Did anyone really believe San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds and other big-league Popeye look-alikes when they said they weren’t doing steroids? Now a new book seems poised to topple Bonds’ house of lies, with a bombshell installment in Sports Illustrated exposing how since 1998, Bonds injected, ingested and otherwise partook of a cornucopia of illegal steroids of every variety in an effort to enhance his performance.
Did it make that much of a difference? Consider: Before 1998, says the article, Bonds averaged one home run every 16.1 at bats. After he began his alleged doping regimen, Bonds nearly doubled his home-run average (one every 8.5 at bats), despite being in his mid-30s.
Major league baseball still needs to come clean on this scandal. The biggest mess will be deciding what this means for Bonds’ records. Should they stand? Contain a “dope-aided” asterisk? Be tossed?
Every athlete seeks to get an advantage or edge — but is this an unfair advantage? Seems so to me. What do you think?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- Monkeyhawk on Open thread 11/23
- cosmos_originally on Open thread 11/23
- cosmos_originally on Open thread 11/23
- outlander on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/22
- Regular on Let immigrants run
- SolDevVB on Let immigrants run
- Monkeyhawk on Let immigrants run
- Regular on Open thread 11/23
- okobserver on Let immigrants run
13 Comments
Much has been said about steroids and their use by professional athletes. Some have condoned their use by saying people enjoy watching home run hitters, 100mph pitchers, massive linemen. But what they don’t tell you is what, beside build muscle, the steroids do to the human body and mind.
They don’t call it ‘roid rage for nothing. Steroids lead to major health problems including, heart, liver, kidneys and the aformentioned head problems.
If Bonds did steroids, and there is little doubt that he did not, his home run record should be stricken from the books, as should Sosa’s and McGwire’s. The youth of this nation should get the message that doing steroids will get you banished from all sports. The stuff is just too dangerous.
It’s really a shame this story had to come out at the same time we should be remembering & celebrating the life and career of Kirby Puckett. Thanks for your smile and verything else you gave us, Puck!
Barry who?And why should we care?
Barry Bonds did steroids? Next you’ll tell me water is wet and Jerome Bettis is from Detroit.
KIrby puck is no better than Bonds or Mac…wake up folks, he was a loser also..
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2003/03/11/si_puckett/
scott – Kirby Puckett wasn’t anyone whose life I’d be interested in celebrating. He was a drunk woman-beater.
Todd. It doesn’t matter. It’s a part of the celebrity worship culture we have. People look the other way as long as they are famous.
Separate records should be kept.
The baseball, football, and other halls of fame should each have an exibit devoted to “achievements of the chemically augmented” and the records of those individuals. This to be dsplayed with in depth information as to the long term effects of use of said substances.
Any athlete found to be actively using illegal substances should be imediately barred from competiton for life.
Anybody remember Lyle Alzado?
yeah, Kirby had his share of problems too… who among us doesn’t? But charges against him WERE dropped, and his ex-wife has recently had nothing but nice things to say about him. So if she can forgive him, I’m sure you stone-throwers can take some time out of your hating to do the same. Or, like my mom says, maybe you just don’t say anything at all?
sconad,
Puckett was a serial physical, and sexual abuser of women and a serial adulterer as well. The man was a great ballplayer but a complete scumbag in every sense of the word. I am sure that you will cry rivers when oj kicks because he only had a couple of flaws and he was found not guilty, right?
Bonds is scum too but he used steroids before their was any prohibition, by baseball, against using them. Bonds is just guilty of TNB, that’s all.
Steroids are not inherently dangerous, I have used them in the past and I am in perfect health. In fact, doctors frequently prescribe steroids and human growth hormone as part of anti-aging programs and to combat depression and muscle wasting diseases like aids!
Viva La Raza Blanco!!
Ian using steroids? BY his post, and the fact he thinks they no adverse affect, I never would have guessed!
Tracy,”Barry who?And why should we care?”Because Barry Bonds is a hero to many kids and they will try to emulate him, including taking steroids. That is bad.
I got the Sports Illustrated today in the mail. Bonds used a lot of different performance enhancing drugs. The authors say that 26% of his home-runs were achieved after he started chemical enhancement.
It is possible that he will break Hank Aaron’s career home run record. I think he should denied that record due to steroid use.
The SI article said that Bonds has been doping for 7 years. Before doping he was hitting one home run per 16.1 at bats; after doping his rate was one HR per 8.5 at bats – almost doubling his HR efficiency. Clearly any record he would set would be largely the result of chemicals. He was hitting more HRs as he was getting older, reversing the trend of his father (Bobby Bonds)who retired from baseball when he was in his late 30s.