Selig Considering Reinstating Hammerin' Hank's Record; Punishing A-Rod

[UNHWildCats]

On the first point I think he should, I dont think the issue with Bonds was as vocal as it could have been had a lot of people not just been sitting back thinking a clean A-Rod would eventually pass Bonds, now that A-Rod is tainted fans could get more vocal.

As for punishing A-Rod, he can't, if he does A-Rod and the MLBPA would sue and they would win.

------------------------------

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig on Wednesday left open the possibility of punishing New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for using performance-enhancing drugs. Selig also said he might consider amending the record book to acknowledge steroids use by players.

Selig told USA Today in a telephone interview he "would have to think about" taking action against Rodriguez, saying the player broke the law by using PEDs. Selig refused to be specific about possible penalties, and he indicated a decision would not be made quickly.

Rodriguez admitted Monday he used banned substances from 2001-03 as a member of the Texas Rangers. Two days earlier, Sports Illustrated reported Rodriguez was one of 104 major league players who failed what was supposed to be a confidential drug test in '03. MLB and the players association began a full drug testing program in 2004.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29149415/

[wkuhillhound]

There is no guarantee that A-Rod can break the home run record. Lots of possibilities can happen in the next several years, just to assume that A-Rod will break the record is silly to me. To me it should be a non-issue right now. If you punish A-Rod, you should punish the rest of the name that was "supposedly" sealed.

[dgreco]

he should be removing bonds first.

[JMU DJ]

Well his ball is in the hall with an asterisk on it already

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0702/mlb_756_600.jpg

[bandl]

Well his ball is in the hall with an asterisk on it already

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0702/mlb_756_600.jpg

They enlarged the ball too, just like it was on steroids.

[FargoBison]

If Hank gets his record back, the same should go for Maris.

[tribe_pride]

He can't do either and I think he is saying this just so people say that he has thought about it.

For A-Rod, I assume he cannot by the union contract but also realistically, how many other people will have to be punished?

For the Record - what records set over the last 20 years and before are tainted and which are not. Everyone knows the era and the players named so far (obviously this is only a small amount of who took steroids). You can't change one record but not the others so leave it alone and let everyone make their own personal judgments.

[JMU Newbill]

A-Rod should be punished for lying.... I don't think you can go after him for steroids because the testing he got caught in was supposed to be anonymous. If he gets punished, all 104 of them need to be punished. Now if they want to punish all of them, I am all for it.

As for Bonds... how many people honestly consider him the home run champ anyway?

[whitey]

A-Rod should be punished for lying

Lying to who? Katie Couric?

[JMU DJ]

Lying to who? Katie Couric?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cGdcwL0o4JE/RoaQtVoFITI/AAAAAAAAACQ/_W8l-M87vHc/s320/100_0524.JPG

to the children whitey... the children... think about those poor yankee fan children:D

[aust42]

Anabolic steroids have been used by athletes ever since the Russians and Eastern Bloc countries injected their athletes with it in the late 40's and won a bunch of medals in the 1952Olympics. The IOC didn't even ban steroids until 1976. We all know NFL football players abused it throughout the 70's and 80's, with the NFL finally banning the use of steroids in 1987. It wasn't a big deal for the NFL why is it such a big deal to MLB?

Does Bud Selig and all you Baseball Purists really think the "steroid era" of baseball only applies to the mid-90's just because the homerun records were broken? Get real.

[JMU Newbill]

and for lying to Katie..... no one lies to Katie!!!!!!

[jstate83]

Baseball in all it's "Holy than thou" attitude..........................xnonono2x
Striking records, *, leadership that did nothing for 2 decades and now want to punish players while they face no punishment.xlolx

The NFL had the same roid problem at the same time as baseball.
The difference in popularity now with both is the NFL basically said:
OK.........Ya'll taking the stuff.............it ends now.
Get caught and it's your arse.
No *, no HOF grumbling, no sermon's from fans that think the sport was put here by GOD like baseball. xlolxxlolxxlolx

[bluehenbillk]

It's a bigger deal in baseball beacuse the records are such a big deal. Less than 10% of sports fans could tell you what the NFL rushing record is for yds or TD's in a season, same with passing or catches. Baseball people know it was 61, then 70 now 73, and everyone knew 755.

In my mind like most Americans, Hank still has the record.

[aust42]

It's a bigger deal in baseball beacuse the records are such a big deal. Less than 10% of sports fans could tell you what the NFL rushing record is for yds or TD's in a season, same with passing or catches. Baseball people know it was 61, then 70 now 73, and everyone knew 755.

