This has probably been one of the best threads that I have read on Kingsfans. Both sides have presented solid arguments for their points and have provided good debate.
I feel one more issue or point needs to be brought up to fuel the debate. The argument of "cheating." As far as I can understand we say that Barry cheated because he allegedly took "performance enhancing" drugs. The drugs made Barry have the ability to increase muscle mass and thus have more strength to hit home runs. The drugs were not a "natural" way to grow muscle.
Using this same logic, couldn't we say that any athlete in today's modern world that takes legal supplements and vitamins that are readily available, that aid in health and muscle growth "cheaters"? They are enhancing their workouts in an unnatural way, a way that aids their body in muscle growth and recovery. Steroids are just more effective than any over the counter GNC supplement. In perhaps a more extreme example, corrective lenses or glasses that aid in someones eyesight so they can see the ball better. Is this cheating? They are enhancing their ability in an unnatural way.
Today's athletes have weight trainers, dieticians and doctors that give them an advantage over athletes of years past. Are they cheaters by using these advancements by giving them an unfair advantage over athletes of yesteryear?
The argument is, I guess, that Barry was on an uneven playing field because not everyone used the same steroids he did, giving him this advantage, and that is why he is a cheater. That is a fair statement.
However, I refuse to believe that steroids or any other enhancement make the player. If everyone in MLB used steroids to enhance their abilities you still would only see 1 player every 25-35 years hit 73 home runs. Nobody has the bat speed, mechanics, and eye hand coordination that Barry Bonds has, and he didn't achieve this through steroids. You can't achieve that through steroids, but only through days and years of batting practice and training with a hitting instructor.
I doubt there is a single player in MLB that does not take some kind of supplement that enchances their muslce growth or muscle recovery in weight training.
Twenty years from now there will be even more supplements available for athletes to take that will be more effective than today's steroids, human growth hormones, etc. And they will be legal and without harmful side effects. Such is the world in which we live. Will we call them cheaters when they are allowed to use these things? Will we say their numbers are inflated?
Steroids or no steroids, Barry's accomplishments speak for themselves. If he was clearly innocent from taking these drugs he would undoubtedly be considered the "greatest there ever was." However this is not the case, for me Barry will be a great player, as great as Aaron, Ruth or Mays? No. But he is still a great ball player and an incredible athlete.
I am sure that most of you that claim you are done with baseball because of the steroid scandal are perfectly legitimate, but I find it ironic that for so many to claim to hate what Barry has done or find him reprehensible, he still brings those same people out to the ballpark to see him. They boo him when he comes to the plate, then snap pictures as he swings the bat hoping to catch a shot of him hitting a monster home run. When Barry came back last year at the end of the season, the attendence at the road stadiums the Giants played were usually sold out or atleast 10,000 higher than the normal average attendance for those stadiums. You can't have it both ways, calling him out, yet hoping to see him hit one out of the yard. And you can't tell me they are buying tickets hoping to see Barry strike out.
A polarizing figure indeed.
