CLpower

Am I the only one that could care less if these guys are roided up and doesn't feel it takes anything away from the game?


Taking steroids isn't gonna make you hit the ball better Or make you a better fielder, etc. If there is any game where I think steroids have basically zero impact it is baseball.

Lister00169

Purgery charge, here we come!!!!

btsilver

true, he has had the same swing for like 20 years...

JimmyCarter

BEETROOT

Of course it won't help you make contact with the ball, but take a guy who can already hit the ball, shoot him full of steroids, and he hits the ball much harder.

It ruins the game.

PillsburyChoboy

steroids doesn't necessarily make a better baseball player ... it just allows players to sustain their abilities for a longer period of time. i've heard that in a 162-game season, with the usual wear-and-tear, players are in peak condition maybe 60% of the games.

but with steroids and other performance-enhancing supplements, recovery time is greatly enhanced and thus, these players can play at top form 80% of the time. so in this way, over a course of a career, players can play longer and achieve greater "stats." most baseball players start breaking down in their mid-30s after 12-15 years of playing. there are very few exceptions and even great HOF players have mediocre years in their late 30s and if they make it, their early 40s.

so if a player is able to add 3-5 more "peak" years in what is supposed to be the tail-end of their careers, (a la bonds, mcgwire, sosa, raffy), they are suddenly capable of hitting 500-3000 territory, like raffy recently did.

CLpower

if you've played baseball, you know that a little tiny guy can hit the ball just as hard as a big guy. I will still say, I don't think it makes enough of a difference that we need to start evaluating whether or not we remove guys #'s from history.

Billiam

So I have to ask, did you guys hear or read Ryne Sandberg's HoF induction speech? IMO, he totally bitch slapped the attitude of many of current players. I thought it was great.

Here's some exceprts.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune....cubs-headlines

Scrib

I saw it.

But it's totally true. And the same comments could be used throughout any of the major sport leagues. Most people are in it for the money and not for the love of the game.

I could personally do without the attitudes and thugness of current sports. It's pretty pathetic.

BEETROOT

I've played plenty of baseball. Tell me which tiny little guys are in the top 10 hr hitters this season.

It obviously makes a big difference, or players wouldn't be doing it.


My little brother plays baseball, he's 13. He was on the VA state all star team, has a scholarship to private high school to play baseball. In a few years when he's looking for college scholarships, should he be competing against kids who are pumping drugs into their systems?

TLover

Not necessarily true. Some steroid studies have shown that it improves eyesight, a very important component for hitting a baseball.

BEETROOT

No shit.

Even more reason.

te3point5

Bat speed...

So its true that you need some natural tallent to field and see the ball. But Bat speed plays a big part of it too.

Personally, I could care less if they take steroids. I think it'd be fun to see a bunch of line backer type guys playing baseball.

BEETROOT

What if these weren't just nameless athletes, but people you knew and cared about?


I doubt there are many players who made it pro with steroids that wouldn't have made it without them. It is definitely a game of skill more than a game of strength. But the pressure is there. How does it look to a high school kid, a college kid, when he finds out all his idols have been using this shit?

It blows my mind that this isn't taken more seriously.

applesplatter

Why else would you play (professional) sports?? Why do hold atheletes to higher standards than ourselves?? It's a job, no more, no less ...

i've never understood this mentality .. you hardly ever hear stuff like this about owners .. why? because we understand it's totally a business to the owners .. owners don't 'love' the game ... i feel the atheletes should be treated the same way

Always Dirty

The athletes are the entertainers. They're the ones that kids have posters of up in their rooms. The ones that everyone goes to watch. The ones that everyone pays to see. With their paychecks come public scrutiny, and with it comes the imposition of our societal morals and standards. You've got to pay to play (and get paid yourself).

Slinks

what i don't get about baseball athletes & steriod is they say they have no idea they're taking them (sheffield bonds now palmerio). I mean no one's gonna give u steriods unless u specifically ask for them, or insinuate that you want them...

