True, even if it wasn't steriods he was taking something else. With or without taking something he is a great athlete.

 

I think you're taking it a bit far here. They said only 5% of the players tested positive and that was before it was even banned by baseball.

This is difficult situation. Can you really blame these guys for doing this? It wasn't banned by MLB, they were not being penalized. I know I wouldn't personally do it, but it's hard to pass judgment on the guys that did.

 

With all due respect, don't give these guys too big a break. Anabolic steriods had been demonized since the Soviets used them to crush everyone at the Olympic games throughout the 60s and 70s. Any athlete taking them in 2003 knew that they were doing something that was - at the very least - on the edge of propriety. Just because steriods weren't banned by the rules does not mean that any player should take carte blance and use. A-Rod knew that he was into something taboo - they all did. It was just a matter of time before someone found out and the house of cards came crashing down. Don't let them off the hook just because "everyone was doing it" or because "it wasn't against the rules."

Think of players like Dale Murphy who had great careers but are not in the HOF. With steriods I am sure that Murphy would have hit 500 HRs and gotten a free pass into the Hall. But while we take away tickets into the HOF from those who used steriods, nothing is being done to bring some of the great players from the past into the Hall who we know were clean. If MLB used the steriod scandal as a way to reevaluate some great careers, there may be a silver lining. But that is not being done. So steriods have only damaged the game and its legacy. Nothing positive has come from it.

Steriods have tained all of the great baseball records. These records used to be the most hailed in all of sports. Now they are an afterthought. That is very sad. A-Rod is now a BIG part of that.

 

I'm not totally letting them off the hook. I'm just saying a lot of people pass judgment and don't really know what it's like to be in their shoes. Baseball has a history of cheating, from scuffing balls, stealing signs, corking bats. There is also a much bigger issue here that nobody knows about since the media hasn't given it any attention, and that's the use of greenies. Back in the day, in the time of Babe Ruth and up to Dale Murphy and even up to a few years ago, greenies were a huge part of the game. I would say they can help a player just as much as steroids, if not more. They have recently been banned, so Babe Ruth and Dale Murphy weren't exactly "clean" either. Athletes will always find ways around the system to better their performance. You can't just single out modern players, they have always done it and always will.

 

Pete Rose used to tell stories about the Reds' locker room that had a big bowl of greenies and a big bowl of reds in it. Guys would take handfulls at a time. I know that the old players were not totally innocent.

One thing I know for a fact - and this may sound totally ghey - but I KNEW that Dale Murphy NEVER took drugs. I am 38-years old and have been around the block more than most. But I know Murph and he never would have done that. If I were to find that Murph took drugs, I would lose faith in all athletes and be done with professional sports forever.

 

Ha, fair enough, I certainly know there are a ton of athletes who are completely clean, and it sucks that a lot of these guys get left behind because they refuse to compromise their integrity. I guess it just comes down to the fact that there will always be those who will cheat, and it's our job to try to make the game as fair as possible. But, it's not perfect and guys will always slip through the cracks.

 

I'm not surprised. I think Madonna is taking roids as well.

 

Looks like A-Rod has taken the Jason Giambi approach and admitted to taking roids from 2001-2003. He blames it on the "tremendous pressure" he felt to perform after signing the largest contract in sports history (10 years/$252 Million). That kind of money would drive anyone nuts. He has hurt the game and that is almost unforgivable. Hopefully this will inspire the HOF voters to give more credit to those players in the '70s and '80s who had great careers but did not have the longevity that steriods afford. For example, Dale Murphy.

Alex Rodriguez admits to using performance enhancing drugs - MLB - SI.com

 

So lame...I played for about 15 years and really love the game...I hate to see this happen...the impact on young fans is the most troublesome part, IMO...

 

Wait, how do you know that NO ONE in MLB was using steroids before the mid 80s? I use that as demarcation point since Canseco broke into the league then. We know that football players were using steroids in the 60s, at a minimum. Do you think that no one in baseball was aware of the edge that steroids could bring until the mid 80s?