In my mind like most Americans, Hank still has the record.

I understand that the records are "sacred" to the purists in MLB. But my whole point is the purists must be naive to think that MLB players did not use steroids in the 70's and 80's too. How do we know Hank Aaron never took steroids? Not saying that he did, but we'll never know, he'd certainly never admit it and steroids were certainly available when he played the game.

[jstate83]

I understand that the records are "sacred" to the purists in MLB. But my whole point is the purists must be naive to think that MLB players did not use steroids in the 70's and 80's too. How do we know Hank Aaron never took steroids? Not saying that he did, but we'll never know, he'd certainly never admit it and steroids were certainly available when he played the game.

And the purist must also know that before the INTERNET and INSTANT news, their hero's of yester year were no saint's.xsmhx
They were the same alcohol consuming, drug taking, women chasing, party animal's that you have in sport's today.

If anything, they were worse simply because nobody in the press or anywhere else was going to destroy a sport's star's image back then.
The person reporting would have been run out of town instead of the player. xlolx
Not to mention if someone did get into trouble, it was not flashed all over the world in less than 2 seconds.xlolx

People alway's like to bring up Babe Ruth.
Imagine him, playing today, as an alcoholic who showed up for work drunk or hung over, and cheated on his wife/family afterwards.
He would be toast in 2009. xlolx

[aust42]

And the purist must also know that before the INTERNET and INSTANT news, their hero's of yester year were no saint's.xsmhx
They were the same alcohol consuming, drug taking, women chasing, party animal's that you have in sport's today.

If anything, they were worse simply because nobody in the press or anywhere else was going to destroy a sport's star's image back then.
The person reporting would have been run out of town instead of the player. xlolx
Not to mention if someone did get into trouble, it was not flashed all over the world in less than 2 seconds.xlolx

People alway's like to bring up Babe Ruth.
Imagine him, playing today, as an alcoholic who showed for work drunk or hung over, and cheated on his wife/family afterwards.
He would be toast in 2009. xlolx

Exactly. I'm so sick of hearing about MLB and steroids. Get over it and move on.

[BDKJMU]

Anabolic steroids have been used by athletes ever since the Russians and Eastern Bloc countries injected their athletes with it in the late 40's and won a bunch of medals in the 1952Olympics. The IOC didn't even ban steroids until 1976. We all know NFL football players abused it throughout the 70's and 80's, with the NFL finally banning the use of steroids in 1987. It wasn't a big deal for the NFL why is it such a big deal to MLB?

Does Bud Selig and all you Baseball Purists really think the "steroid era" of baseball only applies to the mid-90's just because the homerun records were broken? Get real.

What evidence do you have of the Soviets/eastern Bloc in the late 40s or the 52' Olympics? I've seen articles stating the 1st time was the Soviets, 1954 World Weightlifting Championships in Vienna, Austria. The earliest they would have been used in professional sports (NFL, MLB) would be more likely be the 70s as you state. Most players weren't even weight training till the 70s.

[93henfan]

Steroids probably aren't even the most prevalent drug that was used in baseball. Amphetamines have been far more prevalent and for a much longer period of time. While amphetamines don't necessarily make you hit the ball farther, they certainly increase a number of senses and energy level that help you go harder and see the ball better. I do not have a link to the article I read a couple years ago, but I know many players have talked about the "greenie" pills that were in bowls in clubhouses that players took before games to help them get in the zone. They were speed, and all levels of baseball were well aware of their existence and usage. If I find the article, I'll edit with the link.

EDIT - Here's the link: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2006/04/02/PBP_AMPHET_0402.html


In recent years, players have estimated that between 50 and 80 percent of ballplayers have used amphetamines.

Greenies, a nickname coined by ballplayers because of the color of the pills, were introduced to the game in the 1940s. These amphetamines speed up the heart rate and have been proven to fight fatigue, increase alertness and sharpen reaction time. Athletes have used them to challenge the limits of endurance — and mask the accompanying pain.

Amphetamines also are addictive and can cause heart attacks and strokes. They contributed to the first documented deaths from performance-enhancing drugs more than 45 years ago.

[brownbear]

As others have said, I'm tired of hearing about this. Steroids are illegal from this point forward. If anybody is caught taking them from now on, there are major consequences. What good is it to keep smacking players who did steroids in the past? They've already been penalized and they know that any more steroid use will get them kicked out of baseball.

