Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

[suicide_squeeze]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

I agree. His items are already a fraction of what they used to be.

Interestingly I think that McGwire items have been going back up little by little probably since the big HR hitters are now all in the same boat. Mark was largely singled out for his "I don't want to talk about the past".

And adding to that thought, Andrew, McGwire was also "out" of baseball in 2003, so his name will not surface on the "infamous 104 list".

Look.....this was a sad era, and I really believe the injustice of "leaking" just the couple or so of the names from this list is silly.

Just PUT IT OUT there, let everyone digest it, and let history takes it course. Let the BBWAA figure out how they feel about the issue.

In the end, I think the best of the era still get inducted, right or wrong as it may be, because they were the best of their generation.......er....to a point:

They were the best of "their generation of the players who consciously chose to cheat"......so we'll never really know truly who the best of that decade and a half really was......and that's a sad fact. And one hell of a lesson to learn.

It's time to move on, and the only way that happens is to "release the list" for public consumption. Everything heals in time......that doesn't die from the original "injury". Baseball will survive this.

[TNTtoys]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

I agree. His items are already a fraction of what they used to be.

A fraction of what they used to be is an understatement!!!

I recently won this one on ebay. It was so cheap, I couldn't resist. It was the G157 White Sox model that had been on ebay before; I believe it might have been part of a lot of several bats in its first go-around.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=230347366947

I just cannot believe how low Sosa's gear has gone. Back in 1998-2000, if you were to try to tell me that "10 years from now, a game used, autographed Sosa bat would sell for $125," I would have probably fell over laughing!

[TNTtoys]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

Sosa seems to have taken a far bigger hit than most of the aforementioned players. It might be a fact now that he cheated, but he did more for the game than just put up numbers (and few could argue that his run from 98-02 has ever been paralleled). He was an ambassador of the game. He endeared himself to the hearts of not only the American public but to baseball fans worldwide. He brought fans back to the stadiums at a time where baseball's popularty was at an all time low.
And that said, the way he was treated in years to come was despicable. I can't believe how many times I heard the phrase "he wore out his welcome in Chicago."

Anyway, while I'm on the "soap box"...
I have been a fan of the game for the last 30 years and this so-called "steroid era" was a big part of my own fandom. It has created some very memorable experiences for me and for countless others. To look back on an era where so much was done to renew interest in the sport of baseball in America would really be doing the game an injustice. If those that govern the sport now really want to punish these guys for what they did 10 years ago, perhaps, they should have practiced what they preached a long time ago -- oh yeah, I forgot, they were making money hand over foot. Why should they...

[suave1477]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

MORE SHOCKING NEWS!!!!

1) U.S. Just put a man on the moon
2) Steven Speilberg set to direct E.T.
3) Yankees just signed Dave Winfield
4) Every breath you take - hits #1 on Billboard

[Texans]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

I wish all the names come out. Im tired of a new name every couple of months but it wasnt a shock about Sosa though. Its time for baseball to move on but it cant until this steriod iss ue is put to rest. Im tired of it


Jojo

[cjclong]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

This was a list that by agreement was not supposed to be revealed. Then the
Feds got it and now names are leaking out. I hate it that some of the players I liked (and still do) used the PED's. But I also have no respect for people who are leaking the names of people on a list that is not supposed to be available to the public. In some ways they are as bad or worse.

[rj_lucas]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

But I also have no respect for people who are leaking the names of people on a list that is not supposed to be available to the public. In some ways they are as bad or worse.

Right on, brother. Last time I checked, violation of a non-disclosure agreement was a violation of state and Federal laws. Where's the Congressional hearing?

Nobody is defending the actions of these players. But I'm having a hard time swallowing these smear campaigns whose sole purpose is too sell more books/newspapers/fill in the blank.

Rick
rickjlucas@gmail.com

[David]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

Fans often say, "It wasn't against the rules, so there was nothing wrong with steroid use?"

And my response always is, "If there was nothing wrong with it and they were breaking no MLB rules, then why do all these players who used steroids deny ever using them? If these players felt there was nothing wrong or cheating with using steroids, wouldn't they freely admit their use? That they bend over backwards to deny, lie about it before congress and sue for libel would-- even when there are no MLB rule or legal reprocussions for telling the truth--, shows these players do believe there was something wrong about their steroids use."

[cordovacollector]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

Fans often say, "It wasn't against the rules, so there was nothing wrong with steroid use?"

A posible answer to those "fans", how about because they were breaking the law? Weren't these drugs prescription only and were obtained illegally? I would think the law of the land has more authority behind it than a non-rule of MLB. MLB shouldn't have had to have rules that covered things that were against the law anyway.

[David]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

It is true that that MLB can't okay something that is illegal. MLB has no standing to make illegal drugs "legal within MLB rules," just as it has no standing to legalize prostitution or change immigration law. Thus, if steroids without a prescription was illegal in the US, it should go without saying that steroids without a prescription was illegal within MLB.

[David]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

My previous post should demonstrate that the lack of text concerning steroid use in an MLB/Union agreement didn't make steroids "legal according to baseball rules." No matter what they text said or didn't say, MLB and the Union can't make steroids "legal according to baseball rules." The agreement also didn't mention torture and false imprisonment, but that didn't mean torture and imprisonment were "legal according to baseball rules." It is not a situation where anything and everything not mentioned in the agreement is "legal according to baseball rules." There are lots and lots of things illegal in Major League Baseball that weren't covered by the agreement.

[TNTtoys]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

Fans often say, "It wasn't against the rules, so there was nothing wrong with steroid use?"

This is because most fans are ill-informed about the rules. Steroids WERE against the rules and have been for a very long time.

In all fairness to this "argument", certain supplements like Andro were not against the rules. I also don't believe that HGH was either.

[David]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

That is true. Andro was legal to use in the US. I'm not sure the history of HGH.

A lot of the stuff is prescription medication, meaning it's legal to use if you have a valid prescription and illegal to use if you don't.

[tacprc]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

Sosa gained an unfair advantage against his competitors and must now suffer the consequences.

Of course, this is all really sad. I remember that I was transfixed by the HR chase bewteen Sosa and McGwire in 1998.

[TNTtoys]

Re: Sosa named in PED samples from 2003

Sosa gained an unfair advantage against his competitors and must now suffer the consequences.

Of course, this is all really sad. I remember that I was transfixed by the HR chase bewteen Sosa and McGwire in 1998.

Let me play devil's advocate. If you think that it is fair that this happens to him now, why not level the playing field and release the other 102 names?

Because I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of names in that list that you would have never expected, nor players that have excelled the way Sosa did. A lot of Jason Grimsleys per se.

Somehow, this has become a witch hunt to release the names of the superstars... but what about the "decent" players who became "pretty good" as a result of PEDs. They get a pass? Hell, half of them were probably on the receiving end to Sosa's 60+ home runs each year...