as if there was any doubt, barry won his 4th mvp today. roids or not, he just keeps on rolling. more mvp's in a row than anyone else has won period.
Whatever man. I think winning a batting title at 41 + a kajillion intentional walks show clearly that steroids or no, he's by far the best hitter of his era. Steroids don't put the bat on the ball for you.
exactly..the effect of steroids on all of this is sooooo overrated. particularly considering the fact that barry was winning MVP's waayyyy back when he was a 30/30 guy every year.
Barry would still be stealing 30 bases if it weren't for steriods... Seriously though, I'm not passing judgement on him till the verdict comes out... right now, he's the best player that any of us have ever seen, end of story.
and even if the verdict is guilty...do you think the other sluggers of the era aren't using the same crap??? barry is decisively better than everyone of this era...there's really no one close. he's ruthian...he's huge. he's as big as it gets in baseball.
Just look at his pee-pee. If it is average, then it's STEROIDS. If it is large, then no, he's clean. *stereotypes*R*us*
Look, I like the guy but bigger muscles = more strength = quicker bat speed + more power. Like it or not Bonds tried to gain an advantage over his competition by using the juice and I doubt if the effect was so over rated he would risk the long term side effects. MLB is to blame here by not testing the players and keeping the game clean. [footnote] If, by chance, bonds is cleared of being involved with HGH, roids, or whatever, I'll be the first to say I'm sorry I thought he was a dirty ball player and he deserves the highest of praise. Until then... * [/end footnote]
VooDoo - bigger muscles do not necessarily translate to quicker bat speed. some of the quickest bats in history have been from little guys. bonds' bat was quick as hell even earlier in his career.
Steroids certainly affects your body, just not as much as one might think. Also, there could always be the percieved effect. That athletes feel that they need to get any edge they can get. Even if it's not really there. If Bonds did take roids before this season, it certainly hasn't hurt him this season now, has it? Btw, I thought the voting was going to be unanimous. How in the world does 25% of baseball sportswriters NOT vote for the guy? And also a THIRD place vote? I mean, I know they're human. But a paid journalist who's been given the honor to have a vote on this award should be voting based on personal hatred or whatever stupid reason for not giving him that 1st place vote.
I dont like the guy but I cant ignore the fact that he is possibly the greatest hitter ever. His OB % last year was unreal....with that said, IMO due to his dealings with Balco his records and status will be tainted.
Okay, then put an asterisk by everyone in this 'era', which is what I already do. "Even if the verdict is guilty ... " - I don't think Babe Ruth or Aaron were using steroids, and those are the records that are in jeopardy.
They also played in an era where there were far less teams, far fewer pitchers with nasty stuff (with the Babe, before the color barrier was broken), and without the intense media scrutiny these guys face today. You can make the case for "smaller ballparks" as an advantage to today's players, but guys like Bonds, Bagwell, McGwire, and Sosa have definitely not "taken advantage" of smaller ballparks... their blasts would have been out of all ballparks, new or old. A better question is would Babe, Hank, or Mays have similiar sucess in today's game of lefty/righty specialists, pitching around guys even if there's no logical reason to do it, and with ESPN breathing down your throat every time you do anything, whether it be using the bathroom, or having dinner... (for the record, I think they would have... its just interesting to compare different eras).
you can put asterisks by anyone...for anything. but again..if bonds was off the juice this season, as it's been said, then certainly his accomplishments this season validate what he's done over the past few seasons. he is bar none the greatest hitter i've ever seen. that has nothing to do with big bulky muscles...it has to do with being patient...going with pitches...hitting the ball solidly...eye/hand coordination. ever seen the texans take batting practice??? it's not pretty....know who won the texans' HR competition?? Kris Brown. hitting a baseball isn't about that.
Nor do they cause the ball to land fair or in areas that translate to basehits. The man is one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game.
Max, to be fair, Kris is a finely tuned athlete AND a Nebraska Cornhusker.....................OK, as a Husker fan, I dont have much to cheer about so I take em where I can get em
and somehow i doubt he's doing steroids!! fat man, ruth, was hardly a finely tuned athlete...neither was john kruk...both were amazing hitters. it's not about all that.
I heard yesterday on 610 that if you take away all of Bonds' hits he would have still lead the leage in OB%!!!! Pugs
