Drug Issues Could Become Real Hemorrhoid For Baseball
Claims By Former Players That Steroid Use Is Rampant Taint The Game
By Guy Junker

It used to be that when you talked about 'roids and baseball, you were talking about George Brett and his hemorrhoids, ones that embarrassingly knocked him out of a World Series game in 1980.

As bad as it was to have the whole country know about his own personal pain-in-the-butt, Major League Baseball may have a nagging problem that is much worse than even George could imagine.

I'm talking about the other kind of 'roids. Steroids. And the suspicion of the paying public that more players than not, are using them these days.

Former players like Ken Caminiti and Jose Canseco have helped cause a furor this year about steroid use in the major leagues, but anyone surprised or shocked at the revelations is either naive or they just haven't been watching closely.

And that is easy to let happen. Guys keep getting a little bigger every year. Without a doubt the Giants have the most appropriate nickname in baseball. During one of the many early season rain delays at PNC Park, they were replaying the Monday Night Baseball telecast of John Candelaria's no-hitter from 1976.

In addition to making me feel unbelievably old, (because I was at that game 26 years ago and it seems like yesterday) it also made me feel unbelievably fat. The players on the tape were all so thin, almost unathletic looking by today's standards.

And of course today's standards have changed drastically even in the last few years. Look at two of the game's biggest stars. Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa. When Bonds broke in with the Pirates in 1986, he weighed 185 pounds. And when he left after the 1992 season for free agency and the west coast, he was still 185. Today he weighs 228. Coincidentally the most home runs Bonds ever hit with the Pirates was 34. The fewest he's hit with the Giants is 33.

Any of us over the age of 35 knows all about how the pounds pile on. A professional athlete may fight it off longer, but it's not natural for any man, especially one in his 30s, to gain 43 pounds of muscle. You can have all the personal trainers and nutritionists you can afford.

To avoid accusations of being a Bonds basher, I'll move on to Sosa, a player I like as much for his personality as his athletic skill. I want to know exactly when it was that his chest grew so large that even my wife could successfully parallel park on it. Know what he weighed when he broke into the majors with the Texas Rangers in 1992? Try 160 pounds. He's 60 pounds heavier now and it's not from Krispy Kremes, baby. It's nearly all muscle.

Maybe Bonds and Sosa aren't on the sauce. Maybe they are just freaks of nature who have gained muscle mass in their 30s by eating right and working out. But even if those two are clean, steroids are definitely a problem in baseball and one that won't go away easily.

So the real question remains. Does anyone really care? Fans love home runs and players that are literally larger than life. They would rather see Bonds hit one into the upper deck than a skinny shortstop lay down a suicide squeeze.

The coaches and managers can't care too much. Their jobs depend on players' performances and if the other guys are doing it, their own guys have to keep up. Or they will be selling insurance in no time.

And what about the owners? The single biggest thing since the last strike of 1994 that helped rekindle fan interest, was the Mark McGwire/Sosa home run duel in 1998 when together they combined to hit an incredible 136 homers. It was magic despite the fact that McGwire admitted to being on Androstenedione at the time, a hormone that is banned in the NFL and the Olympics.

And the players? They still have to hit the ball and throw the ball. But the drugs can take a borderline guy and make him a starter. They can make a starter an all-star and an all-star a hall-of-famer. And with the amount of money connected with the increased strength and speed, most feel it's worth the health risk. I know I would consider it if I were in their shoes. Heck, there are idiots out there using the stuff to look better at the beach. It's understandable how making millions of dollars would be an enticement.

For years now there has been the question of a juiced baseball being the cause of increased home run totals. Now we find out it was actually the players who were juiced. But you can at least feel good for Brett.

There is finally some relief from his 'roids, because he is no longer thought of when they are mentioned in connection with the game.

Instead it's the new 'roids -- ones that won't go away with a sitz bath.