McCovey, please!!

[Voltaire26]

It was. I was overseas and was probably the last to find out Bonds was cheating, so at that time I thought I was witnessing something historical and, to make it even better, it was a guy on my team. I'm glad I didn't know at that time.

He was batting against pitchers that were on steroids ... what's a guy to do!!

 

[dougplayer]

Yep. Pitchers took steriods to.
Bonds was lucky to see 1 strike in a AN.
So many were dirty. Still are I bet.
Easier to hate sosa and mcgwire...always liked bonds. But. He cheated. Like a lot did

 

[JohnU]

I doubt we ever see that again. If PEDs was used to improve performance, it was also to increase strength and durability. What they always said was that Ruth's 17 HR in August separated him from the pack. I think that will hold true in the future quite a bit more unless the players find a new kind of juice to put in the afterburners.

 

[Montalban]

He was batting against pitchers that were on steroids ... what's a guy to do!!

Good grief

 

[msgkings322]

Its generally understood that he started after McGwire had the big year in 98. Bonds did not like a white dude out-shining him. His racist views caused him to go to roids like McGwire did and ultimately cost him not only the HoF but his credibility as one of the great players of his time.

It had nothing to do with race you idiot. You making it about that?

 

[wood20ks]

Yep. Pitchers took steriods to.
Bonds was lucky to see 1 strike in a AN.
So many were dirty. Still are I bet.
Easier to hate sosa and mcgwire...always liked bonds. But. He cheated. Like a lot did

It was.........?

I always took mark McGwire as the darling of baseball back then........I always portrayed him as clean as the driven snow......(and this coming from a die-hard Cub fan)........bonds was just always an asshole..........Very easy to hate.

And Sammy,yeah looking back,I could see where people could dislike him easily......

 

[Montalban]

It had nothing to do with race you idiot. You making it about that?

Of course it did. Read "Game Of Shadows".

 

[calsnowskier]

It was.........?

I always took mark McGwire as the darling of baseball back then........I always portrayed him as clean as the driven snow......(and this coming from a die-hard Cub fan)........bonds was just always an asshole..........Very easy to hate.

And Sammy,yeah looking back,I could see where people could dislike him easily......

Sammy was in a different class from Bonds and McGwire. The corked bat was the extra level that none of the other guys ever got caught for.

His spotty memory for how to speak English didn’t help either.

 

[navamind]

Good grief

I say the same thing whenever I read your posts.

 

[Montalban]

I say the same thing whenever I read your posts.

Thank you. They are thought provoking, are they not?

 

[Omar 382]

Steroids are just like greenies. Both were available in a big bowl in the locker room for anyone to pop at will.

Right?

I don't know your viewpoint on the subject, but if you're insinuating that "greenies," or Dexedrine tablets, were widespread in MLB and used by ~everyone, while anabolic steroids were only used by a select few superstars (Bonds, Sosa, Clemens, McGwire, etc.), I think you are mistaken.

It wouldn't be an awful argument if what you were saying is true- that steroid usage gave some an unfair advantage over others because only a few used them, while everyone used dextroamphetamine, so there was no advantage. It would actually probably be the best argument against letting steroid users into the Hall (again, if true).

It seems a lot more unlikely. All we can really go off of is failed drug tests and conjecture/hearsay. For conjecture/hearsay, Jose Canseco estimated 85% of major leaguers used steroids when he wrote his book. Caminiti and Schilling both guessed around 50% when asked in ~2001. You could name an endless amount of quotes pointing to different percentages of players using, but I have never heard of any player claim that the number is beneath 50%. The players who get caught using steroids are almost always the ones to give this number, because they don't really give a fuck if anyone knows that steroid usage was widespread- they were already caught. Players who haven't been caught or just didn't use usually don't give estimates of usage, because they didn't want to attract attention to it, or, if they didn't use steroids themselves, appear as snitches to their teammates and everyone in the league.

