I am sick and tired of hearing that professional baseball has been watered down by expansion and a longer season. I contend that any records before 1948 are invalid as they were set in an era that excluded at least half the qualified players from competition (which means that half the players in all-white baseball were, at best, minor leaguers. The question is not how Babe Ruth would have done with steroids. It is how he would have done facing Satchel Paige, Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal and Fergie Jenkins. I'm pretty damn sure that Walter Johnson and Cy Young might have had a little trouble retiring Mays, Aaron, Reggie, Barry and A-Rod.
Meanwhile, back at the streroid corral, I seem to remember a book by Jim Bouton ("Ball Four") that was written some forty years ago. In it, the author related stories of clubhouse attendants passing out what he called "greenies" to the hot little hands of his Yankee teammates. I also remember that one of the Green Bay Packers told similar stories about the lax drug policies in the NFL at that time.
Athletes have been beefing up since the establishment of betting lines. There is not a major college football school that doesn't have its share of pituitary props. Where, pray tell, did you think those behemoths come from? And don't tell me that this is about the health and welfare of the athletes. Nobody gives a damn if they drink or smoke because drinking and smoking don't affect gambling on the games.
If Barry Bonds were nicer to the sports writers, this would be a minor story. They just hate his cocky, sassy, black ass and the thought of him being the best player ever is just more than they can handle. Personally. I think this is their payback for Pete Rose.