Ted Williams was a scrawny sonovabitch. But he's still the greatest non-juiced hitter who ever lived. Even better, there was this little thing called 'The Williams Shift', since he always put the ball in right field. Rather than make a simple stance change to spray the Monster, he kept hitting to right field. And he STILL is the last player to hit .400 in a season.
RBI is not a good measurement by which to judge if someone was using steroids. The increase in HR explains some of it. The other part depends on where he hit in the batting order (Bonds used to hit 1 or 2, then was moved down to run producing positions), how many people got on base ahead of him, and what he did in those situations. Adrian Beltre more than doubled his career high in HR this season. Not one mention of juice. There's so much more to getting into the HOF besides BA, this point doesn't even need to be discussed. Very presumptuous, even based on the 'evidence'. Maybe he stopped recently? Back to the stats: Code: Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP 2001 36 SFG NL 153 476 129 156 32 2 73 137 13 3 177 93 .328 .515 .863 411 0 2 35 9 5 2002 37 SFG NL 143 403 117 149 31 2 46 110 9 2 198 47 .370 .582 .799 322 0 2 68 9 4 The year after he 'broke' the record, during which time we know he was juiced, his walks went up 21. But his average went up 42 points. With fewer homeruns, fewer hits, fewer games, fewer runs, fewer doubles, fewer RBIs. [/QUOTE] AVG has even less to do with 'roids than RBI. The average went up because the AB went down (BB went up) I think it's clear that Bonds has cheated, but I don't follow the conclusions you're trying to make from your statistics.
Apples and Oranges. Steroids, if taken are taken to give yourself the an advantage and better chance to win. Gambling on the other hand puts the whole game into disrepute. At least when I am at the ballpark watching juiced players I know they are trying to win. However, should Rose have had money on teh Reds for Thursday evening instead of Wed, will he bring his best bullpen option out Wed or save it till Thursday. My money spent to watch to teams play to win is worthless at that point. Rose's offense was much greater and a greater insult to fans.
Really, all I got is a placebo. Nearly any sport relies on much as on mental strength as physical. If he believed this was supposed to cure arthritis, well then... I'm not justifying it, just trying to answer your question...
Oh ********ing please... Where in the hell are you getting this? Why is everyone so ********ing livid about this compared to the Ken Caminiti love fest thread a few months ago?
I guarantee Barry Bonds will be more fondly remembered after he passes as well. Ted Williams was an insufferable prick during his playing days and look at how he was lauded later in life.
Was he working with people who were being indicted on steroid distribution charges and has testimony of his saying he took steroids been reported?
Neither was Bonds in the late 80's/early 90's which was when Prof was pointing out the large jump in HR. And besides, everyone knows that you can go down to the Dominican and get bionic implants and they'll leak a story about a 'botched apendectomy.'
Well I'll tell you one thing--If I've got some tendonitis, or arthritis or whatever, I'm going to the doctor to get treated. I'm not going to rub some flax oil my friend gave me or pop something under my tongue my personal trainer gave me.
Clearly, the fact that Bonds is not well-liked has clearly had a lot to do with the tenor of the discussion. Other players escaped this kind of scrutiny. See McGwire, Mark.
Giambi story leaked on Thursday...Bonds story leaked on Friday...the same day the Vic Conte interview is being broadcast!! Considering this grand jury testimony has been around for quite awhile, I find timing of this news highly suspect.
Oh clearly. Grand jury tesimony is supposed to be sealed. I think the feds are trying to win over the court of public opinion for a possible jury trial. This is a TAX EVASION case.
A. Bonds always could read pitches and had a compact and efficient swing, but those qualities did not make him an out-of-this-world power hitter. The increase of his bat speed essentially made him unpitchable, which is the direct result of bulking up, which is closely related to his drug use. The drugs also made him recover easier. Otherwise, his body would have slowed down already. If you need a more detailed explanation, see http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/tom_verducci/12/03/bonds.qa/index.html. B. Why don’t you look up his HR per AB before 1999 and compare it to the ratio after 1999 (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/players/3918/). It should give you an idea. I would say, factoring in slower bat speed and aging body, the difference is at least 120 homers. In other words, without the drugs, he may have around 580 homers but ready to retire. Great numbers but no Ruth/Mays/Aaron.
While I don't doubt that there are many cheaters out there, please provide solid evidence rather than make unsubstantiated remark that are meant to be truthful. The ones in bold are those for which solid evidence need be provided.
Here's a good link: http://espn.go.com/mlb/gallery/19379070.html It's a gallery showing a picture of Bonds during each of the seasons he's been in MLB and gives his BA, HR and RBI total for each season.
Seeing a ball and hitting it is one thing. Seeing that ball and hitting for power is something different. 'roids can turn a double into a homer, a long sacrafice fly into a 2 run home run. And you know that.
Scout was talking about somebody on Bonds' team, maybe the guy hitting behind Bonds. That guy took the spot of somebody else, not just because of talent, but because he could hit for power, as well. This somebody else saw the problem and saw that his salary was going to be effected downward so he began. But his salary demands were too great for the Giants, so he went elsewhere. And so the cycle decends downwards.
This was tough to make the distinction in my mind when it first emerged that Bonds was involved with 'roids. But I just thought back to the fact that he was an a$$hole long before he was using steroids, and comparing that ability waaaay back when he was a Pirate to how his now shows that he is a somewhat different player, specifically in regards to his power. I respect his ability to hit the ball, but not to hit it a long way.