Sports Illustrated Reports AROD Tested Positive for Steroids

[iluvlamp]

That interview was hilarious. He really liked to say "to be honest" or some derivative. He completely made Selena Roberts into the devil, basically saying she wanted to kidnap his girls...lulz. I can't wait to see if what he said of Roberts is true. And he keeps saying he was experimenting and didn't know what crap he was taking. Sure, OK Alex. I think there will be more blowback from this interview if the media asks the right questions and doesn't bury it.

 

Alex said he is afraid of the effects they drugs could have on his body. Well, if you were so concerned wouldn't you want to know? Study what the drugs could do? Even if he truly didn't know what he was taking wouldn't you go back to your "dealer" after you stopped and asked what you put into my body?

 

FAIL!

[Ennder]

I bet that in 3-5 years, as more and more players get "discovered", the voters will soften their stance.

I sure hope that's far from the case. These players cheated to gain an advantage and better themselves. Without steroids, does Bonds break Hank's record? They cheated, plain and simple. It's not as easy as saying, well, these other guys did it, and this guy was better. Cheating is cheating.

He very well may have hit more HRs without steriods since he would have faced weaker pitching too. It is all conjecture in the first place. Not to mention I'll throw out the fact that steroids have been around longer than Hank Aaron has so there is no way to even know if your 'old time' greats were clean or not.

[snyttri]

Not to mention I'll throw out the fact that steroids have been around longer than Hank Aaron has so there is no way to even know if your 'old time' greats were clean or not.

 

Some players of the prohibition era probably acquired cocaine for use as a performance enhancing stimulant (probably not very effective) where they engaged in other illegal activities.

[JimH5]

there is no way to even know if your 'old time' greats were clean or not.

 

While that is true, it's also true that in all the years since then, not one clubhouse guy or gym rat or personal trainer or drug dealer or down-on-his-luck ex-athlete has ever come forward to name Aaron or Mantle or Frank Robinson, etc. Not One.

 

And so while we may look back at history and have doubts on every single athlete, it's hardly the same as the doubts we have on modern athletes who have been named, and against whom there is evidence.

[RU Rah Rah]

That interview was hilarious. He really liked to say "to be honest" or some derivative. He completely made Selena Roberts into the devil, basically saying she wanted to kidnap his girls...lulz. I can't wait to see if what he said of Roberts is true. And he keeps saying he was experimenting and didn't know what crap he was taking. Sure, OK Alex. I think there will be more blowback from this interview if the media asks the right questions and doesn't bury it.

Gammons was unbelievable:

 

A-Rod [paraphrasing]: "Selena Roberts will make up anything just to sell magazines/books. She's been stalking me for three years. . . ."

 

Gammons [paraphrasing]: "What would you tell Little Leaguers about steroids?"

[JJHardy7]

While that is true, it's also true that in all the years since then, not one clubhouse guy or gym rat or personal trainer or drug dealer or down-on-his-luck ex-athlete has ever come forward to name Aaron or Mantle or Frank Robinson, etc. Not One.

 

And so while we may look back at history and have doubts on every single athlete, it's hardly the same as the doubts we have on modern athletes who have been named, and against whom there is evidence.

 

I do agree with you for the most part Jim. I do think that in this day and age you can make money off of 'turning' a player in. A-Rod had a few whispers regarding this in the past, but the failed test is the evidence. If they tested back in the day, who knows what they would've found. I honestly think they wouldn't find a lot since the money wasn't anywhere near as big back then as it is now. I do believe baseball pushed the power numbers since it helped score more runs, attendance, and made more money. That is the sad part about this whole thing to me. Again, I don't think what A-Rod did was right, but it's not like the sport had anywhere near the testing levels the sport needed. In the end, the non-testing of steroids probably led to billions of dollars for players, teams, and the league.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

Based on the numbers, there were probably 3 Brewers on that list from 2003. Why didn't they come forward and tell the truth? Has any current baseball player came forward before it got to the press?

The difference is that Alex was asked about this point blank on national TV and lied about it. We're not asking people to "come out" and admit it, but AROD flat out lied about it. That is the difference.

[RU Rah Rah]

Hello, defamation suit? (Notoriously hard to win, but I think the elements are there.) The stuff he said about Selena Roberts was pretty wild, and (apparently) completely inaccurate:

 

Rodriguez went on to say that Roberts was tossed from his New York City apartment building, that she had to be escorted off of the University Miami campus by police when she sought out Rodriguez at the campus gym on Thursday and that she tried to break into his Miami home where his "children were sleeping".. . .Roberts, as most would expect, immediately issued a statement through Sports Illustrated saying, "The allegations made by Alex Rodriguez are absurd" and affirmed that she'd never been to his apartment or his Miami home and that she'd never had any run-ins with police at the University of Miami campus.

