Except that when Bonds, McGuire and Sosa played, steroids was not illegal to use.
If you want to put someone up for baseball, then Gaylord Perry should be on the top of the list
"
Except that when Bonds, McGuire and Sosa played, steroids was not illegal to use."
100% bullshit.
[h=2]
Barry Bonds and the “Urban Myths” About Steroids [/h]
Gary Gaffney - August 7, 2007
As of this writing, the controversial
Barry Bonds has hammered career home run #755 in San Diego, meaning he’s one long ball away from surpassing the graceful
Hank Aaron in becoming the new home run king of Major League Baseball. Yet, as we all know, a huge trail of controversy continues to follow Bonds and his achievements. There’s his peevish personality, kept under wraps in recent days, and, most significantly, his alleged use of anabolic steroids. But there are several “urban myths” surrounding this controversy as well.
The major issue regarding the legitimacy of Bonds’ home run record continues to be his purported use of anabolic drugs. Although referred to as “a steroid user,” sources indicate Bonds’ use of anabolic drugs goes far beyond steroids.
Myth #1: Steroids were not prohibited by the MLB when Bonds allegedly used the drugs.
Wrong.
In a well-documented 1991 policy memo, MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent told all MLB clubs that steroids were prohibited in baseball. Current Commissioner Bud Selig reiterated that policy in 1997. Thus, during the summer of baseball rejuvenation, when
Sammy Sosa and
Mark McGwire engaged in an “pharmacological” home run derby, anabolic steroids were clearly prohibited in baseball. Likewise, during the preponderance of Barry Bonds’ MLB career, baseball clearly prohibited steroids.
This myth exists because, with the interference of the MLB Player’s Association, a steroid testing policy with teeth was not implemented until 2003.
Myth #2: Steroids were not illegal when the big home run hitters allegedly used them to increase power in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Anabolic steroids were never “legal” to be dispensed by trainers, street pushers, friends or meddlers like BALCO boss Victor Conte. Steroids, long recognized as powerful medicines with serious side effects, were only available with a physician’s prescription.
Furthermore, the
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 and the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990 made anabolic steroids a Schedule III controlled substance. A physician needs a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) controlled substance number to prescribe these drugs. The DEA also mandates special procedures for prescribing them requires physicians to justify such prescriptions to patients in a more rigorous manner than other drugs.
Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and amphetamines are likewise DEA-schedule drugs with many of the same stipulations (in the case of amphetamines, even more).
Myth #3: Bonds never took steroids, never tested positive for steroids, etc.
There are many aspects of this myth. First, if one refers to the main source document,
Game of Shadows by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams (a book that has never been refuted or legally challenged), one finds evidence indicating that Bonds “allegedly” took more drugs than just steroids:
* A number of anabolic steroids including THG, a steroid never marketed or approved for U.S. use; also stanozolol, trenbolone, and nandrolone
* HGH
* Insulin
* Clomid (a fertility drug that steroids abusers use to prevent estrogen side- effects like gynecomastia:abnormally large mammary glands)
* and (as named in
media sources) Stimulants
Further, if Bonds obtained these drugs from BALCO executive Victor Conte and/or personal trainer Greg Anderson, as related in grand jury testimony, then there was no legal prescription for them (as if use of these drugs would be legal in a healthy MLB player anyway).
Although it may be true that Bonds never tested positive for anabolic steroids (and even this may not be true), Bonds appears to have
tested positive for amphetamines in 2006.
Finally,
Bonds admitted to a U.S. grand jury that he used steroids known as “the cream” (a testosterone-based ointment) and “the clear” (a designer steroid called THG). The transcripts were sealed but later
leaked. Bonds claims he didn’t know these were steroids, a statement very hard to believe.
Many observers, including the press, continue to propagate a confusing fog of misinformation about Barry Bonds’ use of performance-enhancing drugs. In summary, the important points to remember include:
* MLB did prohibit steroids as early as 1991; anti-doping testing, however, did not occur until 2003
* Anabolic steroids, as well as HGH, are illegal without a justified physician’s prescription
* The Bond controversy involves not only anabolic steroids but other anabolic and performance-enhancing drugs as well as stimulants
Myth #4: Steroids won’t help players hit home runs.
Some fans argue that it takes hand-eye coordination to hit home runs, and that “steroids (PEDs) will not improve this athletic skill.” Once again wrong. An athlete needs basic skills to perform at a high level. However, drug enhancement of athletic ability clearly occurs.
Research indicates that a baseball’s velocity coming off the bat is related to bat speed. Researchers have shown that muscle development increases bat speed, and thus “hit ball” velocity. Weight training will improve bat speed; anabolic drug use can add extra power.
Other PEDs improve athletic performance, too. Stimulants improve concentration as well as motor coordination. HGH, in conjunction with steroids or insulin, appear to improve strength and recovery. For each aspect of human performance, a drug can be found to enhance that parameter.