San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera is so bad at cheating he got caught twice.
After becoming the latest Major League Baseball player to test positive for using a banned substance, Cabrera said all the right things.
“My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used,” Cabrera said in a statement shortly after his suspension was announced. “I am deeply sorry for my mistake, and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down.”
His current situation would be completely different if he had stayed true to his statement, accepted his punishment and moved on.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Cabrera made the terrible decision to try and fight his 50-game suspension. Fighting the suspension wasn’t the problem – it was the way he tried to convince the MLB of his innocence where he went astray.
Soon after the news of Cabrera testing positive for a banned substance, the MLB discovered one of the most incompetent cover-ups ever.
The New York Daily News reported that one of Cabrera’s associates, Juan Nunez, purchased a website for $10,000 that apparently sold the product that caused his positive test.
There was only one problem: the product didn’t exist. After seemingly placing the blame solely on himself, Cabrera made himself look terrible by trying to hatch a scheme only Bernie Madoff could be proud of.
It’s one thing to take responsibility for your own actions, but quite another to attempt to save face once you realize you’re in trouble.
Did Melky and his associates really think they wouldn’t get caught?
It’s embarrassing Cabrera submitted the ruse as evidence to prove he wasn’t at fault for the positive test. The MLB quickly saw through the scheme and upheld Cabrera’s 50-game suspension.
Smooth move, Melky.
What was a fairy tale season turned into a nightmare for the 28-year-old in the blink of an eye.
Cabrera was having a career season in San Francisco. He was named the 2012 All-Star Game MVP just a month ago and was batting a sky-high .346 while leading the league in hits.
His stellar play was the main reason the Giants were vying with the Los Angeles Dodgers for AL West supremacy. Now, San Francisco’s chances of making the postseason take a drastic hit without Cabrera’s consistency in the lineup.
My only question is how did the MLB not notice Cabrera’s increased testosterone levels earlier?
From the 2010 to 2011 season, Cabrera saw his batting average soar from .255 to .305, his home run total jump from four to 18 and his RBI total nearly double.
Coincidence? I think not.
Trying to gain a competitive advantage on the baseball diamond will also make a huge dent in Cabrera’s bank account. This is the final year of his contract, and he was expecting a big payday during the offseason once he hit the free agent market.
Not anymore.
It’s impossible to calculate how much Cabrera’s mistake will cost him, but he won’t see anything close to the amount of dough an untainted 2012 season would have produced.
If a man is only as good as his word, what do we make of Cabrera now? His credibility has been completely thrown out the window. Anything he says or does from now on will be questioned.
Cabrera’s tumultuous encounter with performance-enhancing drugs should be a lesson to other future MLB players looking to improve their games artificially – once you stack, you can never go back.
Micah Bedard is a 22-year-old history senior from Houma.
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Contact Micah Bedard at [email protected] Twitter: @DardDog