[T B0NE 10]

Whats up with Arod in that interview with Peter Gammons?

 

Either he's stealing some of Madonna's lipstick or he's got some very bright lips.

 

 

Also the only reason he is coming clean about his steroid use is because he was CAUGHT. Theres no way he comes out like this if nobody comes out. Remember that.

[snyttri]

While that is true, it's also true that in all the years since then, not one clubhouse guy or gym rat or personal trainer or drug dealer or down-on-his-luck ex-athlete has ever come forward to name Aaron or Mantle or Frank Robinson, etc. Not One.

 

Mantle admitted he needed greenies to take the field after his frequent hangovers. John Milner said he got amphetamines from Willie Mays's locker.

 

"At the mention of greenies, Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson, a Hall of Fame player who is among the most astute observers of the game, tightened his lips in a half-smile and drew his thumb and forefinger together across them as if to keep his lips zipped." ergogenics.org

In the amphetamine era, since drugs were left out in the open for all to use like the post-game meal, it seems sensible to presume players guilty until proven innocent.

[JJHardy7]

The difference is that Alex was asked about this point blank on national TV and lied about it. We're not asking people to "come out" and admit it, but AROD flat out lied about it. That is the difference.

 

Who is to say that others on the list of 104 haven't denied it? It may not have been 'national', but given the fact that zero active players are coming out before they're caught tells me that's the norm -- and not an A-Rod thing. Again, from a player's view...why the heck would you admit something that from the players union and all you thought would never be known and among other reports he was told back in 2004 one time? I'm not saying this make what A-Rod did ok and I don't like the fact that he lied on national television...I just don't see the difference between national television and local reporters. Players like A-Rod get on national television and players like Jenkins, Spivey, and Helms (my random Brewers guesses...nothing behind them just guesses) don't, but that doesn't mean they've lied about it.

[JimH5]

Mantle admitted he needed greenies to take the field after his frequent hangovers. John Milner said he got amphetamines from Willie Mays's locker.

 

"At the mention of greenies, Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson, a Hall of Fame player who is among the most astute observers of the game, tightened his lips in a half-smile and drew his thumb and forefinger together across them as if to keep his lips zipped." ergogenics.org

 

In the amphetamine era, since drugs were left out in the open for all to use like the post-game meal, it seems sensible to presume players guilty until proven innocent.

 

Great response!

 

Rightly or wrongly (probably wrongly), I look at amphetamines differently than I look at steroids, HGH or other agents that are associated with building muscle.

[LouisEly]

Just about everything TheCrew07 said.

 

Steroids were in an issue in football long before baseball, the difference was that a high profile death and other happenings forced football to address the issue decades before baseball did.

 

I don't have exact timelines, but I would say that the death of Ken Caminiti was a strong parallel to the death of Lyle Alzado, and like Alzado's death made steriod testing more acceptable to the players and their union.

[danzig6767]

I watched the A-Rod interview and i don't get why if he was going to fess up to taking roids, why not just come fully clean in the interview by acting like he didn't know exactly what he was taking? I give him some credit for at least admitting he took steroids, but i'd respect him more if he'd have completely clean. If he was going to go as far as going on ESPN and admit what he did, why do some of the hiding and hedging, would it really do him any more harm than what's already been done?

[fallingleaves]

who cares, baseball is the most crooked of the professional sports and the league practically encouraged it during the home run chases of the early 2000s to recover from the strike.

 

Does this mean that people will regard Griffey Junior as the best clean player of the age?

[RU Rah Rah]

For me, the major problems with the interview are:

 

1.) His claim that he didn't know what he was taking. He did it for three years but somehow didn't know what it was?

2.) His suggestion that it didn't actually help him very much. Why would you engage in risky behavior for three years if you didn't think it was helping you and giving you an edge?

[JimH5]

baseball is the most crooked of the professional sports

 

Hardly.

 

The NFL will continually do whatever it can to try to hide the fact that its players often leave the game crippled, and live shortened, painful lives. It's a meat grinder and its players are the meat.

[Patrick425]

JJHardy7 wrote:

---

Based on the numbers, there were probably 3 Brewers on that list from 2003. Why didn't they come forward and tell the truth? Has any current baseball player came forward before it got to the press?

The difference is that Alex was asked about this point blank on national TV and lied about it. We're not asking people to "come out" and admit it, but AROD flat out lied about it. That is the difference.

I'm not an ARod fan, nor do I support in any way what he (or any other ped user) did. However, what did you expect? He's not better or worse than the other 103 unnamed users. The others were never asked the question. That doesn't mean they aren't liars. Did you expect him to say "Oh gee Katie, you got me. I was just waiting for someone to ask and you did." Give me a break. The rest of the players that tested positive were just never asked the question, but they are still liars.

