Posted on 03/07/2006 4:13:52 PM PST by indcons
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A new book about Barry Bonds says he used steroids for at least five seasons, casting new doubts about the baseball superstar's exploits as he seeks to pass Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time home run list.
The book "Game of Shadows", an excerpt of which was on the "Sports Illustrated" Web site on Tuesday, said the San Francisco Giants outfielder took steroids via injections, pills, creams and liquid starting in 1998. His most productive seasons followed while he was in his mid-to-late 30s, most notably in 2001 when he hit a single-season record 73 home runs.
"If it really is true, I'm sorry to hear it because it does cast a shadow," Babe Ruth's last surviving daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, 88, told Reuters.
"I don't know if daddy were here what he would say," she continued. "He was always on the side of ballplayers."
Asked if it might be appropriate for Bonds to retire before passing her father in the home run record books, she said: "I certainly would not have any objections to that."
(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.com ...
You said - No one has presented a single piece of evidence other than "He looks big, and plays ball too good for a forty-year old."
You must have not read the article. The guys who gave Bonds the stuff testified to a Federal Grand Jury. They gave amounts, dates, frequency, type, a full laundry list of what Bonds was taking.
Your defense of Bonds is laughable.
Cecil Fielder was pretty good, but unfortunately he was too heavy to really have much longevity. But hitting a ball onto the roof of Tiger Stadium? Wow.
Also Fielder was one of the very small number of players (up until 1993) to have hit 50 home runs in a season. I think there were only 6 or 8. Of course now there's like 30--but still--an impressive stat.
No, I don't deny the use of performance enhancing drugs in MLB.
For the umpteenth time, my point is improved performance (even in later years) alone is not hard evidence that a player is using performance enhancing drugs. The only real case anyone has presented is that "he's big, and he doesn't play like a forty year old."
Nolan Ryan didn't play like a forty year old. Tony Gwinn didn't play like a forty year old. Rickey Henderson didn't play like a forty year old. Superior athletes can often excel in later years. Keep in mind this is STILL the Barry Bonds that won THREE MVP's before anyone even thought of mentioning steroids in the same breath with his name. He is a superior baseball player.
There is no hard evidence that Barry Bonds knowingly used performance enhancing drugs including steroids to increase his performance. It's all conjecture.
Yes, you're right. I was half asleep and transposing Ken Griffey Jr.'s naming over to Barry.
I promise to never post again with less than 4 hours sleep. ;-)
Correct. I was half asleep and tried to mix up the Griffeys and the Bonds.
Doh!
The only thing anyone has offered is the HR's per At-Bat statistic, which on its surface does appear damning. But have you looked at the dramatic decline in his number of at-bats and the increase in his number of walks over that time period, particularly intentional walks? People are pitching around him all the time, but you can't do that forever. When you do pitch to him, he makes contact, and with the short porch in right, more balls are going to go over the wall.
His most recent stats are skewed because of the lower number of at bats. This indicates that pitchers/managers are scared to pitch to him. How do you think that influences THEIR performance?
Semper Fi
Perhaps you missed this link from another thread....
It's pretty damning stuff -- looks like a lot of folks in Barry's life has testified or turned against him..
Pretty sad, actually.....
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/03/06/growth.doc0313/
Semper Fi
I read it....about 30%-40% of the article is sourced with an EX-girlfriend, and we all know what reliable witnesses they can be. And since when do we at Free Republic accept the media's version of anything at face value??? Lord knows, if I lived in their world I would think Hillary is the smartest woman alive and that Brokeback Mountain was the greatest film since Gone with the Wind.
As to your article, the only "smoking gun" that I see is the folder with the doping calendars. If that is true, then I would say he probably juiced, though I wonder why such a seemingly strong piece of hard evidence is buried way down in the article. As I've maintained all along, I'm not here to pass judgement on whether or not Bonds juiced. My point throughout this thread is that it is possible to maintain a sustained performance level late in life without resorting to steroid use.
A lot of the rest of the article seemed to be stories (with later recantations) with principals of BALCO, and then the usual media twisting facts to support the story. My favorite one of those was where they pointed out that Conte backed out of an evidentiary hearing where he could have confronted Novitsky about supposedly incorrect statements. What kind of supporting "evidence" is that?
Bonds hasn't yet tested positive for steroids, has never had a drug suspension, and has never admitted that he knowingly used steroids to enhance his performance. The "evidence" in the article is replete with recanted statements, testimony of those arrested, hearsay, and testimony of individuals with questionable motives. Add that to the authors molding the facts to fit their story and I have to wonder how strong a case they've made.
Check post 111. I jumped the gun.
Whooops, you already realized my link was different...
Sorry about that...
Yep, it does look bad now...
I'd like to think that Barry is smart enough to know the dump is coming, and will do a good deed for MLB and acknowledge the scam and resign...
MLB should remove all records from known cheaters...
He should be shunned by the Hall of Fame, forever.
Perhaps MLB will have to initiate a Baseball Hall of Shame, to cover these jerks and cheaters.
Chances of either happening is less that 50%....
Too bad, really...
I once loved professional baseball. Now I only go to High School, College and the little cookie snatchers who play "T" ball or in the local Pop Warner League.
Semper Fi
Walks don't count as at-bats.
Open your eyes.
Is Tiger Woods guilty of the same?
Shame Bonds got busted soooo close to the record (heh.)
True, but let's confine the discussion to just a Ruth vs. Bonds comparison. They were both outfielders and power hitters, so this isn't exactly an apples and oranges comparison. Let's take a look at their numbers, including Bonds' steroid-helped years.
Batting ave: Ruth .342, Bonds .300
On-base %: Ruth .474, Bonds .442
Slugging %: Ruth .690, Bonds .611
RBIs per 164 games: Ruth 143, Bonds 110
HRs per 164 games: Ruth 46, Bonds 42
Fielding: Ruth has the edge in arm strength, Bonds has the edge in speed. Both could play the field.
Pitching: Ruth was one of the best pitchers of his day, and would've likely made the Hall of Fame had he stayed exclusively at that position.
My vote goes to the Babe.
Yep. Not even close.
Ruth was whacking more HRs than entire teams were during his day.
I wonder where this leaves Bonds' new "reality" show (which is supposed to follow him from stadium to stadium during his HR climb toward 714 and 755)? Are the editors going to edit out all the boos and "cheater" signs in the crowd?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.