Talk-show host Doug Gottlieb says it’s a ‘compliment’ to Adrian Beltre to discuss whether he used steroids

The dumbing down of America took another step forward Tuesday, when a national sports talk-show host said it was a “compliment” to Adrian Beltre to discuss whether the Texas Rangers third baseman had used steroids.

Beltre recorded his 3,000th hit last Sunday. He ranks 30th on the all-time hit list, 38th on the all-time home-run list.

Fox Sports radio host Doug Gottlieb decided to turn the conversation from whether Beltre had earned a spot in the Hall of Fame to whether he had used performance-enhancing drugs.

“If I’m Adrian Beltre, that’s the greatest compliment anybody could ever give me: I’m so good I must be on something,” Gottlieb said.

Gottlieb noted that Beltre grew up in the Dominican Republic, where the abuse of steroids remains rampant. Gottlieb also said that the Rangers had a history of performance-enhancing drugs. Finally, Gottlieb said Beltre had suddenly become a more prolific power hitter in his mid-to-late-30s.

To the first point: There is no evidence linking Beltre to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

To the second point: The Rangers’ PED history largely stemmed from claims by Jose Canseco, who fingered some of the teammates he had when he played for Texas from 1993-94, when Beltre was 14 and 15 years old. Alex Rodriguez has admitted using steroids when he played for Texas from 2001-03; Beltre arrived there in 2011.

If Gottlieb really had done his homework, he would have pointed out that Beltre played for the Dodgers from 1998 to 2004, when Paul Lo Duca and Eric Gagne were among the teammates that used steroids, according to the Mitchell Report.

To the third point: Beltre set his career high for home runs in 2004, when he hit 48 for the Dodgers. He was 25.

He signed with the Seattle Mariners as a free agent, playing in a pitcher’s park from ages 26 to 30. The remainder of his 30s — one year with the Boston Red Sox, the rest with the Rangers — has come in ballparks favorable to hitters.

But, really, this wasn’t about a critical examination of Beltre’s career. This was about a scorching hot take, not quite to the level of the publicity stunt Rick Reilly pulled in 2002, when he walked up to Sammy Sosa, gave him the address of a nearby lab and suggested he go take a drug test to prove he had not used steroids.

Gottlieb chose to devote his national show to an essentially unfounded allegation. That, he confessed, was a topic preferable to a discussion of the serious problem of steroid abuse among prospects in the Dominican Republic, all vying to catch the attention of major league teams, with the assistance of unregulated trainers hoping for a cut of a lucrative contract.

“Is it interesting to the national sports radio listener?” Gottlieb said on the air. “I’ve been trained to think it isn’t.”

bill.shaikin@latimes.com

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