Jeff Bagwell

[BobFinn*]

Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros
I'm tired of hearing about juiced balls. I've been hearing about it since 1994 when everyone said the ball was definitely juiced. In 1995, it was juiced again, and guess what: It was juiced in 1996, too. Now, it's 2000, and people are cutting baseballs open and trying to find out what's going on. Someone showed me a ball from 1995 and compared it to a ball from 2000, and the seams were different. But wouldn't it be a more fair comparison to take a ball from 2000, stick it in the same place and look at it in five years? You kind of get tired of hearing all of it. I understand that a lot of home runs are being hit, but there are a lot of factors that go into it, and I really don't think the ball is juiced. I just don't see that. You still have to hit the ball, the ball still spins and guys are still throwing hard.

I do believe that because there are 30 teams, there are a lot of jobs out there and there are a lot guys who probably shouldn't be in the big leagues. I also believe that the athlete of today is bigger and stronger. I don't see how people can deny that.

Henry Aaron, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were my size or smaller. Now, you have people like Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez -- big guys with good swings. The ballparks are a lot smaller, they're made for hitters now, but there were some tiny ballparks back then, too. If you can pitch and you have good stuff, you're going to get outs.

As a player you just get so tired of everyone saying your generation isn't as good. What bothers me is that whatever I'm doing now is because of something else. It's not because of what I've put into it. It's because the ball is juiced and the ballparks are smaller. I think that's very unfair. The good players of today could play in any era, just as the good players back then could play in this era. To say that we have such an advantage is wrong. You still have to hit the ball, and it's not easy.


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In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things:
1. Don't tell everything you know.

[PhiSlammaJamma]

I'd have to say something has changed. Who knows what it was, but something changed. Jose CRuz led the Astros with 9 home runs one year. 9 my friend. Nothing wrong with all the home runs since 1986, but you know something has changed. You can't ignore the fact that Pitchers are starting to go deep. The League always goes through cycles of pitching and hitting. It's good for the game. It might me time to raise that mound or make the fields larger. It's time to reverse this effect. I'd say it all started in 1986. Coincidentlally with the arrival of McGwire.



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humble, but hungry.

[RocketMan Tex]

I don't know if the ball is juiced. I tend to not believe that it is. What is a fact, however, is that ballplayers are pumping iron like crazy (and possibly taking supplements) and are stronger than the ballplayers of yesteryear. Add that to the fact that pitching has been watered-down due to expansion, and you've got a good recipe for explosive offense in Major League Baseball.

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Bring It!!

[dc sports]

They did an inspection of the plant recently, and determined that the manufacturing and balls were within specs. They did determine that for whatever reason, they tended to be at the "lively" end of the spectrum, but completely within specs.

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Stay Cool...

[BobFinn*]

LOL dc.

It is definitely a combination of weight lifting and pitchers who should be in the minor leagues. In the "Old" days, players had other jobs in the offseason, as they didn't earn enough playing baseball. Now players train year round and are never out of shape. If they are, it makes the headlines.

If you think about it, it is pretty damn impressive, the numbers the "Old" guys put up with REAL pitching, and using a sock for a baseball http://bbs.clutchcity.net/ubb/wink.gif

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In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things:
1. Don't tell everything you know.

[PhiSlammaJamma]

Yeah, I heard about the inspection and all. That's a good sign. But then I saw Joe Morgan and that Baltimore announcer cut open two balls from different years. One from 1980 and one from 2000. They were completely different in size and shape when they got to the heart of it. That's not very scientific, but it was very interesting to watch.


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humble, but hungry.

[BobFinn*]

Bags just posted this today on his web site at http://www.athletedirect.com

Red Hot Bagwell


Jeff's 15-game hitting streak is three games shy of his career best in 1994

It's a nice honor (named NL Player of the Week on 8/15), but we only won three games last week so it doesn't mean a whole lot. I've been able to see some good pitches lately because there's been a lot of guys on base and I'm seeing more fastballs as a result. We've got a very good offense. Guys like Moises (Alou) and (Lance) Berkman have been hitting the ball hard all year, and when you have hitters like that in the lineup you're going to see better pitches because it's harder to pitch around the lineup.

I know I am in the middle of a 15-game hitting streak right now, but I really don't think about it. I'm glad I'm hitting the ball well now and I hope it lasts. In this game it's all about streaks. You get hot or you're not. It can change at any moment, so I don't think a lot about it and just try to keep doing what I've been doing and take what the pitchers are giving me.



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In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things:
1. Don't tell everything you know.

[MadMax]

The study done on the balls was done by Major League Baseball, itself!! Not exactly an independent commission!!

The older players say you can feel the difference in the ball just holding it. They say in the last couple of years in particular the seams on the ball have been flattened, making it harder for pitchers to get good movement.

Listen...we had a record that stood for 37 years (Maris hitting 61 in 1998)...it was just broken, it was demolished...by 2 PLAYERS in the same season!!! Anyone who has taken a stats course in college knows there's something suspect about that! And the problem is that it isn't just the big guys...freaking Steve Finley was hitting a ton of homers this season. Brady Anderson hit 51 just 4 years ago. Come on!!! The guy was a leadoff hitter and he was just 10 off the all-time mark!!

Baseball is BY FAR my favorite sport. I consider myself somewhat a student of the game and its history. Certainly there are lots of factors that play into this homerun surge that we have now...but you simply can't convince me that the players are so much stronger in 1998 than they were in 1993. I'm not buying it.

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