At ages 38 and 40, Tom Brady and David Ortiz are doing something remarkable. Not only do these guys have a combined 7 rings but their performance is peaking when it should be declining.
So let's go where no Boston sports fan wants to go and talk about what every other loser fan base believes to be true: steroids. Don't worry, I'm not about to micturate upon everyone's Kellogg's. In fact, I'd like to argue in favor of steroids.
One of the favorite phrases of middle aged men is "If I had know then what I know now." A bromide that seems to suggest the peak of our youthfulness takes place well before we've ascertained enough knowledge and experience to put it to good use.
According to Wired, most athletes start to decline physically after age 26. So that should have been the best years of Ortiz and Brady, no? Let's look at how these old men compare to their younger selves:
- David Ortiz, 2002: 125 games, 20 HR, 70 RBI, .839 OPS
- David Ortiz, 2016*: 92 games, 25 HR, 84 RBI, 1.071 OPS
*(as of July 28)
- Tom Brady, 2004: 16 games, 60% completion, 3692 yards, 28 TD, 14 INT, 92.6 rating
- Tom Brady, 2015-16: 16 games, 64.4% completion, 4770 yards, 36 TD, 7 INT, 102.2 rating
Let's assume both are taking steroids, at least in this stage of their careers. Are we to assume that it not only staves off the aging process, but it makes them better physically than their supposed peak physical years, or is something else going on?
Here's what I think: What we're seeing with seasoned athletes like Ortiz and Brady is the culmination of professional experience that allows them to see a two-seam fastball and read a Cover 2 defense like never before. Should steroids be a factor, all it's doing is preventing the decline of their physical abilities, allowing us to see—perhaps for the first time—what it would look like to put the mind of a crafty veteran into the body of a youthful rookie.
Why should we waste valuable minds because their bodies can't keep up? Steroids are allowing us to see athletes like we've never seen before. And the difference is not because of their bodies, but their minds.
