Now that it's baseball season (and it will be until November, zzzzzzzzzz) I have been thinking about all of the controversy that has been associated with baseball in recent years. Over the past couple of years we have seen several Congressional hearings, Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens look like the Incredible Hulk (near and after age 40), Sammy Sosa forget how to speak English, Mark McGwire get amnesia, and Rafael Palmero wag his finger at Congress. In addition to this we have also found out that Andy Pettitte isn’t the fair playing gentlemen that he appears to be, and we have seen a large number of Major Leaguers hold press conferences to apologize for making bad decisions or being a “distraction”. All of this is due to the fact that there is overwhelming proof that steroid use was (and possibly still is) a major problem in Major League Baseball.
Steroids use in Major League Baseball was the big elephant in the room that Donald Fehr (the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association), the male Marge Simpson (sorry, I meant to say Commissioner Bud Selig), fans, and owners all refused to acknowledge. But now, thanks in large part to Jose Canseco’s book “Juiced,” the issue of steroids and other performance enhancing drug use has been brought to the forefront. It has also caused people to look back and evaluate odd events that took place, starting in the mid-90’s to try to understand how they took place. Many point to Barry Bonds hitting 73 home runs in 2001, and the fact that it appears that his head has grown over the years. Now I know that Bonds is a workout fanatic, but I have yet to see the “head machine” in any gym that I've ever gone to. There are those that also point to the Home Run battle between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in 1998. That year Sammy Sosa hit 66 homeruns while Mark McGwire set the record (that would later be broken by Bonds) of 70 homeruns. The previous record was 61 held by Roger Marist. I can’t say whether or not these or any other players were using steroids. Although these players and many others have been convicted in the court of public opinion, there is very little proof of any failed tests. So we can only speculate.
When I look back at baseball in the mid-90’s, I always wonder why one particular player’s single-season performance was not closely scrutinized. I am referring to Brady Anderson’s 1996 season. I am not saying that Anderson used steroids (because I wasn’t there nor do I have any proof) but I have always found it interesting that in his 8 major league seasons prior to 1996, he hit a grand total of 72 home runs (an average of 9 per season). But in 1996 HE HIT 50! For those of you that were fans of the Arsenio Hall Show, this would make the list of “THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMM.” After that season he hit a total of 88 over his final six seasons in the majors (an average of 14.6 per season). Like I previously stated, I don’t have any proof of steroid use by Brady Anderson, nor have I heard a lot of speculation about him, but the 1996 season was when I realized that there were things starting to happen in baseball that were a bit unusual. I don’t know if Brady worked his butt off in the weight room and the batting cage and it all paid off for one year, or if the pitching he faced was that bad, but the fact is that Brady had one heck of a season in 1996.
On a totally different note, I would like to CONGRATULATE OUR ATLANTA HAWKS!!!! The playoffs have been one exciting ride. Although we fell one game short of advancing, we have been given a glimpse of things to come. I was fortunate enough to attend Game 6 and I have not seen an Atlanta Arena that crazy since the Falcons beat the Rams in the NFL playoffs in 2004. We finally have a team that the city can be proud of. NEXT YEAR IS OUR YEAR!!!!
****A NOTE TO JOSH SMITH****
When you sign your new 60+ million dollar contract this off-season, just say three little words for me. STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!
2 comments:
I hate to say it, but everybody in baseball has been on something, whether creatine or andro--- whatever, the athletes have been on it. No questions were asked back in '96 when the ball was leaving the park at an earth shattering rate because of one reason...the good ol' boys. If Barry would've hit 73 then, it would've been an issue. Only after he shattered Babe Rut...I mean Mark McGuire's record did steroids become a big issue. Look at Luis Gonzalez and Steve Finley who all of sudden became power hitters for the Diamondbacks when they won the World Series in '01. What the hell? Anybody who knows these hitters, is that they averaged between 12-19 HR's a year before their "steroid induced"(just a term, not saying that they did) surges. See, the players respect the hell out of Barry because he could blow the steroid issue wide open. Why do you think at the All Star game, A-Rod and all the participants showed in so much love? It's because he is their champ, he's the definition of "f" the media. He won't give the media the satisfaction after how they treated his dad back in the day. You've heard the saying "if you're not cheating, you're not trying" which the Patriots did so surrepititiously(secretly). They get a 500,000 fine and a draft pick. These steroid users/potential users are going to jail. What the "f"?! So the issue once again is not the crime(cheating), it's the personnel. The Patriots were cheating as far back as '01, Bonds, supposedly as far back as '96. The NFL isn't going back, but the MLB is, to get Bonds. That's the only reason. There has been no proof of Bonds taking steroids so I don't see what the big deal is, do you? And if you do have a problem, you need to look at EVERYBODY and BLACKball them the exact same way. Bonds is just good period
In response to the comments....
You are truly a knowledgable baseball mind. I totally forgot about the power explosions of Finley and Gonzalez.
As for Bonds, he has definitely been blackballed. I truly believe that if he was more media friendly he would have a job. I also believe that if he was younger and didn't have knee problems that he would have a job. If you can perform and keep your mouth shut, you can play in the majors forever.
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