| Authored by Jason M. Williams - 19th March, 2007 - 1:57 pm
 From a male child’s first steps, he is always trying to walk in his father’s footsteps. A son idolizes his father from the very onset of childhood. At a young age, a son wants so much to please his father and receive his approval and acceptance. Many times this is demonstrated by wearing his father’s clothes, learning his method for shaving, cheering for his father’s favorite sports teams, or sometimes following in the same professional career path.
This trend can be found in all professions, ranging from politics to professional athletics, from acting to maintaining the family convenience store. Often a son will try to outperform his father by reaching higher limits of their respective professional field. Much like Jack Shephard from Lost, he strives throughout his life to mirror the success his father achieved as a surgeon. Much built-up animosity between the alcoholic father and the focused son inspired Jack to climb up the ladder towards his father’s position of Chief of Surgery. When an opportunity arose to supplant his father due to a decision to perform under the influence, Jack took full advantage to overtake his father in the surgical world.
It is true that this is a fictitious scenario, but nevertheless, it is evident throughout the landscape of American father-son relationships. Sons who grow up with fathers who experience professional greatness are only inspired more to match or top the successes of the father, no matter what the expense to achieve it.
George W. Bush followed in his father’s footsteps by gaining Presidency of the United States of America, but one-upped his father by being elected to a second term. Keifer Sutherland followed his father Donald Sutherland into acting, and may have finally passed the historic actor with his recent success with 24.
The same goes for Major League Baseball players. Many sons of players grow up experiencing the thrills of professional baseball. They watch their dads and emulate their swings, their throwing motions, and their dugout banter. Sometimes these sons themselves make a push towards “The Life” as well.
Barry Bonds, Jerry Hairston Jr., David Bell, and Gary Matthews Jr. have all thrived at one point in their major league career. They all also have grown up watching their fathers play. And they all have been involved in performance enhancing scandals.
Barry Bonds has thus far been the poster boy of the steroid conspiracy. His inflated statistics that correspond with his inflated body have led many to believe he has abused performance enhancing supplements for long enough. However, while many assume Bonds turned to steroids to outdo the record home run race by his counterparts Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, perhaps it can be attributed to the natural desire to trump over one’s father.
Bobby Bonds was a three-time All Star with 332 career home runs and 461 career stolen bases. Looking back, this seems a moot point since Barry’s career statistics now dwarf those of his father’s. But as of 2000, after Barry had been a pro ballplayer for 15 seasons prior, he had never reached the 50 home run plateau. Aside from his MLB record 73 homers in 2001, he still has yet to reach 50 home runs in a season. A rather interesting spike in his numbers, along with the abundance of links between Bonds and the BALCO investigation of 2003, leads one to believe he was obviously doing something to give himself an advantage. Perhaps the motivation of enshrining the surname ‘BONDS’ into the Hall of Fame, a feat which father Bobby could never achieve, was enough for him.
Always perceived as a ‘me-first’ player, it is possible to assert his selfishness as the culprit for his scandalous behavior. Barry grew up not only around his father Bobby, but also his godfather Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who was a 24-time All Star and a 2-time MVP. Perhaps topping Mays’ 660 career homers and 338 stolen bases was a driving force in his decision to bamboozle the rulebooks of baseball to overcome his ultimate dream. Since passing Mays, Bonds has continued his attack on the record books. However, as seen with the recent denial of Mark McGwire into the Hall of Fame, it is possible that the all time leading home run hitter may find himself also on the outside looking in.
Recently there have been other former famous MLB sons to be fingered as criminals in the ongoing investigation against performance enhancing drugs. Jerry Hairston, Jr. was named as receiving bogus prescriptions of Genotropin, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and Clomisphene Citrate in 2004. He has struggled to find a niche in the major leagues, but perhaps his desire to propel his career numbers past his father’s are a driving factor in his decision to dabble with HCG. Currently, his career numbers are eerily similar to those of his father’s, excluding their stolen base totals.
Senior has career batting average of .258 with 30 homers and 205 rbi, while Junior has an average of .257 with 30 homers and 200 RBIs. Junior holds a significant edge in stolen bases with a 107 to 4 advantage. Hairston, Jr., like Barry Bonds, is fueled by the desire to make his dad proud and eventually pass him in the record books. It is true that the Hairstons are not nearly as prestigious as the Bonds men, but nonetheless, the selfishness to cheat the game by allegedly taking illegal supplements seems to place Hairston well within reach of toppling his father’s numbers.
Gary Matthews, Jr. has also not lived up to the reputation of his father Gary Matthews, Sr. Senior leads the Matthews men with a .281 career average, 234 homers, 978 RBIs, and 183 stolen bases. Thus far, Junior has only compiled a .263 average, 78 homers, 315 RBIs, and 64 stolen bases. This failure to continue the legacy of the Gary Matthews name probably prompted Junior to experiment with steroids.
Matthews, Jr. had a breakout season in 2006 with the Texas Rangers, where he had career highs of a .313 average, 19 homers, and 79 RBIs. He was then rewarded with a massive 5 year, $50M contract from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, by far the highlight of his professional career. But perhaps this spike in his performance was all thanks to his obsession with matching his father’s career. On February 27, 2007, The Times Union, a newspaper out of Albany, NY, reported an investigation regarding a steroid ring consisting of more than two dozen doctors and pharmacists along with current and former athletes from high school, college, and professional sports. Matthews, Jr. was included in the investigation. The coincidence of his career year alongside with his steroid involvement cannot be ignored, but it is likely his deception stretches back to his internal burning to conquer the feats of his father.
Another story similar to that of Gary Matthews, Jr. is that of David Bell. Also a son of three generations of MLB players, the son of Buddy Bell has career numbers far below those of his fathers. Buddy, a five-time All Star, has nearly twice as many home runs and RBIs as his son. Similar to these other famous offspring, David decided the only way to catch his father was to use performance enhancing drugs.
On March 9, 2007, Sports Illustrated reported that Bell also was listed on a client list of Applied Pharmacy in Mobile, Alabama, which was connected to a steroid and Human Growth Hormone (HGH) investigation. Bell apparently received HCG as a prescribed drug for a medical condition. However, it seems more likely that his desire to overtake his father inspired the shipment of the potent supplement.
For centuries past, present, and future, sons will always look up to their fathers. However, sometimes extreme adulation can lead to desperate measures by those sons who are committed to supplanting their father’s past successes. In this case, four MLB players have grown up surrounded by the game and felt it was necessary to follow in their fathers’ footsteps, yearning to prosper and reach heights higher than their procreators had ever achieved. However, when bumps in the road occurred and it seemed as if they were on the precipice of failure, they turned to performance enhancing drugs rather than pure blood, sweat and tears. By toiling in this ever-growing illegal saga, their legacies will be forever jaded, and perhaps so will those of their fathers. So, rather than making their dads proud, they have done nothing but tarnish the reputation and the integrity not only of the game, but also of their family name.
Jason M. Williams can be reached at jason.williams@realgm.com for comments. |
