The Mets Police

I have the solution to the baseball record book as it applies to the "steroid age."  It's actually quite simple.

When I was growing up I heard about "The Modern Age" of baseball, which started around 1900 or 1901 or 1904 depending on who you asked.  What was clear was that the baseball of Ruth and Maris and Mazzilli was a different game than Charley Radbourn winning 59 games in 1884 or twelve home runs being the all-time home run record.

Most people agree that the numbers have changed again, probably because of steroids.  What has also changed is second place teams winning the World Series, relief pitching in excess, smaller parks, arguably a juiced baseball, better training, better lighting etc.

So here's the solution to the record book.  We are going to close it, and we are going to close it in 1994.   Close it when baseball shut down.   Your home run leaders for what I will now refer to as "The Golden Age" are Hank Aaron and Roger Maris.

When baseball came back in '95 it had a new format, realignment and likely rempant steroids.  We'll start the "Neo-modern Age" or "The Silver Age" or whatever you want to call it in 1995.   Career stats will be assigned to the final year (and age) in which a player played.

Most home runs in a season and career in the Neo Age?   Bonds.   Most career wins by a pitcher, Greg Maddux (that will please people).   The hit king?  I'm too lazy to do the math but it very well could be Ichiro.

This keeps the "Golden Age" as pure as it can be, and allows us to separate 73 home runs the same way we separate 20 game winners and 59 game winners.  A-Rod can hit as many homers as he wants, his records will never count in the Golden Age, and that's OK.



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Mark McGwire can't get elected.

Pete Rose and Joe Jackson are banned.

The way it looks now, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmiero, and Alex Rodriguez won't get in either

MLB and the BBWAA want to maintain the "purity" of the Hall of Fame.

OK, I'll get on board with that. But if we really want to keep the Hall pure, then we have to do some house-cleaning. Time to weed out those who are "un-worthy." Let's start with 15 for now:

1. Babe Ruth - The man was a drunk and a womanizer. He openly violated federal law (prohibition). He also fathered a child by a woman other than his wife.
2. Ty Cobb - A racist and murderer. Also accused of fixing games
   
3. Tris Speaker - Accused of fixing games with Cobb
4. Cap Anson - Racist.
5. Pud Galvin - Steroid user
6. Enos Slaughter - Racist
7. Gaylord Perry - Admitted to using a spitball in clear violation of MLB rules
8. Kirby Pucket - Womanizer
9. Paul Molitor - Admitted drug user
10. Fergie Jenkins - Admitted drug user
11. Don Sutton - Admitted doctoring baseballs
12. Whitey Ford - Admitted doctoring baseballs
13. Rogers Hornsby - Admitted to cheating in a self-penned article "You've Got To Cheat To Win"
14. Ralph Kiner - Admitted to using amphetamines
15. Willie Stargell - Used Amphetamines
    

And I haven't even gotten started on the non-players in the Hall (you know Comiskey is at the top of that list).

Who else should we weed out? Or better yet, who will be left once we are done?

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Looks like Bud Selig - and for that matter the Baseball Writers of America - are once again proven hypocrites.

Selig wants to essentially punish those accused of using steroids by wiping their records from the books, or at the very least noting their numbers with asterisks. Meanwhile as we saw in the recent Hall of Fame voting, the BBWA continues to shun Mark McGwire, even though a few years ago everyone agreed he has Hall worthy numbers.

Meanwhile, there already is at least one player in the Hall of Fame who openly used steroids.

Jim "Pud" Galvin

During his career Pud used the "elixir of Brown -Sequard" - testoterone drained from the gonads of an animal - before games. The use was reported in the Washington Post in 1889:

"If there still be doubting Thomases who concede no virtue of the elixir,
they are respectfully referred to Galvin's record in yesterday's
Boston-Pittsburgh game. It is the best proof yet furnished of the value of
the discovery."

And it worked. Pud was the first 300 game winner in major league history, and was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1965.

So the door has already been opened. Put in McGwire, and when thei times come, put in Sosa, Clemens, Bonds, and A-Rod. Time to move on.

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According to a report on SI.com this morning, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids during the 2003 season - the same season he led the league in home runs (47) and won the MVP award.

Allegations of A-Roid's alleged use of steroids have been around for a while - and really, is anyone shocked by this? If anything I'm shocked that it wasn't a bigger story in Joe Torre's book.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Barry Bonds also tested positive for steroids during MLB's testing in 2003 and 2006

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Whether you like it or not, Barry Bonds holds the record for most home runs in a season and most home runs in a career.

Barry Bonds is baseball's home run king.