This is like me failing my drug test at work...
boss: "i have some bad news, you failed your random drug test. we have to fire you now"
me: "what you talkin bout i never took a drug in my life."
boss: "the test said you took cocaine."
me: "what? the test must be fucked up. its a whack test."
boss: "we tested u twice. its got a 99.9999999% accuracy. either u took the drug or ur one unlucky sob"
me: "i never knowingly took any drugs. i don't even know what coke looks like"
boss: "its a white powder"
me: "fuck. my entertainment consultant has been feeding me this white powder he everyday. he's been calling it sugar. man he must've been lying to me. i had no idea!"
boss: "ok lets make a deal. you go home for 2 weeks. clean it out of ur system. we'll test you again in a year and if u still have it in you we'll make u go home for another 4 weeks."
me: "even though i never knowingly took any cocaine i guess i have no choice but to comply"



btw...hopefully this story gives canseco's book more credibility. that guy is one hilarious dumb fuck.

TLover

Speaking of Canseco, he must be laughing his ass off right about now.

ccannizz11

but I think tony gwynn said it best during a broadcast last year. He said something to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing).......

'it's debatable whether steroids actually helps you hit the ball, but I will tell you where it makes the difference. For regular guys, hits that were homers and triples at the beginning of the season turn into doubles and singles by August and September. But for guys on steroids, hits that were homers at the beginning of the season are still homers in September.'

applesplatter

i think the whole athelete/role model argument is a cop out for bad parents ..

LLWesMan

You're wrong. Steroids allow players to be stronger and to heal faster, enabling them to play better. Possessing more strength allows what could have been a warning track flyball to travel out of the park for a homerun, or for a groundball that could have been fielded to be hit that much harder and get through the hole for a hit. Recent studies have also shown that taking some steroids actually IMPROVES your vision to a certain extent. Baseball is a game of inches, steroids DEFINITELY have an impact.

Always Dirty

I guess, but you were complaining about the standard to which they're held. I explained the reason behind it.

LLWesMan

EXCELLENT example. Taking steroids is against the RULES of baseball, these athletes chosen professions. If one of your coworkers was to break a rule or law and in turn perform better at their job than you thanks to this unfair advantage, wouldn't you feel cheated?

TLover

But it wasn't against the rules to take steroids until THIS year.

Always Dirty

I think it was, they just had no way of enforcing the rules.

TLover

Got the year wrong:

Baseball did not ban steroids until 2002, though the substances became illegal in 1991 unless prescribed by a physician.

Always Dirty

Still - you're right - a rule isn't a rule unless you can enforce it.

ccannizz11

until then, it's only a "resolution"

Always Dirty

Resolution...resolution...where have I heard that word before....hmmm... nope. Nothing.

ghost_masterCL

I SECOND THIS! Time o make the smack down. If they can't do what it takes to earn x million per year (which they shouldn't be earning that much anyways) on their own, they shouldnt' be allowed to play.

TLover

Man, I long for the good ol' days when players abused alcohol, LSD and coke and STILL played great.

Scrib

Couldn't have said it better myself.

thatguy

wtf.... i might be funny, but i'm not dumb!!!!

jlukja

you didn't even address the third word.

LLWesMan

Palmiero got caught THIS year. What about what I said was contrary to your counterpoint?

TLover

Nothing really. But everyone says steroids does this or that, which they do, but they weren't illegal until VERY recently. Palmeiro did get caught this year, and deserves what he gets, including all the ridicule.

But in the entire scope of the steroid argument and the impact on the game as a whole, I wouldn't blame a players for taking it if it wasn't specifically banned.

michimonster

You have no idea how many disapointed people I had to deal with today. Especially the kids. I actually had one kid cry.

I really cant comment on it, but I'll leave it at this. This changes everything.

TLover

If I were Palmeiro, I'd retire right now. Of course, if I were Palmeiro I wouldn't have taken 'roids in the first place.

astro

awesome post!

LLWesMan

It's hard for me to say whether or not I would have taken steroids. Jose Canseco was one of the games best players for several years, and made millions of dollars. In his book, he said that he never even would have made the major leagues if he hadn't taken steroids. I'd be willing to bet that there are MANY people out there who would be willing to take steroids in order to obtain millions of dollars. I'm not saying that your average joe can take steroids and make the major leagues, but I am saying that I understand the decision making of good ballplayers who might not make the bigs without them, and took them. The rewards are certainly great.