I also am making the inference that you think steroids turn players into far superior players, and that dextroamphetamine has limited usefulness for baseball players. I won't get into the particulars on all of this, but it is worth mentioning all the scrubs and minor leaguers who have gotten caught using steroids in the past 15 years. I counted 54 players who were on MLB rosters at the time of their suspension. Of the 54 players suspended, 19 have been All-Star's at least once in their career through the 2017 season; 3 have been MVP's at some point (Braun, A-Rod, and Tejada). That means that of all players who were playing for a major league team at the time of their suspension, ~65% have never been All-Star's. ~94% have never been ~the best player in their league.

There are also a ton of players who were playing in the minors at the time of their suspension, and either had only had a cup of coffee before being suspended, or had never reached the majors. Here is a list List of Major League Baseball players suspended for performance-enhancing drugs - Wikipedia

For a case study, think Jeremy/Jason Giambi.

Were they legal to take without prescription?

If they used anabolic steroids without a prescription in 1990 or later, then they were likely not legal (though I wonder about the legality of doing a steroid regimen in Amsterdam in the off-season and returning to play baseball in the states). But players who used Dexedrine or any form of amphetamine in 1970 or later were also breaking the law. Also, Tim Raines broke the law a lot.

On an unrelated note, I think PED usage in general by current MLB players is close to or at early-to-mid 2000's levels.

 

[Omar 382]

Its generally understood that he started after McGwire had the big year in 98. Bonds did not like a white dude out-shining him. His racist views caused him to go to roids like McGwire did and ultimately cost him not only the HoF but his credibility as one of the great players of his time.

Yeah, but he really only lost his cred with the white supremacist/KKK crowd, and they probably weren't going to give him his due anyway....

 

[Montalban]

Yeah, but he really only lost his cred with the white supremacist/KKK crowd, and they probably weren't going to give him his due anyway....

The sportswriters who vote are white and Bonds disrespected them. He was very jealous of the attention white players received and made no secret of it. His racist attitude toward white people cost him. he thought he was calling the shots but as usual that was not the case.

 

[Omar 382]

Thank you. They are thought provoking, are they not?

Yes. Common thoughts that run through my head while reading the average Montalban post:

Smart enough to create account... not smart enough to post anything halfway coherent
Fan of two different California teams... sounds like the child of siblings from Birmingham
Takes anti-drug stance... clearly has been huffing paint for a considerable amount of time

 

[Omar 382]

The sportswriters who vote are white and Bonds disrespected them. He was very jealous of the attention white players received and made no secret of it. His racist attitude toward white people cost him. he thought he was calling the shots but as usual that was not the case.

Thinks Bonds' motives can be attributed entirely to racism... is aware of the concept of money and greed

 

[Fountain City Blues]

 

[navamind]

Thank you. They are thought provoking, are they not?

They are, but not for the reasons you think they are.

 

[wood20ks]

Sammy was in a different class from Bonds and McGwire. The corked bat was the extra level that none of the other guys ever got caught for.

His spotty memory for how to speak English didn’t help either.

Isnt that the truth............And I remember watching that game like it was yesterday........I thought "wtf"when I seen these little rubber ball come out the end of his bat.

But back during the 98 race for Maris`s record,I never thought much of either one doing peds........But such is life and none of the users need to go in...........Its just the way I feel about it.

 

[dougplayer]

Hated mcgwire...sosa..who cared about him. You just knew these 2 were on steriods.
Same as bonds. But. He was under scrutiny...more. us. He would be lucky to get 1 strike to swing at. Per AB.. some times 1 per game.. He wasn't as much of a phoney as those 2. Running around hugging and smiling.

 

[soxfan1468927]

If Rose is not in,neither should Barry,Sammy,Roger,Mark and a few others I can think of right off.........he cheated,he knows it and therefore you will not hear a peep out of him......Its kinda like Barry and rest of the guys I named sold their souls to the Devil years ago.......

Seriously?