Worry about whether or not Selig knew bonds was doing roids or not (that's a piece by fellow Mets Policeman Cyclones Fan).

You can place Barry in the Hall of Infamy with Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose.   Personally I think Bonds & Rose should be in , I will pass judgment on Jackson because I didn't see him play.

You can boo Barry when you see him on the street.  You can throw away your Bonds jersey.  You can erase your VCR tape of him hitting #73.  

You need to accept that he's the King, and no asterisk or "voiding" of the record is going to change the fact that he hit more home runs than anyone.



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Court documents released today show that Barry Bonds tested positive for steroids up to 5 times during his home run tear between 2000 and 2006.

No real shock there. Seriously, anyone who didn't believe Bonds was juiced probably also believes the world is flat.

The real news to come out of the unsealed documents is this:

June 4, 2003: MLB urine test originally negative; retested later by government it was positive for THG, clomiphene, exogenous testosterone

July 7, 2006: MLB urine test positive for D-amphetamine

So the first test by MLB they screwed up - fine, it happens. Although it is interesting that it happened to the person taht everyone knew was juicing.

The second test is big though. Bonds tested positive for steroids AFTER Bud Selig and MLB had instituted what it called a strong anti-steroid policy. Prior to the 2005 season, MLB stated that a first positive test would result in a MANDATORY 10 game suspension.

So why wasn't Bonds suspended?

More importantly - at the time of the positive test Bonds had not yet passed Hank Aaron (I'm too lazy to look up the exact number he was behind, but it was about 25 or so).

Selig knowingly let a juiced player surpass Hank Aaron.

Bonds is guilty - and so is Selig.

Time for the commissioner to step down


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An extremely slow day, and I don't feel like writing about patches yet again, so I come to you with a premise:  You don't know baseball like you used to.

I'm going to ask you some simple baseball questions.  15 years ago you would have rattled these off and laughed in my face about how easy they were.

1.  What is the current number of home runs needed to become the all-time career home run leader?  You have no idea do you?  You know it used to be 755 and it was 714 once, but what's the number now?

2.  Remember 2130?  Of course you do.   Now Cal Ripken is baseball's all-time Iron Man.   In how many consecutive games did Cal play?

3.  I will make this a little easier.   What is the current single season home run record?   72?  73?  74?  You tell me.  Are you sure?

4.  Who is currently the American League leader for most home runs in a season and how many did he hit?

The 2013 Hall of Fame ballot sure will be interesting.   Will the writers ignore Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens, and continue to ignore Pete Rose, Rafael Palmeiro (3,000 and 500) and the most popular post-strike baseball player Mark McGwire, you know the guy that restored baseball as America's Past Time?

Amazing how things change.

(762, 2632 , 73 and 61 by Roger Maris).

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I'm glad that home run 756 has made it to the Hall of Fame.

I will not dignify the thing that was done to the ball nor the name of the man that did it, nor will I display a picture of his marketing logo.

However, I'm glad the ball is there. It is baseball history, and Bonds may not be the kind of hero you wanted him to be - but it's way too late for everyone to get high and mighty about steroids.

There was a tickertape parade for Sammy Sosa in NEW YORK CITY (a parade for a Cub for hitting the second most homers ever?) so it's really annoying at this point for people to hate Bonds or Clemens or for Keith and Gary to talk about how it was obvious in 1991.

It was obvious, and everyone kept their mouth shut and got paid.

Congratulations to the Home Run King, season AND career: Barry Bonds.

Technically out of our jurisdiction, but a really good posting about how MLB is promoting Ken Griffey Jr.'s pursuit of 600 HRs. In their TV spot, MLB lists the dates when Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron hit their 600th. But hold on a second, I seem to recall in the last few years 2 other players surpassed 600. Don't tell me that Bud Selig and cohorts are purposefully ignoring Mr. Bonds and Mr. Sosa.

"Rather than group Griffey together with three Hall of Famers and two alleged steroids cheats, the league decided to exclude Bonds (the all-time home run champion) and Sosa, who reached 600 just last year. Now, I’m no steroids apologist, but that’s deceitful, dumb, and the act of a weenie (Mr. Selig). Bonds and Sosa’s numbers haven’t been stricken from the record. Moreover, they were the last two players to reach this cherished plateau. Yet to watch MLB.TV, you’d think a hitter hadn’t reached 600 since (cue the solemn piano music)… “Hank Aaron, April 27, 1971.” Why make the commercial at all if you’re going to insult the intelligence of baseball fans?"

The steroid era is part of MLB history - whether you like it or not it has to be acknowledged.

Wicked Good Sports: As Griffey approaches 600, MLB whitewashes history