Two Bay Area MLB All-Stars Took Steroids
In Order to Enhance Their Performance
Major League Baseball,
the sport that I am very passionate for. I went to 27 Oakland Athletics games
last year and five San Francisco Giants’ games.
In 2005, I become a partial season ticket holder for the Oakland A’s for
20 games. I am seating in the bleachers section; my favorite section to sit in.
I have paid hundreds and hundreds of dollars over the year going to all these
baseball games. It’s a real shame that former A’s star, Jason
Giambi (soon to be ex-Yankee) and the greatest baseball player of the modern
era,
Barry Bonds.
As an A’s fan, it was sad for me to see Jason Giambi leave the Oakland
A’s and become part of the “Evil Empire” known as the New York
Yankees. Giambi was the type of player Billy Beane (general manager for the Oakland
athletics) adored. Jason hit a lot of home runs and had a lot of walks. I learned
why Billy Beane traded Giambi to the Yankees by reading the book “Moneyball.”
(A fantastic book that chronicles the life of Billy Beane. This book is a
MUST READ for all baseball fans).
According to Billy Beane, he had a “hole in his swing.” In other
words, if a baseball is thrown at his weak spot, Giambi won’t get any
good contact on the baseball.
Here’s the real question: Why did Giambi take steroids? It’s simple;
he’s playing for the New York Yankees. Every single year, the Yankees are
not only expected to win the World Series but they have to win. Next year, the
New York Yankees team salary will be over $200 million while the Oakland A’s
have a salary of about $45 million. The Yankees are basically another all-star
team. Last year, only the second basemen was not an all-star caliber player.
Back to Giambi, he’s being paid over $10 million dollars a year to be a
spectacular first baseman in Yankee pinstripes. I don’t think that Giambi
took steroids as an Oakland Athletic even when he won the MVP award in 2001.
Many people do crazy things when they’re under pressure or really stressed
out. He wanted to succeed but in the end he failed miserably esp. in the
Yankee uniform.
During a trip a MLB all-star trip to Japan in 2002, Jason Giambi asked one
of Barry Bonds’ trainers, Greg Anderson from BALCO, (who has been criminally
prosecuted by the federal government) for help. As a result, Jason Giambi took
a couple of illegal forms of steroids in the winter of 2002 before spring training
started in March of 2003. According to the San Francisco Chronicle (who broke
both of the steroid stories), Jason Giambi used “the clear” a.k.a.
THG and “the cream.” Both of these steroid substances build strength
and are “undetectable” in most drug tests for steroids.
Jason Giambi said this in his testimony to the grand jury, “Bonds’ trainer
Greg Anderson never said on time, ‘This is what Barry’s taking, this
is what Barry’s doing” (San Francisco Chronicle; Thursday, December
2, 2004).
Barry Bonds…um…yeah. To be honest, I just did not want to believe
that he took steroids but in the back of my mind I kind of knew he did. Hitting
home runs at SBC Park is very hard. Many baseball analysts consider SBC Park
at pitcher’s park, in which there are many low scoring games. At one portion
of the baseball stadium, nicknamed “Death Valley,” it takes 421
feet to go over the right, centerfield wall.
Barry Bonds in the past six years has hit about three hundred home runs in
the past six years. I can still remember going to a game at Candlestick Park
trying
to get a poster of 400 home runs and 400 steals. THAT’S FREAKIN INSANE.
According to the SF Chronicle, Barry said that the trainer, Greg Anderson, gave
him something to wear out his fatigue after his father’s death in May of
2003. That’s just the worst excuse I have ever heard.
Think about it, how can Bonds have bulked up that much? Do a google.com search
on Barry Bonds when he played for the Giants at Candlestick Park and at Pacific
Bell Park. There’s a huge difference in the pictures. I just don’t
want to believe it.
Now, Barry Bonds is chasing the most sacred record in all of sports. The
career home run mark of Hank Aaron. This record is the most difficult record
to break
in all of sports. It’s not impossible but it’s damn hard to break.
A player has to consistently hit home runs at a high rate for at least 15
years. Just to stay healthy is very difficult in pro sports.
Here’s my take: I am still going to follow the record Barry Bonds is going
to try to break. This is history in the making, and I don’t want to
miss it. As more revelations come out of this baseball scandal, I am going
to reserve
my judgments for later. I know what they did was wrong and illegal. When
an athlete is being paid millions of millions of dollars, they try to get
some
competitive
edge over one another. There are always going to be those superstar athletes.
However, some of the other players have about the same skill level as everyone
else. I just wish that Bonds is not a chronic steroid user. Sooner or later
the truth will come out.
Updated Paragraph (For Accuracy Sakes)
Giambi wasn't traded to the Yankees; they signed him as a free agent. Giambi
may have admitted to taking steroids before going to the Yankees. Greg Anderson
isn't an employee of BALCO but just friends with Victor Conte, who runs BALCO.
Thanks,
(You know who your are)