at ESPN called and told me. They asked whether or not that I’d have anything to say about it. We went from there. (Bryant wrote an article that day.)
DN: What’s next for Sosa?
B: I don’t really know. He didn’t answer the phone. Last I heard was that he was in Barbados.
DN: During 1998, were you at all suspicious or more enjoying the home run chase?
B: I was always suspicious of it. But I’m always suspicious of things. It’s amazing how the beat writers turned a blind eye. If you were a beat writer, you had a lot of access. If you started asking the wrong questions, you’d lose that access. The revelations came from guys that weren’t beat writers.
DN: Should my generation feel cheated of the memories we once cherished?
B: Your generation has grown up with a viewpoint that is different than my generation. I think the question is do you watch the game because you want to see whoever scores the most runs, or do you want to see honest athletic competition?
DN: Sosa’s name came leaked from a list. How do you feel about slowly leaking the 2003 list?
B: I have a problem with it because MLB association made a deal. I don’t think anyone is going to be very enthusiastic about the leaking of the names. There are many different people that are going to leak it out there.
DN: Are steroids still a serious issue or now a minor annoyance for the common fan?
B: Once again, it depends who you talk to and what goes through their frame of mind. People are going to continue to attend the games, even if they don’t believe the accomplishments of what they are seeing.
I think most baseball fans have made a deal with themselves that they love the sport. I think there is a disconnection between the game itself and the people who play the game.
DN: How can current players distance themselves from this mess?
B: They can’t; they are all in this league. The players who benefited were the players that did use. I don’t think the clean players don’t have much of an argument because their salaries went up as the numbers went up.
DN: Does it get old covering steroids?
B: Yeah.
DN: Does it make you cynical?
B: No, I don’t think so. It’s not as if I am trying to make up an argument. I think we live in a climate of incredible cynicism.
DN: You write that “the real value will come from the superstar who actually uses his celebrity for reform.” Is this even a possibility with the player’s union and baseball code?
B: I don’t know if it’s a real possibility. But it’s the only one. If you want your name cleared, you have to earn it back.
mikeschaefer@dailynebraskan.com
