Last week Jose Bautista noted at a banquet that he has been given a ton more drug tests since he became a super duper power hitter. He said yesterday, however, that he doesn’t want to be taken as complaining about it. Quite the contrary:
“It has increased in the last two years compared to before but I’m not complaining whatsoever. It’s a question that I was asked so I gave an honest answer. It’s not in my interest to make it seem like I’m getting picked on … I don’t mind it; it’s something that is not going to affect my focus and I’m not going to allow it to affect how I play my game … They are entitled to do whatever they want and test you as many times as they want. If I get picked to be tested a million times, that’s fine with me.”
That sort of stance basically ensured that Frank Thomas will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I wonder if it will do enough to get people to stop writing articles questioning the legitimacy of Bautista’s accomplishments if he, once again, hits a boatload of homers.