[JonnydaJibba]

Originally Posted by sperry

Actually, McGwire *didn't* break the rules... he was using some crazy horse tranquilizer or some shit because it had similar effects w/o being on the banned list. So he wasn't "technically" cheating. As far as Sammy and Barry... the jury's still out.

To be honest, I don't think that the guys that were that much in the spot light would risk using steriods. They're not stupid people... so they would have attempted to keep some level of plausible deniability. My guess is that they were probably using the same shit McGwire was on. So they too weren't "technically" using, and therefore they weren't cheating either. Perhaps they're violating the spirit of the rules, and that *does* tarnish their achivements, but IMO it no way invalidates what those guys accomplished...

All three changed the way baseball was played by being such great hitters, even in an era of unbelieveable pitching ability. Ruth, Aaron, Mays, etc... they didn't play against bullpens, they only had to face one or two pitchers. And with the exception of Ruth, those guys were rarely walked. Meanwhile, Barry's such a threat, he's been walked with the based loaded because conceeding one run is better than 4.

So, to all the people that get their panties in a bunch over the use of steroids... I think you need to realize that those drugs will make a mediocre hitter into a decent hitter, but they will never make a good hitter into a great hitter. To be "great" you've got to have a different skill set... it's not about raw power, it's about hand/eye coordination, and the ability to get inside the mind of the pitcher you're facing. A top fuel dragster makes a shitty rally car... all you need is 300hp, as long as you have great suspension and a good co-driver.

Yeah, that makes sense. He was just such an amazing player that it is sad to hear him say that he "didn't know he was taking steroids." In my eyes, it just brings him down with the rest of the people trying to exploit a game they love. True McGwire wasn't technically cheating, but he disrespected the game by even trying to artificially better himself. Same with Sammy, even if he didn't ever admit to doing steroids, he was still using a corked bat. I don't get athletes sometimes, they get paid to play a game they love (I'm sure they don't ALL love it), and it's never good enough. But that is a different issue entirely.