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Company Claims '98 Baseballs Were Juiced
AP ^
| 4 Jan 07
Posted on 01/04/2007 8:04:52 AM PST by xzins
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To: TommyDale
"the balls being made in Central America were being wound too tight"I think I've found the cause of "moonbatism".....
To: em2vn
It was wise to give the paying fans what they wanted, more excitment and suspense.Real entertainment would be replacing the baseball with a golfball... and playing on pavement.
22
posted on
01/04/2007 8:36:53 AM PST
by
johnny7
("We took a hell of a beating." -'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell)
To: Poodlebrain; xzins
The owners who were willing to ignore the rampant cheating in the game would surely not be above tweaking the equipment to increase their revenue. I don't think the balls were altered, but I agree that the major problem with baseball is the owners. They have ignored every problem simply to generate higher profits -- don't get me wrong, I'm all for higher profits, but when the cheating becomes widespread enough, baseball will no longer be a sport, but simple entertainment like "professional" wrestling.
I've said for years that the only chance baseball has to restore its credibility is to get a legitimate commissioner. Bud Selig is a de facto owner who was appointed as "acting" commissioner and then after a few years baseball just dropped the acting portion since they never intended to even look for a truly impartial commissioner.
23
posted on
01/04/2007 8:37:16 AM PST
by
wagglebee
("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
To: wagglebee
... baseball will no longer be a sport, but simple entertainment like "professional" wrestling. Then they can join the NBA, NFL & NASCAR.
24
posted on
01/04/2007 9:13:49 AM PST
by
TankerKC
(When I think about me, I touch myself.)
To: TankerKC
25
posted on
01/04/2007 9:18:22 AM PST
by
wagglebee
("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
To: Poodlebrain
While player doping may have been widespread in 1998, it is doubtful that the distribution of the increase in home runs would be so uniform across all batters, and shouldn't the pitchers have shown some sort of improvement from doping to counteract the hitters? A juiced baseball is so much more likely the cause as it is the one constant used in all games by all players, and it is the easiest change to accomplish. Exactly, and it also explains all the faux outrage by MLB over steroid use - just an attepmt to redirect attention away from the juiced balls. Steroids keep players off the DL, but they don't improve bat speed or hand-eye coordination.
26
posted on
01/04/2007 9:21:00 AM PST
by
Mr. Jeeves
("When the government is invasive, the people are wanting." -- Tao Te Ching)
To: TankerKC
Maybe someday the only "true" professional sport will be hockey! It's nearly impossible to juice a hockey stick or a puck and it's played by medium-sized white guys who are wearing too much clothing to show off multiple tattoos or gaudy jewelry.
27
posted on
01/04/2007 9:21:28 AM PST
by
wagglebee
("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
To: wagglebee
The only pure sport is track and field.
The clock or tape tells the tale.
28
posted on
01/04/2007 9:30:03 AM PST
by
xzins
(Retired Army Chaplain and proud of it! Supporting our troops means praying for them to WIN!)
To: xzins
I would put golf in pretty much the same category.
29
posted on
01/04/2007 9:33:26 AM PST
by
wagglebee
("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
To: wagglebee
It's nearly impossible to juice a hockey stick You can as long as the other team doesn't find out and orders a "stick check," to make sure the stick isn't curved too much. That was a huge factor in the Stanley Cup Finals back in 93 between the Kings and Canadiens.
30
posted on
01/04/2007 9:35:41 AM PST
by
dfwgator
To: xzins
Except of course that juicing has been rampant in track and field since before the major American sport leagues could even spell steroid.
31
posted on
01/04/2007 9:37:03 AM PST
by
discostu
(we're two of a kind, silence and I)
To: dfwgator
That's true, but it's a lot easier to spot than a corked baseball bat.
32
posted on
01/04/2007 9:40:14 AM PST
by
wagglebee
("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
To: wagglebee
You can juice a hockey, in fact within the rules it's already done. Check out a super slow-mo of a slapshot, notice how the stick bends because the player actually hits the ice with the stick behind the puck, then the straightening of the stick adds force and speed to the slapshot. Players seek after sticks that can bend further and snap back to straight faster while breaking less. So far for the most part those are mutually exclusive goals (harder snap backs usually result in increased fragility), but eventually somebody is going to find the super material.
33
posted on
01/04/2007 9:41:54 AM PST
by
discostu
(we're two of a kind, silence and I)
To: discostu; wagglebee
That's a given. The difference with track and field is in the competition itself.
The sport is the athlete.
34
posted on
01/04/2007 10:26:19 AM PST
by
xzins
(Retired Army Chaplain and proud of it! Supporting our troops means praying for them to WIN!)
To: xzins
The construction of the ball, though, could still be checked. Just saw some in half and look. Time in an attic wouldn't change construction would it?That's true. That's why I started my post by saying that I knew they were just imaging (looking at structure rather than physically hitting them). I was just tossing in the heat factor in reference to those people actually smack them and see how fast they go.
35
posted on
01/04/2007 11:52:19 AM PST
by
Right Wing Assault
("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
To: dfwgator
I still like to consider the endless variables when these discussions come up. {ball park dimensions, overall quality of MLB pitching, lack of "knockdown" pitching, batting order arrangement, the DH rule, etc, etc}
We were hearing "juiced" ball and "corked" bat stories back in the mid eighties, and for good reason IMO.
"Apparently so were the players. "
Of course, you're quite right. I searched for the most "muscled up" photo I could find of Roger Maris. Here it is.
Perhaps players conditioned more for flexibility instead of maximum strength back then? Maybe.
But then I look at pics of Barry Bonds taken a few years apart.
Not only is his body obviously bulkier, even his face looks like it belongs to someone else.
36
posted on
01/04/2007 6:34:38 PM PST
by
labette
(Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made ...)
To: wagglebee
"I would put golf in pretty much the same category."
I've played golf off-and-on for 45 years. The present-day equipment technology (graphite shafts, oversized titanium club heads, etc.) has made golf a very different game, at every level, than it was in the past. Anyone who watches college baseball, with its aluminum bats, knows how very different it is than MLB or even the Cape Cod League.
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