The American Pastime of Cheating

It's been said that baseball is "America's pastime", a big part of U.S. popular culture. That being the case, baseball's scandals -- of which the Alex Rodríguez one is the latest -- is a perfect reflection of American society: you do what you have to, to get ahead, cheating included. When there is a lot of money involved, anything goes. Earning a living the old-fashioned way is not enough; the more money is on the line, the more extreme the lengths people are wont to go to, to achieve their goal of getting rich, the so-called "American dream."

In baseball, as in life in general, that dream usually turns into a nightmare like the one Alex Rodríguez finds himself in.

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