Note: This section is now in read-only mode.
Please use our new community site for future posts.

Back To Board

The probe

Posted By Gary P

It seems to me that the problem of steroids has been ignored by MLB for years. They stuck their heads in the sand and did nothing. Steroids are widespread in many sports, and they are uniformly decried. They create a pressure to cheat..."everyone is taking them." The use of steroids has fueled the great leap in offense over the last 10-15 years. Good enforcement will help remove this unfair advantage.
To say the push is just to get Barry Bonds is just nonsense. Bonds is an outstanding hitter, but the evidence is overwhelming he cheated. So did many other players. I think the push is to clean up the situation which has gotten out of hand. Barry's peak coincided with the increased political pressure to clean up the game. As far as I am concerned, Barry's records cannot be taken away. His, and many other players, will have their long term performance tainted by the steroid scandal. Too bad. He chose to cheat, and when the truth came out...it is clear his ethics are low. The pressure to be the "best" is very high on athletes. That many choose to cheat is not surprising. That the cheaters will hide behind technicalities is not surprising. That cheating in baseball has been going on for years in different forms is not surprising.
I still think Barry is the greatest hitter of the modern era, and is in the top 3-4 all-time. That is his legacy. That his legacy will be tainted is related to his personal choices to cheat...and it doesn't bother me. I personally hope that Barry gets the all-time HR record. He's been one of my favorite players his whole career. His personality seems typically self-centered, but that does not detract from his baseball performance. We have been very lucky to have had the opportunity to watch one of the best players of all-time...and I have enjoyed watching Barry play. Go get 'em Barry!