I think it's time we let this end. Bud Selig needs to realize that continually berating players for steroid use isn't going to make MLB any better. He's only doing this because he's an awful commissioner who only cares about the money, and now that people aren't watching baseball as much, he's trying to place the blame on others.

FIRE BUD SELIG!!

[aust42]

What evidence do you have of the Soviets/eastern Bloc in the late 40s or the 52' Olympics? I've seen articles stating the 1st time was the Soviets, 1954 World Weightlifting Championships in Vienna, Austria. The earliest they would have been used in professional sports (NFL, MLB) would be more likely be the 70s as you state. Most players weren't even weight training till the 70s.

It's common knowledge. Google it up, there are countless articles on the subject. Here's one of many links.

http://www.steroidsinbaseball.net/overview.html

"Germany first developed steroids in the 1930s, initially experimenting on dogs and, subsequently, on German soldiers. The Germans discovered that soldiers were able to retain their health and vitality despite suffering from malnutrition and other wartime ailments. The Germans were not overly concerned with the possibilities of any long-term effects of steroid use.

Soviet and other European weightlifters began using steroids with dramatic results. They rather handily broke most of the world weightlifting records at the 1952 Olympics (Helsinki).
During the 1970s, it was common knowledge that steroids, as well as amphetamines, were being used by athletes in all U.S. major league sports. The use of steroids became so widespread that their oversight was assigned to the FDA through the passing of a 1981 amendment to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requiring that steroids be prescribed by a physician. The thinking was that steroids would be used for medical reasons only and, in the off-chance they were used for nonmedical, athletic performance-enhancement purposes, their distribution and use would have to be overseen by a physician. There was no movement made at this point to classify steroids as a controlled substance."

And the baseball purists want to label only the mid-90's as the MLB "steroid era". xlolx Bud Selig should change the MLB logo and put in perenthasis' MLB (allowed steroids until 2004). I cannot believe the Media/Congress/Public does not pick up on this.

[BDKJMU]

It's common knowledge. Google it up, there are countless articles on the subject. Here's one of many links.

http://www.steroidsinbaseball.net/overview.html

"Germany first developed steroids in the 1930s, initially experimenting on dogs and, subsequently, on German soldiers. The Germans discovered that soldiers were able to retain their health and vitality despite suffering from malnutrition and other wartime ailments. The Germans were not overly concerned with the possibilities of any long-term effects of steroid use.

Soviet and other European weightlifters began using steroids with dramatic results. They rather handily broke most of the world weightlifting records at the 1952 Olympics (Helsinki).
During the 1970s, it was common knowledge that steroids, as well as amphetamines, were being used by athletes in all U.S. major league sports. The use of steroids became so widespread that their oversight was assigned to the FDA through the passing of a 1981 amendment to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requiring that steroids be prescribed by a physician. The thinking was that steroids would be used for medical reasons only and, in the off-chance they were used for nonmedical, athletic performance-enhancement purposes, their distribution and use would have to be overseen by a physician. There was no movement made at this point to classify steroids as a controlled substance."

And the baseball purists want to label only the mid-90's as the MLB "steroid era". xlolx Bud Selig should change the MLB logo and put in perenthasis' MLB (allowed steroids until 2007). I cannot believe the Media/Congress/Public does not pick up on this.

If you do a web search with "steroids, World Weightlifting Championships, 1954" you'll get plenty of sources that claim they were 1st used in 54', not 52'

"The first incidence of confirmed Steroid abuse in sports was at the World Weightlifting Championships of 1954 where the Soviets easily dominated most of their weight classes"
http://www.steroidabuse.com/steroid-abuse-in-sports.html

Steroid use in baseball and Olympics
"The history of steroid use in sports starts from the World Weightlifting Championships of 1954....This was the first event when the steroids were used by some athletes during sports...."
http://www.healthpm.com/steroid-use-in-baseball-and-olympics.html

"The Soviets had made their Olympic debut in Helsinki in 1952, and made quite an impact, but nothing compared to the show they put on in 1954. That year, the Soviets easily dominated most of the weight classes. As the story goes, John Ziegler (team physician for the United States) questioned the soviet team´s doctor after the medals were given out, and the soviet doctor said that his team had been receiving testosterone injections. That, in all probability, was the first time anyone had ever used anabolic steroids to enhance performance in an athletic event."
http://www.steroid.com/steroids-in-sports.php

[FargoBison]

I think if a player was a known user you can and should remove their name from the record books, I think that is the one thing you can do to honor the players that were clean.

[aust42]

I think if a player was a known user you can and should remove their name from the record books, I think that is the one thing you can do to honor the players that were clean.

