Report Says Giambi on the Juice

I am not offended, suprised, or disturbed about any of this. Steriod use has effectivley permeated just about every competitive sport imaginable. This includes bicyling and tennis, and I am not at all joking (bicylist's are among the worst abusers of performance enhancing drugs).

In the past you could effectivley argue that steriods would give an unfair competitive edge- by the virtue of the fact that everyone is using them, that claim is no longer true. Numerous players in baseball have repatedly stated that the majority of players have used or are currently using steriods.

Another interesting point is what would possess Jason Giambi to adamantly deny the use of steroids when he had already testified in front of a grand jury that he took them? There's lying and but this kind of denial is really taking it to the extreme.

Also he said he started taking steroids at the end of his MVP season, is that plausible at all? Then all those seasons before his MVP season were steroids-free? Those seasons were pretty darn good for a steroids-free player.

Alex, already happened. The "supplements" McGwire was taking during his record years are now considered illegal steroids and banned from use by mlb.

well, baseball, prior to their new "testing" only cracked down if the players were caught by law enforcement. i totally agree that it's about money, which is why if enraged fans stop going, then players/owners might take note.

and the testing that they have now is the biggest joke. i blame the player's union for that.

tien, your points are valid but a little naive. the leagues crack down on users of recreational drugs like weed or cocaine, but the steroid issue is one they dont want to deal with. why? because steroids mean more homeruns, and faster pitches, which means more money at the gate and more highlights on espn. its hypocrisy and greed, pure and simple. long live Ricky Williams.

i'm trying to convey the fact that most people turn a blind eye to steroid use in the majors. then when they hear about it, they are all "oh, this should never happen", etc.

we'll just have to agree to disagree and agree that there is no place in baseball or any other sport (except maybe "professional" wrestling) for drug use.

"people complain that mcdonald's is making them/america fat with their fatty foods. shouldn't those people eating the food stop? same situation with baseball."

Except that's a terrible analogy.

In the MCD example, one has complete control over what they are complaining about, ie the intake of fatty foods. If I stop going to games, how exactly does baseball know that it's because of roids?

And who are these 'people' anyway? Outside of flaming hypocrites, the 'people' complaining about MCDs are usually different 'people' from the ones that eat at MCDs. Does that make society hypocritical then? No, it just shows that in a mostly free society, some people disagree with others.

I think that if an active player (not retired) died as a side effect of steroids, then everyone would call for a total outright ban on steroids and the league will enforce a tighter policy. Sadly this is almost the case we had with Giambi. That tumor is benign, but that's probably only by sheer luck.

If the steroid issue can be framed as a health issue for players, that would probably help everyone come to a more sane position. If I were Bud Selig, next time the collective bargaining agreement expires, I would threaten a lockout of the players if their union doesn't acquiesce to a more stringent drug policy. That will show people that baseball really is taking this problem seriously. Of course, he won't do that.

The other scenario where reform would be called for is if (or when) we find out that Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa was on steroids during any of their 60+ home run seasons. Home run records are sacred for baseball, and if it's found that someone violated them by using steroids, then fans really will start to turn away from the game.

people complain that mcdonald's is making them/america fat with their fatty foods. shouldn't those people eating the food stop? same situation with baseball.

"Fans love offense and home runs, but when news about drug use comes out, they are up in arms. If you're honestly upset about drug use, stop going, stop watching."

You've got to be joking me, this is bar none the stupidest thing I've ever read on Gothamist (including the comments).

In addition to all the good points that have been brought up already, I'll add this:

Pitchers take steroids too, just last year there have been plenty of implications of pitchers taking roids. The reality of it is that Bud Selig, the owners and the players can't have a zero tolerance policy on steroids overnight. Suspending a majority of the star players, removing most of the records broken in the last decade would kill baseball. I'm not apologizing for 'baseball', it's their fault that they are in this mess, but there's no quick fix or silver bullet that would restore integrity without destroying baseball overnight.

It ain't my damn fault.

One less baseball fan.

jarjar- I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. Jose Canseco claimed that 85% of the majors was on steroids. And the owners didn't see that this might be a problem?

But the player's union deserves just as much blame - if not more - for the way they dragged their feet on this issue.

i'd like to see the most stringent testing in all sports applied to baseball. we need a return to the era when hitting 25 hrs was considered huge. the hr race between sosa and mcguire may have saved baseball after the strike of 94, but that was just a band aid, slapped onto a deeper problem. the fans were disgusted with the greed of both players and owners in 94. the resulting course taken by mlb was good in the short run, but only deepened the original problem. baseball should stop trying to compete with football for big flashy displays. its a different game, a different mindset. unfortunately the current climate in the US is one that has football and nascar as the national pastime. baseball, once the thinking person's game, has been dumbed down in order to be commercially viable. its sad and disgraceful. i weep not only for baseball, but for all of america.

Let's not FULLY blame the players, because if you were a MLB player and KNOWING that the drug testing in your league is a joke and someone comes to you with some super drug, don't tell me you won't be tempted to take it or at least try it once. Yes, you would be cheating and hurting yourself, but you wouldn't be doing any harm to anyone else. I am not condoning their actions, but, like Chris Rock says, I'd understand.

The blame lies solely on the owners and the commisioner of baseball for not toughening their drug testing policy. All they care for is the money. They dont care about the lives these palyers put themselves in.

Giambi on steroid? Boy, no one saw that coming...

"small part among money" should read "small part among many," even though, in the end, it is all about the money.

"you don't think people at the games love slugfests?"

Some yes, some no. It's a far deeper problem than "chicks dig the longball", though.

For example, look at the arbitration process, which can determine a player’s salary before a player reaches free agency, and in some cases, is available to a player before filing for free agency. The people who decide these cases can be less than baseball savvy, and tend not to dig too deeply into statistics in judging a players value. Thus an out-machine like Tony Batista, who hits 30 homeruns and drives in 90 or so runs a year despite being a patently awful hitter, might make more in the arbitration process than an undervalued player whose offensive value is skewed towards walks and on-base percentage. If a player’s financial remuneration is determined largely by the number of home runs he hits, he's going to take note of that and take the necessary measures.

Obviously this is just one small part among money, but it’s an example in how there’s no single place to point the finger. As a lifelong baseball fan who will follow and love the game despite these disappointments, I’m saddened. But I also hope the irrefutable implication of an active star (i.e. not a retired player like Caminiti or a bench warmer like Manny Alexander) will force the game to take implement a stringent, Olympic-style testing policy in the very near future.

david, i'm with you on the low scoring games, but that's just not the reality of the game today. you don't think people at the games love slugfests?

to blame the fans on this one is ridiculous.

a real baseball fan enjoys a 3-2 game more than a 12-11 slugfest. the players take steroids not to satisfy the fans, but to inflate their statistics so they can make more money.

Yeah no one is surprise, but most are seriously disappointed. These athletes are larger than life to the many kids out there. They also cheated and there must be a price to pay for that and unfortunately for Giambi he's paying for it with his health.