 

Also it drives me nuts when they ask the guy on the street what he thinks and some joker answers like this "With all the labor disputes, outrageous salaries, and steroid use, I lost interest in baseball." In reality, these people never were big baseball fans to begin with, but now they are going to get on their high horse and act like they made a big sacrifice of turning away from baseball based on principles. It's almost like they are saying that those that still follow baseball have no moral standards.

[Fatter than Joey]

I have a general question about the 104 number --

 

What % of the tested pool does that represent? --

 

If you assume every player was tested, there would have been probably about 800 MLB players, 104 is about 12.5%. If they only tested 400 players its closer to 25%. If they tested 200 players, then Jose Canseco was on the mark.... Does anyone know what % of the MLB players that 104 represents?

[Ennder]

who cares, baseball is the most crooked of the professional sports and the league practically encouraged it during the home run chases of the early 2000s to recover from the strike.

 

Does this mean that people will regard Griffey Junior as the best clean player of the age?

I'd give this title to the NBA.

 

I'd say Maddux is the best clean player of the age.

[Patrick425]

I have a general question about the 104 number --

 

What % of the tested pool does that represent? --

 

If you assume every player was tested, there would have been probably about 800 MLB players, 104 is about 12.5%. If they only tested 400 players its closer to 25%. If they tested 200 players, then Jose Canseco was on the mark.... Does anyone know what % of the MLB players that 104 represents?

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. I thought when they had this first year of initial testing without penalty they came out with a number at the end of the year in the range of 5% or below. This would appear to be a lot more than 5%.

[rluzinski]

I'm not sure why any sport has to test for steroids. All they have to do is have the national media ask each player and the majority would't lie., right? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

Lots and lots of MLB players have used steroids, so I don't understand this outrage over ARod. Something about it just seems phony. Be mad at the league for ignoring the issue for their own benefit. Be mad at professional athletes in general, for being willing to break the rules and the law to potentially make millions of dollars. Be mad at the human race. But to focus so much vitriol on one player.... It just seems like some people enjoy having a public figure of high social and/or financial status to tear to shreds.

 

Sports leagues will have to continue to provide the strongest disinsentive to using banned sustances. Still, some athletes will use them and most will probably never be caught. That's just a fact of sports in the 21 century.

[BrewCrewWS2008]

I was disappointed to hear this and think mlb should just get over it and release the rest already. I mean if someone was able to dig up A-Rod then someone else may dig about another and thing will just go one by one and be more distacting. If Arod has to face all this why do the other 103 get to just sit back and smile that they are in the clear.

 

Arod needs to finish with around 590 for me to truely say he earned hanks record. I averaged up his homeruns excluding the three big steroids year and just gave him the average for those. Total was like 594. The guy doesn't need steroids to hit the long ball, and I still believe that he is respectiable enough to earn the record. Look at him he is not a guy that is all juiced up ripping though his uniform like most of them. You can tell the guys who truely use steroids and those who dap around and try it.

 

As for performance enhancing drugs? If you have ever been in GNC there is a decent chance your diet pill or whatever has some banned ingrediant. Hell, viagra is a permance enhancing drug, pro athletes use it all the time. It fires up the body like Muscal Fuel, testostrone, Super Pump, and all those ones so you get stronger gains in the weightroom. If the athlete is not on an illegal anabolic steroid or human growth hormone that then there is no prob. I like in the NFL is Grady Jackson and Deuse McAliister on steroids because they took a water pill that as one tiny ingrediant that may cause higher performance. People always consider everything steroids. So I like to be careful before I judge a player until I know exactually what he is on. But Arod made a dumb mistake hit and. extra years worth of f homeruns..... baseball is just a mess

 

Ken Griffrey goes down as the best player in the steroid era hands down. He is the true hero through the dark days of baseball.. Sucked with all the injuries since going to the Reds, he may have been right with Bonds or well in decent striking distance at least.

[Tbadder]

Baseball is no more a mess than any other business, institution, etc. It's dirty by nature. Money sullies everyone; the quest for control and power is at the heart of existence. We just hold it to a higher standard than other industries. I, for the life of me, can't figure out why. Artists have been writing since time immemorial about the corruption of society at large. When are we going to recognize the simple truth. Humans innately skirt the rules--sometimes to their long term disadvantage. Humans lack integrity. All of us do. Who hasn't lied, cheated, lived a double standard. It's what we do best. I just wish we'd stop with the adulations of celebrities and thletes. They are just like us. Morally weak, at times pathetic, but ever able to capture our imaginations at times in order to divert our attentions from the truth. they are in short, an ill-conceived coping mechanism.

[Tbadder]

I'm sorry. By "it" I might MLB, NFL, etc. For some reason the site or my computer won't let me edit.