Since MLB never tested for steroids until 2004 how do you know who was clean the previous 30+ years when steroids were readily available?

[Cobblestone]

Hank Aaron will always be the HR king IMO. I really don't care what Selig decides. FWIW, those of us who are old enough to remember Aaron when he was in his prime (before breaking Ruth's record) will recall that he was also a good fielder and base stealer.

Aaron is simply one of the classiest people to ever play the game. I only got to see him play once, it was his last year, he was DH for the Brewers.

[andy7171]

I say leave them in the record books, they are already there, what's the use trying to get the toothpaste back in the tube? Everyone knows it's a joke. Everyone knows the entire era is tainted. What use is it to take their records away? It's a stupid game. Let the inflated number stand as a witness to a ruined era. And don't say it's to make an example of them because its not going to deter players from using PED.

HHHMMMMmmmmmm I can make $252M and you are just going to erase my name from the record books?

OK Deal!

[FargoBison]

Since MLB never tested for steroids until 2004 how do you know who was clean the previous 30+ years when steroids were readily available?

Fine, just put an asterisk on every record set during the last 30 years, forever cementing the fact that era was tainted and some records may be questionable.

[TheValleyRaider]

Because no one ever cheated in Baseball prior to the 1970s xrolleyesx

[wideright82]

I can't wait for A-Rod to SHATTER the all time hr record by more hrs than he hit while he was in Texas.











Disclosure: I hate A-Rod, but the truth is the truth. The man is a freak, steroids or not.

[FargoBison]

I'm just sick of this whole era, you watch guys like Maris and Aaron who did it right and now everything is just cheapend by the cheaters. Records that meant something are now meaningless and it just takes one more thing away from what made the game great.

The sad part is baseball has nobody to blame but themselves, instead of wondering whether players like Sosa, Mcgwire, and Bonds were making legitmate runs at iconic records the sport decided to sell out and turn a blind eye.

[NDSUFREAK]

I'm just sick of this whole era, you watch guys like Maris and Aaron who did it right and now everything is just cheapend by the cheaters. Records that meant something are now meaningless and it just takes one more thing away from what made the game great.

The sad part is baseball has nobody to blame but themselves, instead of wondering whether players like Sosa, Mcgwire, and Bonds were making legitmate runs at iconic records the sport decided to sell out and turn a blind eye.

very true,...give it back to Hank, give it back to Maris.

[aust42]

very true,...give it back to Hank, give it back to Maris.

I'm seriously confused why baseball purists ignore the obvious fact that steroids have been readily available for decades yet only want to believe that the mid-90's era of Bonds, McGuire, Sosa, etc. were abusing steroids. xrolleyesx Purists want to take their records away and just ignore the countless other MLB players who were on steroids that we don't know about in the 60's, 70's. 80's, etc. How do you know Hank never took steroids?

[NDSUFREAK]

I'm seriously confused why baseball purists ignore the obvious fact that steroids have been readily available for decades yet only want to believe that the mid-90's era of Bonds, McGuire, Sosa, etc. were abusing steroids. xrolleyesx Purists want to take their records away and just ignore the countless other MLB players who were on steroids that we don't know about in the 60's, 70's. 80's, etc. How do you know Hank never took steroids?

because he never looked like this.

http://images.wikio.com/images/p/39c1/barry-bonds-case-could-hinge-on-a-single-word-knowingly.jpg

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/photo/photogallery/mlb_mountain/aaron/01.jpg

[aust42]

[QUOTE=NDSUFREAK;1303099]

because he never looked like this.


Hank doesn't look like Bonds but he does have a similar physique as A-Rod. A-Rod never looked like a muscle bound roid head yet he took steroids. I'm not saying Hank took steroids but your naive if you think MLB players did not take steroids in the 60's, 70's, 80's etc. All those precious records MLB purists hold so dear from the past 40 years are all in question if your gonna try to eliminate steroid users from the equation.

[AshevilleApp2]

Hank Aaron says to leave the record alone. I'll respect that.

[BDKJMU]

[QUOTE=NDSUFREAK;1303099]

because he never looked like this.


Hank doesn't look like Bonds but he does have a similar physique as A-Rod. A-Rod never looked like a muscle bound roid head yet he took steroids. I'm not saying Hank took steroids but your naive if you think MLB players did not take steroids in the 60's, 70's, 80's etc. All those precious records MLB purists hold so dear from the past 40 years are all in question if your gonna try to eliminate steroid users from the equation.

70's & 80s yes. 60s no, at least not widespread.