I TEND TO BELIEVE BILL MADDEN’S REASONING THAT THERE HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLE WHISPERING SURROUNDING MIKE & ‘ROIDS FOR SOMETIME IN MLB LOCKERROOMS. THE SIMPLE FACVT THAT THRERE’S AN ESTABLISHED LIST OF 100+ NAMES OF INJECTORS YET TO BE RELEASED HAS ASTUTE VOTERS WANTING TIME TO CONSIDER THE LIKES OF PIAZZA & BIGGIO SIMPLY BECAUSE ONCE VOTED INTO THE HALL THERE IS NO EXTRICATING THEM IF THEIR NAMES ARE ON SAID LIST OF CONDEMNED.

AS TO AUTHOR’S INNOCENT/GUILTY RANT I SHOULD THINK THE SIMPLE COURT OF POPULAR OPINION IS EXEMPT FROM SUCH A PROUD & HONORABLE TRADITION. MUCH LIKE THE CONCEPT OF “TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION BEING TYRANY IS MODIFIEDB TO ALLOW MILLIONS OF VOTERS AN EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION WHILE THOUSANDS OF TAXED ENTITIES [CORPORATIONS] ARE LEGISLATIVELY EXCLUDED FROM POLL PARTICIPATION.

IT APPEARS THAT HOF INDUCTION IS AN HONOR, WHILE FIRST BALLOT SELECTION IS A PRIVLEDGE RESERVED FOR THE FEWEST.

What bothers me is how Pearlman insinuates in his book that Piazza admitted to taking anabolic steroids. He did no such thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androstenedione

As for HGH, how is that relevant regarding greenies vs. steroids?

Yes, greenies allowed players not to tire out and as Keith Hernandez has observed, that is why we see players less alert in extra inning games. So greenies prevented their performance level from dropping during a game and toward the end of the season. Unfair advantage, especially when it comes to records achieved by generations before that. But, at the same time, those older players had an unfair advantage in that they didn’t have to deal with the physical rigors of cross-country traveling and having to play a game in New York one day and Los Angeles the next night or flying from one city to another after a night game. In the old days, a western swing meant catching an early evening overnight train ride to St. Louis.

As far as greenies, I used to take “no-doze” which was a non-prescription strength over the counter pill to keep me awake for whatever purposes. Didn’t work, however, for I usually wound up falling asleep even faster.

Also, there is more documented evidence for the effectiveness of amphetamines than there is for hGH.

Are they a PED? Yes. But a relatively mild one.

Federal laws about their distribution and use? Check

Used by players without valid prescriptions? check

Used by players to enhance their performance? check.

Banned by Major League Baseball? check.

Negative side effects that can cause permanent damage, especially when used by younger people still developing their bodies? Check.

So, where to greenies not fall into the same category as steroids?

Federal and most state laws dictate that the sales of anabolic steroids, possession of steroids, or possession of steroids with intent to sell, are all classified as felonies. Any individual who is convicted of the sale of steroids, or possesses steroids unlawfully with intent to sell, may be penalized by up to five years in prison under federal law. That same individual may face more than 5 years of punishment, depending on their states law. Almost every state has sanctioned various laws placing anabolic steroids in the Controlled Substance category.

Metro 12 – Apparently you’re the THIRD person here who is or will be accused of being an alter ego of me. Just a few words of advice – don’t let it chase you from MMO and consider it a compliment when considering the source of the accusation.

Be well.

Baseball players had been taking greenies for decades prior to the steroids era and they never resulted in unnatural bumps in HR production the way steroids did … or players in their late 30s having CAREER years. It could be argued that Aaron had a career year in his late 30s, but it you look at his record, it wasn’t far off from his previous stats. He had no unnatural bump.

At least half the ’86 Mets team probably took them and no one had unnatural numbers that year.

So I’m in complete agreement with Gossage. I applaud his stance.

In 1971, MLB banned the illigal use, posession, and distribution of drugs including the use of any prescription drug unless prescribed by a physician. This essentially mandated compliance with federal, state and local drug laws. At that time, steroids were banned in the U.S. (except by prescription) by the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

In 1991, Fay Vincent issued a memo expressly listing steroids as against MLB’s drug policy.

Again, the problem was that there was no testing — no cops on the street — so players figured at the time if they kept it under wraps, no one would ever know. Little did they know!

I believe you can still download the Mitchell report on the web. If not, let me know and I’ll upload it for you to a file sharing site. Read the beginning of the report. It clearly outlines how steroids were illegal in baseball far back before Canseco started using.

Unless of course we are honest with ourselves and admit that amphetamines should fall into that category. Baseball specifically banned them in the 1960s, and players still used them after. I wonder why Goose never says anything about that.

“Also, as Gossage said yesterday (he was asked about the very same thing) the players knew it was wrong. They went to great lengths to hide it. They knew.”

which is why I don’t care for his current moral outrage.

There were definitely rules against it. And the Mitchell report outlines them. The problem was that there was no enforcement. IOW, no testing which would have been the chief way to enforce the rules. That’s the fault of the players, the players union, the commissioner and the owners. I give the media only partial blame and much less than those other parties. It took Congress to force the players and the union to accept testing.

Also, as Gossage said yesterday (he was asked about the very same thing) the players knew it was wrong. They went to great lengths to hide it. They knew.

The difference being there were actually rules against doctoring the ball when Perry played.

He said:

–Piazza belongs in the HOF because there is no substantive evidence against him like there is for Bonds and Clemens
–Bonds and Clemens don’t belong because there is substantive evidence they cheated and he won’t attend their induction ceremonies is they are ever inducted
–If a HOF member were later found to have cheated with steroids, then his plaque should come down. They take away Olympic medals after the fact. So why not HOF plaques? What’s the big deal?
–Regarding the spit ball and guys like Gaylord Perry, well more power to them for being able to do that little manipulation. It is not the same thing as steroids.

While I don’t applaud the spitball the way Gossage does, I agree with him that the spitball is not the same thing as anabolic steroids. And so I have no problem with Perry in the HOF either.

And Gossage was right. Just take the plaque away if a player is later found to have done steroids. If they put in such a rule, then that would solve the silly issue of many writers afraid that a player they vote in will later be found to be a cheater. Withholding a vote for this reason is silly so the rule should make that a moot point.

Hopefully he will lobby the HOF for such rule changes. I believe it’s not MLB who decides such things but rather the HOF executive committee.