Baseball Owes The Players An Apology for the "Steroid Era"

As a lifelong baseball fan and supporter of the game (I make it to at least 10 games a year), I feel the only people that owe me an apology are the owners for providing crappy, overpriced food at the stadiums and charging $15 for parking (thank you Mr. McCourt).

Oh, and by the way, I bought tickets to 15 Dodger games this season in which seven of them are Manny-less. I purchased these tickets, of course, long before Manny was suspended for slaughtering a child...oops, I mean testing positive for drugs. So maybe Bud Selig owes my family and I an apology for taking away the Dodgers' most prolific player and costing me $560.

Major League Baseball depriving myself and other ticket holders of watching Manny Ramirez isn't the thesis of this article, but I would like to acknowledge the numerous players who have been deeply affected by MLB's blame game.

First, I would like to address the effects anabolic steroids and HGH has on major league performance...NONE! The only reason these players took these drugs was because they believed in artificial enhancement. In other words, they believed drugs helped them to become better ball players.

All the great players of the so-called "steroid era" (Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, A-Rod, Manny) are naturally gifted athletes whose superior skills led to each of their marvelous careers. They didn't need drugs...nobody needs drugs! The only effects that banned substances can have on a player is improved stamina, mental nirvana, bad health, death, and a scolding from Mr. Baseball himself, the great Bob Costas.

The one element of a swing that produces a large amount of home runs is bat speed. Ask guys like Bonds, Sheffield, and Canseco. The greater the torque, the farther the ball travels. But there comes a point where good mechanics become essential in hitting a baseball. All the great power hitters utilize hip and leg movement as key components in launching the ball over the fence.

The lingering question is, does strength play a role in hitting home runs? The answer is yes. However, if you analyze Vladimir Guerrero's swing, he hits the ball in a fashion that relies heavily on upper-body strength. Unlike a refined hitter, Vlad reaches for balls and as a result, his home run numbers have never been consistently impressive.

Barry Bonds, on the other hand, has just as much power as Vlad Guerrero yet his 762 home runs is a milestone Vlad will never touch. Why? Because Bonds is the superior hitter and it doesn't matter if you weigh 190 lbs or 290 lbs, as long as you can put all your weight on the ball, it will travel a long way.

We already know that steroids and HGH can make a player stronger, but can these drugs increase durability? Well, ask the pitchers who took these "supplements".

Steroids and HGH (particularly HGH with pitchers) are the ultimate "pick me ups" for a grueling 162 game schedule. Feelings of invincibility and extreme confidence are common side effects of steroid and HGH usage. Guys can play through all the little aches and pains when they're juicing. People call this "cheating"; I call it "technology."

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