Steroids are becoming more common on a high school level. Last I read, NFL, NBA, and MLB all give warnings of upcoming testing. I don't think the NHL tests at all. UFC has state commissions randomly choose fighters at each event to test. That's why you'll see more of their athletes busted. They don't know how to time the cycle correctly, or try to heal a nagging injury quickly so they can fight, and get paid.
Seriously I dont get what the big deal here is. First off what happened to being innocent until proven guilty, guess that just got thrown out the window. Secondly, lets say Bonds did steroids, you think he was the only one? Come on seriously, just because a guy gets bigger doesnt mean he'll hit more home runs, that really has nothing to do with it, I think people like to make this a bigger deal than it is, seriously who cares if he did or didnt, I dont and by the way, I hate the Giants so I'm not like some die hard fan of theres, I just think the whole debate is silly, not to mention AROD is more than likely to break this record. Plus athletes make millions of dollars, have personal trainers, dieticians, etc., so is it that unbelievable they'd get bigger unless they used steroids? I'm not saying he didnt but I think its so sad everyone singles him out and best of all, without any real evidence. I mean look at Roger Clemens over the years, he's gotten huge since he first came up, but he from what I've read is as hard of a worker as possible and Bonds didnt just become big overnight, that was a gradual process.
Steroids won't help you if you can't hit a ball in the first place, but if you can hit a ball since they enhance your musculature as well as strength/power - they will enable you to hit harder and farther. In Bond's case, he was already hitting the ball - the steroids help him it it even farther. In the case of someone who can't hit a ball if their lives depended on it, no amount of steroids will help that.
Well look at a guy like Shawn Green who wasn't really that big, this guy had multiple 40 homerun seasons, plus with pitchers throwing 95+mph, you really dont need any strength to supply the power, they'll do that for you.
But look at the big three Bonds Mcguire Sosa All were 35-40 HRs per season until they bulked up, and started hitting 60+ per season. I don't really care cause ML baseball is a shadow of its former glory, but Steroids take the talent out of baseball.
What happens when you're out in front of a change up and go to the opposite field? Or when you hit a fast ball in on the hands or off the end (not on the barrel of the bat)? Or not so subtly, pitchers a) don't throw one pitch (a fastball) out over the plate and b) consistently get it in the mid to upper 90s. You better believe that strength helps tremendously.
Dude steroids are in all sports, look at football, its part of the game, just as guys throwing spitballs or picking off signs, its in all of professional sports, not saying taht justifies it. Thats 3 players too, there were craploads more that took steroids and never got caught or guys like Neifi Perez, a light hitting infielder, didnt help him hit many homeruns.
I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow your point about the pitcher's speed. If they're throwing it at 95+ mph, the kinetic energy of the ball is going away from where a home run hit goes. You have to be stronger to overcome that energy--hence, increased muscle mass facilitates home run hits. The skill has to be there, sure, but the power required comes from the drugs.
Yeah, and he was wrong, but he didn't STEAL A RECORD. Speaking of which, who do I have to sleep with around here to get the thread title changed to "Barry Bonds* Just Stole The HR Record"?
This thread makes me LOL. I guess I just miss the days when proof was needed before someone was guilty but hey, to each there own.
Oh yeah I know, but too me Baseball is more a skill and tactical game, and these power HR hitters just ruin the game. I go to baseball games to see players hit doubles and triples, steal bases, and outsmart the team. I don't go to games to watch one guy hit three homeruns, and be the absolute core of his team. And there are tons of player that never did get caught, but the point of the 3 examples was not getting caught, but how the steriods artifically enhanced their ability to hit the ball alittle further. I think multiple players doubling their per year homerun stats almost overnight is proof enough.
I dunno. To me, him admitting that he "unknowingly" took steroids and the fact that Conte and Andersen were both sent to jail on top of the evidence that piled up against him that was filed by the authorities is pretty convincing for me.
This is one of those common internet discussion fallacies. The judicial system requires proof (often of a very specific nature) to determine guilt. I, as an opinionated and informed private citizen, am not subject to this burden. I can call anyone guilty that I want--and you can call me wrong, and we can discuss it, and that's that, but there's nothing like the legal standard of guilt. Asian fetish, HERE I COME!
Slow down there chief, you guys are welcome to your opinion and thats why I'm not going to waste any sleep over it, people think what they want regardless, so more power to you.
You're right about greater swing speed giving the ball a higher velocity - but you're forgetting that the collision between bat and ball also provides a component to the ball's acceleration. If you fix a bat in place and throw a ball against it, a faster pitch will rebound farther than a slower one. Swinging the bat doesn't negate this component. And while a fast pitch might also blow the bat back, thus actually sapping rebound momentum from the ball, I think that generally ballplayers hold the bat stiffly enough that this effect is not a problem.
